North Carolina 7, Boston College 1

Andrew Miller became North Carolina's career leader in strikeouts after he fanned 11 as the Tar Heels beat Boston College 7-1 on Thursday.
Miller allowed two hits over eight innings for the Tar Heels (43-11, 20-8 Atlantic Coast Conference). He now has 290 strikeouts in his career, surpassing Michael Hoog's 289 from 1987-90.
Tim Federowicz had four hits, including his ninth home run of the season, to lead North Carolina's offense.
Boston College starter Dan Houston kept the Tar Heels in check for five innings, allowing no runs on three hits and four walks. Reliever Ted Ratliff (5-1) came on in the sixth and was charged with three runs without recording an out to take the loss for the Eagles (28-23-1, 9-19 ACC).

NCAA Game Summary - North Carolina State At Wake Forest

Eric Williams had 22 points and 16 rebounds as the Wake Forest Demon Deacons upset the North Carolina State Wolfpack, 76-63, at Joel Coliseum.
Justin Gray added 16 points, five boards and six assists and Chris Ellis netted 11 points for the Demon Deacons (15-15, 3-13 ACC), who snapped a two- game losing streak and have won two of their last four contests.
Engin Atsur paced the Wolfpack (21-8, 10-6) with 23 points and, despite breaking his nose in the first half, Gavin Grant came back and contributed 21 points, eight rebounds and three steals in the loss, N.C. State's third in a row to end the regular season.
The Demon Deacons jumped out to an early 14-6 lead on Williams' dunk with 12:25 to go, but the Wolfpack responded with a 13-5 run, highlighted by Grant's three-point play, to tie the game at 19.
Wake Forest came right back and reeled off a 13-2 spurt, including six points from Williams, to move in front 32-21. The Deacons led 42-30 at the half as N.C. State shot 30 percent from the floor in the first half and shot 0-for-12 behind the arc.
A pair of Grant free throws cut the deficit to 42-35, but Wake Forest countered with a 12-5 streak, capped by Williams' jumper, to extend the lead to 54-40 with under 13 minutes to play

Virginia Tech 17th In Trackwire Power Rankings

The Virginia Tech men's track and field team is No. 17 in the first Trackwire 25 power rankings of the outdoor season.
Coming off a 14th-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships, the Hokies have competed in two meets since then.
Senior Spyridon Jullien (70.62m) has the top hammer throw mark in the country this season, while freshmen Mohsen Anani (67.68m) and Matej Muza (64.45m) have the third- and 10th-best marks, respectively. Senior Brian Mondschein (5.35m) currently has the second-best vault in the NCAA.
The Trackwire 25 is a projection of how the teams could finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships with meet scores.
The Hokies return to action this weekend as the distance crew will compete at the Duke Invitational in Durham, N.C., on Apr. 7-8, while the sprinters and throws group will travel to Austin, Texas, for the Texas Relays at the same time. The vaulters will travel to Clemson, S.C., for the Clemson Invitational on Apr. 8.

Virginia Cavaliers Season Ends at Pitt

The Virginia Cavaliers ended the 2006 season with a 68-58 loss at Pittsburgh in the quarterfinal round of the 2006 Women's National Invitation Tournament at Fitzgerald Field House on Friday evening.
document.write('');
The Cavaliers finished the season at 20-12 overall, marking their 20th 20-win season under head coach Debbie Ryan.
In the first half, Pitt jumped on the scoreboard first, but UVa went ahead 3-2 on a three-point play by junior Siedah Williams (Cleveland, Ohio). Unfortunately, that would be the `Hoos only lead of the game. Pittsburgh went ahead by as many as 12 points, 15-3. The Panthers held a nine-point edge at halftime, 28-19.
"Rebounding in general was the difference today," Ryan said. "I didn't feel we were in sync tonight at all. It was a struggle from tip to finish."
In the second half, Pitt pushed its lead back up to 14 points, 38-24 with 13:44 left to play. Virginia clawed its way back to come within three points, 57-54 with 2:11 on the clock. The Panthers converted 10 free throws down the stretch for the win.
"We were a little leg-tired," Ryan said after her squad played Wednesday night in Charlottesville and boarded a plane in Richmond on Thursday morning for Pittsburgh. "That's not an excuse. We should have overcome that."
Williams led UVa with 13 points and 11 rebounds for her fourth career double-double. Sophomore point guard Sharnee Zoll (Marlboro, N.J.) followed with 11 points and six assists.

