previews Page 6 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

NCAA First Round: (1) Pittsburgh vs. (16) East Tennessee State
East Region: No. 1 Pittsburgh (28-4) vs. No. 16 East Tennessee State (23-10) When: Friday, 2:55 p.m., EDT Where: University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio PITTSBURGH PANTHERS 1) Gary McGhee plays for Pitt. Well, kinda. I'll try and make this as objective as possible, but he might be the worst basketball ...

NCAA First Round: (6) Arizona State vs. (11) Temple
South Region: No. 6 Arizona State (24-9) vs. No. 11 Temple (22-11) When: Friday, 2:45 p.m., EDT Where: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS 1) What about the Devil's haircut? The Sun Devil "pitchfork" is a well-known symbol among the Arizona State faithful, but ignoranc...

NCAA First Round: (6) Marquette vs. (11) Utah State
West Region: No. 6 Marquette (24-9) vs. No. 11 Utah State (30-4) When: Friday, 12:30 p.m., EDT Where: Taco Bell Arena, Boise, Idaho MARQUETTE GOLDEN EAGLES 1) More Dominic James Melodrama The oft-maligned Dominic James was Marquette's most important player, despite Doug Gottlieb-esque 46% free thr...

NCAA First Round: (3) Kansas vs. (14) North Dakota State
Midwest Region: No. 3 Kansas (25-7) vs. No. 14 North Dakota State (26-6) When: Friday, 12:30 p.m., EDT Where: Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota KANSAS JAYHAWKS 1) Robbing the Cradle The big programs in college basketball have been getting younger and younger thanks to things lik...

NCAA First Round: (8) Oklahoma State vs. (9) Tennessee
East Region: No. 8 Oklahoma State (22-11) vs. No. 9 Tennessee (21-12) When: Friday, 12:25 p.m., EDT Where: University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS 1) Bet the over In his first year at Oklahoma State, coach Travis Ford has installed a more up-tempo style of play than the Sutton ye...

NCAA First Round: (3) Syracuse vs. (14) Stephen F. Austin
South Region: No. 3 Syracuse (26-9) vs. No. 14 Stephen F. Austin (24-7) When: Friday, 12:15 p.m., EDT Where: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida SYRACUSE ORANGE 1) Sweep The Legs If you're looking for the weak link in Syracuse players, look no further than their cruciate ligaments. The Orange ...

NCAA First Round: (5) Illinois vs. (12) Western Kentucky
South Region: No. 5 Illinois (24-9) vs. No. 12 Western Kentucky (24-8) When: Thursday, 9:55 p.m., EDT Where: Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI 1) They're not that bad offensively. Fine, fine, so the Big Ten isn't exactly stacked with a bunch of Bo Kimbles and Kiki Vandeweghes....

NCAA First Round: (6) UCLA vs. (11) Virginia Commonwealth
East Region: No. 6 UCLA (25-8) vs. No. 11 Virginia Commonwealth (24-9) When: Thursday, 9:50 p.m., EDT Where: Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania UCLA BRUINS 1) Sometimes when lose, you actually win. Disappointed with losing to Memphis and failing to bring home a 12th banner to UCLA, Darren...

NCAA First Round: (2) Oklahoma vs. (15) Morgan State
South Region: No. 2 Oklahoma (27-5) vs. No. 15 Morgan State (23-11) When: Thursday, 9:40 p.m., EDT Where: Sprint Center, Kansas City, Missouri OKLAHOMA SOONERS 1) Trendy If you're an OU fan or you're planning on picking the Sooners and like me, you get caught up in trends and history then pay atte...

NCAA First Round: (2) Duke vs. (15) Binghamton
East Region: No. 2 Duke (28-6) vs. No. 15 Binghamton (23-8) When: Thursday, 9:40 p.m., EDT Where: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina DUKE BLUE DEVILS 1) ELL-E-UT Elliot Williams has changed the entire makeup of this team. When he was the 12th man, this team was a slow, low scoring tea...