Now that Sendek is gone, where does N.C. State turn?

Herb Sendek leaves the basketball program at North Carolina State in very good shape. No one knows that better than Les Robinson, the coach Sendek replaced 10 years ago.
At the time, the Wolfpack were coming off five consecutive losing seasons, the worst stretch in school history.
"By the time Herb got there, we were barely above water," said Robinson, now the athletic director at The Citadel. "We went from the basement to the ground level, then he's taken it to the next level. But I guess he ran out of gas, too."
Sendek's tenure officially ended Monday when he accepted the job at Arizona State. He departs after leading N.C. State to the NCAA tournament the past five seasons, including a run to the regional semifinals a year ago.
Sendek takes over a program that has reached the NCAA tournament three times in 28 years. He got a five-year contract to replace Rob Evans.
"I really was not surprised," Robinson said in a telephone interview from Indianapolis, site of the Final Four. "I thought he had done an admirable job there."
By most accounts, that was true. Sendek had a losing record only once, reached the postseason nine times and recruited players who rarely strayed into trouble off the court. He was 191-132 with the Wolfpack.

Terps trample North Carolina Tar Heels

Toliver, a precocious freshman from Harrisonburg (Va.) High School, outplayed the Tar Heels' heralded Kodak All-American in just about every respect last night while helping the Terrapins capture an 81-70 victory in the semifinal round of the NCAA Division I women's basketball playoffs. Maryland will play for the first NCAA title in program history tomorrow at 8:30 p.m.
"I think we just proved to the country that we" -- and not North Carolina "should be the No.1 team," Toliver said. "I think we proved to everyone -- other than the 12 percent that thought we could win this game -- that we're a great team."
Maryland (33-4) might today be heading home to College Park as an almost-great team had it not been for Toliver. She did everything Latta was expected to do -- score, assist and defend like a vet- eran --in the third meeting of the season between these ACC rivals. Toliver scored 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting. She also handed out a pair of assists and helped pester Latta into 1-of-10 shooting from behind the arc. In the process she steadied the Terps during a key second-half stretch during which North Carolina at last began to play like the pretournament favorite it was.

Wolverines Bounce Hurricanes

Daniel Horton opened the scoring with a triple to put the Wolverines on top 3-0. Just a minute later, however, Guillermo Diaz knotted it 3-3 with a three-ball to draw the Miami Hurricanes even. And then the Wolverines took over.Sherrod Harrell broke a 5-5 tie with a lay-up to put the Wolverines on top for good. Daniel Horton followed Harrells lay-up with his second three-point shot of the game to extend U-M lead to seven to...and the home team was off and running. After a Miami timeout, Dion Harris extended the Wolverines lead to nine points with a two-point jumper before Courtney Sims concluded the11-0 run with a basket to put Michigan on top 16-5. Thoughts of the Maize and Blue's 74-53 victory back in November had to be running through the minds of the visitors,but they did not fold. Instead, they fought every step of the way."We felt that if we could somehow get the lead on this team and maybe put them in position that maybe they'd want to call it a season [it would be easier], but they never did," Amaker said. "They battled every step of the way. We had to finish the game strong. I was really impressed and pleased for our seniors. We talked about having another opportunity to finish their careers here at Crisler the right way with possibly a win. We didn't have the opportunity to do that against IU via the regular season, but we were fortunate to get this one tonight and they did a tremendous job to provide that for themselves and for the program."
Miami answered with a run to cut the lead down to four points. Guillermo Diaz, Raymond Hicks and Robert Hite hit consecutive baskets to draw Miami within four.Chris Hunter and Dion Harris combined to push the Wolverines back to nine points just over halfway through the first stanza, but once again Miami mustered a response. A pair of triples along with a pair of lay-ups pulled Frank Haith's club within two points with just minutes left in the half.

2006 NCAA WOMEN'S FINAL FOUR INTERVIEWS: Maryland Terrapins

I'm going to ask Coach to make an opening comment and we'll only have the players in here for 15 minutes. Brenda will then stay with me for the duration, which will be about another 30 minutes after that. So let's let Brenda make an opening statement. BRENDA FRESE: I'll tell you, obviously I'm extremely excited to be playing in the first national championship game for our program here at the University of Maryland. And I'll tell you, these kids, these players, have taken us for a heck of a ride. We're just looking forward to continuing on with it. I think these players have shown time in and time out that they belong here. And from the moment that they stepped on campus they have shown that they had a big picture, one goal that they wanted to accomplish and they're one step away from achieving that goal. I want to thank all of our Maryland fans. The amount of support that we had here in the arena, that have come here, our fans back home, the incredible support, the phone calls, the e-mail, the buzz that's going on around Maryland athletics is something pretty special. Obviously tomorrow night we're going to have to come out, we're going to have to have a tremendous game plan against a very talented Duke team with a tremendous amount of depth and experience. And we're going to have to come out and obviously be able to defend and rebound against them.

Are Gators a tradition in the making?

Dissecting a UCLA defense that has held 11 of its last 12 opponents to 60 points or less is only part of the huge challenge Florida's basketball team faces at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis in tonight's NCAA Championship.
The Gators must also contend with college basketball's most storied tradition. UCLA has won 11 national championships, including a run of 10 in 12 seasons from 1964-75 under legendary coach John Wooden.
By contrast, Florida is playing in only its third Final Four and second championship game. Under Billy Donovan, the 2000 Gators, a No. 5 seed, beat Atlantic Coast Conference powers Duke and North Carolina in the tournament before losing the final 89-76 against Michigan State.
If Florida falls short against the Bruins, many Gators boosters will offer a toast before turning their attention to spring football in a Gainesville minute.
But there is little doubt Donovan's ability to recruit top players, motivate and devise outstanding game plans gives Florida an excellent chance to return to the Final Four. Heck, maybe next year - the Gators start four sophomores and a junior.
"Any time you go to the Final Four two times in seven seasons, you've done something special," ESPN analyst and Lakewood Ranch resident Dick Vitale said last week from Indianapolis.

Running with the Duke Devils

It just wouldn’t be appropriate if the Terrapin women’s basketball team were to win a national championship without beating Duke in the NCAA tournament.
Tonight the No. 2-seeded Terps will have to get past the dreaded No. 1-seeded Blue Devils to win that elusive prize every team sets its eyes on at the beginning of the season. But it’s not the Duke of old — the one that beat the Terps 14 straight times — that the Terps will be facing. Instead it’s one the Terps have taken down, as recently as a month ago to the day.
“In the past, obviously, I just think Duke was better,” junior guard Shay Doron said as teammates Laura Harper and Crystal Langhorne whipped their heads in Doron’s direction in disbelief. “And right now I think that it’s pretty even with the teams.”
But Doron was just stating the facts — Duke was better. Until the ACC tournament’s semifinals, they owned the Terps.

WOMEN'S NCAAS: Devils, Terps in all-ACC final

Duke shut down the smoothest scorer in women's college basketball, blowing Louisiana State away Sunday night to set up an all-ACC matchup for the NCAA title.
Mistie Williams had 14 points and nine rebounds to lead Duke to a 64-45 victory over LSU in the NCAA tournament semifinal. Two-time Associated Press player of the year Seimone Augustus was scoreless in the first half but still finished with 14 points to lead the Lady Tigers.
"It was a team effort defensively," said Duke coach Gail Goestenkors, who was a standout at Waterford Kettering and Saginaw Valley State. "And it really takes a team to defend Seimone Augustus."
The Blue Devils (31-3) advanced to the championship game to play Maryland, which beat North Carolina, 81-70, in the earlier game. Duke went 2-1 against the Terrapins during the season, losing in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

ESPN's Lunardi: Tigers Must Reach ACC Finals

The Tigers are 18-11 overall 7-9 in the ACC and enter the first round game on Thursday at noon against Miami on a three-game winning streak for the first time since 1964. So, should they beat Miami and then the Blue Devils on Friday, are they likely to get into the NCAA Tournament. “In a word, no,” said Lunardi, who has only missed one team over the last three years in his postseason predictions. “They’re not on anyone’s radar right now. There are 15 teams right now fighting for seven spots and I don’t even have them in my top 20. “That would theoretically get them to 9-9 in the league and then you’d be comparing them to all the other bubble teams in the league, Florida State and Maryland, as well as all the bubble teams in all the major conferences. They need those two games just to get into the discussion.”