NCAA First Round: (4) Gonzaga vs. (13) Akron
South Region: No. 4 Gonzaga (26-5) vs. No. 13 Akron (23-12) When: Thursday, 7:25 p.m., EDT Where: Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon GONZAGA BULLDOGS 1) The Rose City, Home Away From Home Gonzaga plays Akron in the first roundin Portland, OR. This is practically a home game for Gonzaga, who plays the U...

NCAA First Round: (3) Villanova vs. (14) American
East Region: No. 3 Villanova (26-7) vs. No. 14 American (24-7) When: Thursday, 7:20 p.m., EDT Where: Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania VILLANOVA WILDCATS 1) Home Sweet Home Villanova plays most of their home games at The Pavilion. The 6,500 seat arena is located just outside Philadelphia...

NCAA First Round: (7) Clemson vs. (10) Michigan
South Region: No. 7 Clemson (23-8) vs. No. 10 Michigan (20-13) When: Thursday, 7:10 p.m., EDT Where: Sprint Center, Kansas City, Missouri CLEMSON TIGERS 1) Clemson Tigers, Naughty By Nature? Clemson University is a public school located in the northwest corner of South Carolina in Clemson, South C...

NCAA First Round: (7) Texas vs. (10) Minnesota
East Region: No. 7 Texas (22-11) vs. No. 10 Minnesota (22-10) When: Thursday, 7:10 p.m., EDT Where: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina TEXAS LONGHORNS 1) Foreign Point One thing Texas desperately lacked entering the season was a true point guard. Without a ball handler that could pene...

NCAA First Round: (4) Washington vs. (13) Mississippi State
West Region: No. 4 Washington (25-8) vs. No. 13 Mississippi State (23-12) When: Thursday, 4:55 p.m., EDT Where: Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon WASHINGTON HUSKIES 1) Balanced Squad The Huskies are a very balanced team with 4 players averaging over 11 points per game. If you had to pick some "star" p...

NCAA First Round: (1) Connecticut vs. (16) Chattanooga
West Region: No. 1 Connecticut (27-4) vs. No. 16 UT-Chattanooga (18-16) When: Thursday, 3:00 p.m., EDT Where: Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania CONNECTICUT HUSKIES 1) Six Feet Under Coach Jim Calhoun created a media firestorm earlier this season when he told a freelance reporter who was ...

NCAA First Round: (7) California vs. (10) Maryland
West Region: No. 7 California (22-10) vs. No. 10 Maryland (20-13) When: Thursday, 2:55 p.m., EDT Where: Sprint Center, Kansas City, Missouri CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS 1) Lowered Expectations Projected to finish eighth in the pre-season PAC-10 poll, I had all but written the Bears off this year. With...

NCAA First Round: (1) North Carolina vs. (16) Radford
South Region: No. 1 North Carolina (28-4) vs. No. 16 Radford (21-11) When: Thursday, 2:50 p.m., EDT Where: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS 1) No Time to Stop When last we saw the Tarheels, they were losing to Florida State while their coach stubbornly refus...

NCAA First Round: (5) Purdue vs. (12) Northern Iowa
West Region: No. 5 Purdue (25-9) vs. No. 12 Northern Iowa (23-10) When: Thursday, 2:30 p.m., EDT Where: Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon PURDUE BOILERMAKERS 1) Consistently Decent. You hear all the time about how some programs are "consistently great," and others are mocked for being "consistently me...

NCAA First Round: (8) BYU vs. (9) Texas A&M
West Region: No. 8 BYU (25-7) vs. No. 9 Texas A&M (23-9) When: Thursday, 12:30 p.m., EDT Where: Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania BRIGHAM YOUNG COUGARS 1) Still a Cougar BYU Head Coach Dave Rose played his college ball at Houston as a co-captain of the 1983 Phi Slama Jama team (front row...