Boston College Eagles Preparing For Montana

The Boston College Eagles don’t need much of a sense of history to know that they can’t take 12th-seeded Montana lightly in Saturday’s second-round match-up in Salt Lake City, Utah. They have to look no further in the rear-view mirror than yesterday. On at least two occasions in overtime, 13th-seeded Pacific looked like a sure bet to end B.C.’s season prematurely. So this year’s Eagles already know all about how tough a double-digit seed can be.College kids need reinforcement, however, so B.C. coach Al Skinner might want to pull out the tape of last year’s second-round game with Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The Panthers caught the Eagles off guard and rolled to an 83-75 upset win. Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s seed? A twelve. Same as tomorrow’s opponent, Montana. Since 1985, only twice has a 12th-seeded team failed to beat a 5th-seed in the first round. Montana came into this year’s NCAA Tournament as one of the twelve seeds not necessarily expected to pull off such an upset. So, in keeping with the tradition of March madness, that’s exactly what the Grizzlies did. They went wire-to-wire in eliminating a highly-touted Nevada team, 87-79.

North Carolina vs. Virginia

The final box score practically screamed "North Carolina victory." The 10th-ranked Tar Heels shot 51 percent, held Virginia to 28 percent and won the rebounding battle 43-36.

Somehow, in a gritty game that had all the rhythm of a wrestling match, it simply wasn't that easy.

"We understand every game is not going to be pretty, we're not going to always win pretty," forward Reyshawn Terry said. "We just have to step up and be willing to take on the challenge when it comes."

No one did it better than him.

Terry had 24 points, freshman Tyler Hansbrough added 17 and North Carolina overcame a sluggish start to beat Virginia 79-67 Friday night in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.

"I loved our toughness," coach Roy Williams said. "They've learned to listen to what I say and not be concerned if the vein in my neck or head is busting or anything like that. I liked our competitiveness, and I think it will help us."

David Noel finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds as the Tar Heels (22-6) won their eighth straight and 11th in the past 12 games. This was nothing like their 45-point rout of the Cavaliers last week, when North Carolina used the emotion of Senior Night to post the largest margin of victory in the 95-year history of the rivalry.

North Carolina State vs. Wake Forest

Just a few weeks ago, Wake Forest looked like a team hoping for a merciful end to a miserable season. Now the Demon Deacons are savoring every moment in an unexpected ride into the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament semifinals.

Eric Williams scored 20 points to lead Wake Forest past No. 25 North Carolina State 82-71 Friday's quarterfinals, giving the Demon Deacons their second upset of the Wolfpack in a week and earning their first trip to the semifinals in three years.

Senior Chris Ellis added a career-best 15 points for 12th-seeded Wake Forest (17-15), which faces third-ranked Duke on Saturday. The Demon Deacons are the first last-seeded team to win two games in the tournament since Virginia in 1977.

The Demon Deacons reached the quarterfinals with a 78-66 win against No. 5 seed Florida State, beating a team trying to shore up its NCAA prospects. Now, with another win against the suddenly reeling Wolfpack (21-9), they're playing their best basketball and brimming with a nothing-to-lose confidence after a disastrous regular season.

"We're excited," said Kyle Visser, who had 10 rebounds as part of a strong effort by a typically inconsistent supporting cast. "We have hope now. We were holding on to very little hope. That's a big thing for us. We see we can play as well as we can."

Wake Forest was ranked 18th in the preseason and picked to finish third in the ACC. But the Demon Deacons struggled after losing All-American point guard Chris Paul to the NBA, and seemed to have little depth behind all-league performers Williams and Justin Gray.

Williams and Gray each had their usual strong outings Friday against the tournament's fourth seed. Williams went 8-for-13 from the floor with eight rebounds, while Gray finished with 19 points and a career-best 10 assists, directing an offense that shot 53 percent.

Maryland-Florida St

Al Thornton scored 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds Wednesday night as Florida State defeated Maryland 71-60 to keep its NCAA postseason hopes alive.

Florida State (17-7, 7-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) jumped to an 11-4 lead and stayed in control throughout to hand Maryland a setback that jeopardizes the Terrapins NCAA postseason hopes.

Thornton's 10 points and eight rebounds led Florida State to a 37-27 halftime lead, although the Seminoles were up by as many as 14.

Maryland (16-10, 6-7) pulled within six at 37-31 early in the second half, but Thornton keyed 21-7 Florida State run that put the Seminoles into a 58-38 lead midway through the final half.

The 6-7 Thornton hit 10 of 15 shots from the field and made both of his 3-point tries. Isaiah Swann joined Thornton in double figures with 12 points.

Florida State's win was its seventh in league play this season, its most conference victories in 13 seasons.

Nik Caner-Medley led Maryland with 19 points and Ekene Ibekwe added 15.

Florida State's Alexander Johnson, who had had five double doubles in his last seven games, played just two minutes in the first half because of foul trouble but finished with nine points and seven rebounds.

Boston College-Virginia

J.R. Reynolds and Sean Singletary know they are the keys to Virginia's success. They also know the more help they get, the more the surprising Cavaliers will be expected to win regularly.

Reynolds scored 28 points, Singletary had 16 and several other players made key plays at both ends Tuesday night, leading Virginia past No. 11 Boston College 72-58.

``Everybody was feeling it tonight,'' said freshman Mamadi Diane, who hit three of Virginia's 12 3-pointers - including two in the second half when the Eagles tried to rally.

Having the confidence to take the shots has been difficult, he said, and something his teammates have implored him to do.

``Just getting those shots, it was basically like me alone in the gym,'' he said.

Laurynas Mikalauskas, playing with a protective mask on his face after breaking his nose and sustaining a concussion against Florida State on Saturday, scored only four points, but got them on a pair of baby hooks to help sustain Virginia's momentum.

He also helped contain the Eagles' bruising front line. Virginia held Jared Dudley to six points, nearly 11 below his average, on 2-for-8 shooting from the field.

And Tunji Soroye avoided the foul trouble that so often plagues him and had six points, seven rebounds and two blocks, immeasurably aiding the defensive effort.

``The team's growing up,'' Reynolds said. ``Maturity. Everybody's just learning and listening and carrying out their assignments. The whole team made plays tonight.''

The Cavaliers took control early, getting 16 points from Reynolds in a 26-6 first-half run thast opened a 31-13 lead. The Eagles took a timeout and responded with nine straight points, but Virginia never let them closer than 10 the rest of the way.

``We were tougher than a tough team,'' first-year Cavaliers coach Dave Leitao said.

Boston College shot 35 percent and had a five-game winning streak snapped.

The Cavaliers (14-10, 7-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) led 38-28 at halftime and never let the lead shrink below 10 in the second half. Every time the Eagles seemed to be starting a run, someone for the Cavaliers made a play to stem the tide.

Diane's second 3-pointer gave Virginia a 53-38 lead, and the last made it 58-43 with 7:36 remaining. Singletary followed that one with one of his own, but said Reynolds was the key, starting with a deep 3-pointer he made during the first half.

``When he hit that, I knew he was going to be hot,'' Singletary said.

Reynolds finished 9-for-15 from the field, 4-for-7 on 3-pointers.

The Eagles (21-6, 8-5) had only lost to No. 1 Duke in their last 11 games, but missed their first eight shots and didn't match Virginia's need to win.

``Right from the very beginning it was clear that Virginia wanted the game,'' Boston College coach Al Skinner said. ``We did not at all meet their energy. I thought the game was physical and we did not respond to that.''

Virginia finished 12-for-21 on 3-pointers and shot 52 percent overall.

Craig Smith led Boston College with 22 points and nine rebounds, and joined Danya Adams as the only Eagles players with 2,000 career points and 1,000 rebounds.

Tyrese Rice, a freshman who starred at L.C. Bird High School in Richmond, added 10 points for the Eagles, but did all his scoring in the first half.

The loss prevented Skinner from breaking a tie with Jim O'Brien for the career victories lead at the school. Each coached 168 victories.

Wake Forest-Duke

J.J. Redick's legacy is far from complete, yet he knows better than anyone it always will include his uncanny ability to make 3-pointers.

He made sure of that Tuesday night, when he became the NCAA's career leader.

The Duke senior moved to the top of the list with four more 3s on his way to 33 points, helping the second-ranked Blue Devils run away from Wake Forest 93-70 Tuesday night to remain undefeated in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

``I'll never be able to completely shed the label of just being a shooter, and that's fine with me,'' Redick said. ``It doesn't stop me from working on my game and trying to get better.''

Freshman Josh McRoberts had 12 of his 16 points in the first half and Shelden Williams also scored 16 for Duke (24-1, 12-0 ACC), which is in position to reclaim the No. 1 ranking in The Associated Press poll next week following Connecticut's loss to Villanova on Monday night. Of course, the Blue Devils still must beat Miami later this week.

``I've tried not to focus on the records. I've tried to focus on what our team's doing,'' Redick said. ``We're having a heck of a season as a team, and that's been a lot of fun to be a part of.''

The Demon Deacons (13-12, 1-10) lost their seventh conference game in a row. Justin Gray led them with 18 points, while Eric Williams finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds.

Yet the story of this game was Redick. He got two 3-pointers in the first 12 1/2 minutes to pass the mark previously held by Curtis Staples, who had 413 at Virginia from 1994-98. Redick added two more and now has 416.

Staples was in attendance and presented Redick with a game ball in a ceremony following the game.

``It's a special night, to set a national record is very neat and I'm proud,'' Redick said. ``To have Curtis here also was very nice. I haven't seen him in a couple of years, and we chatted a little bit before the game. He was very encouraging and that meant a lot to me.''

Redick's first long-range shot came nearly 7 minutes after the opening tip, when he burned defender Cameron Stanley with a step-back jumper. The next trip, Redick lofted a perfect lob pass to McRoberts for a dunk, and added another assist on the ensuing possession when the duo hooked up again for another jam by McRoberts.

The second one led to a three-point play, and Sean Dockery stepped out beyond the arc a few seconds later to give Duke a 26-11 lead. It was an 11-point game a few minutes later when Redick got the record.

``He knew that he was going to get the record, and so did we,'' Duke point guard Greg Paulus said. ``He's such a great shooter, he was going to get that couple.''

Using a screen by Lee Melchionni to lose Gray, he took a pass from DeMarcus Nelson for an open catch-and-shoot from the wing. The ball swished through, setting off a raucous celebration by the Cameron Crazies.

``It's his confidence level,'' Gray said. ``When he's shooting the ball like that, it's not really technique or none of that stuff. It all has to do with confidence and his confidence is through the roof right now.''

Redick wasn't done. He went to the other end and got a steal, which led to a three-point play and a 34-17 advantage. He had to sit through a media timeout before converting his free throw, and when he returned to the line, the crowd chanted, ``All-time leader!'' as his record was announced.

``I heard them right at the beginning of the timeout, and then I was able to block them out,'' Redick said with a smile.

He didn't acknowledge the applause but did take time to accept congratulations from Dockery and Nelson. The free throw was a mere formality for Redick, and he totaled at least 30 points for the fourth straight game, setting a new school record.

``I've never had anybody who had so many 30-point games,'' Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. ``We're not always looking for him. We're trying to be balanced. He's just an incredible player.''

Even better, Redick passed Virginia's Bryant Stith for fourth on the ACC career scoring list, and he remained on pace to pass Dickie Hemric at the top of the list. Hemric had 2,587 for Wake Forest, and Redick now trails by 60 points with five games remaining in the regular season.

``I'm worried about the team,'' he said. ``Overall, you're going to be remembered for your team's successes. As long as we're winning games, I'm happy with whatever records I might break.''

The Blue Devils led by 14 at the break before Wake Forest briefly rallied. A tip-in by Kevin Swinton made it 54-43 before Duke responded with a 12-2 run - completed with a layup from Redick - and the Deacons never recovered.

``You know, I've pretty much got through the part of feeling sorry for myself and sorry for the team,'' Eric Williams said. ``The only thing we can do now is keep fighting. We've got to play it game by game. That's all we can do.''