Kevin McNamara of the Providence Journal laid it out pretty well this morning: George Mason coach Jim Larranaga is facing a heck of a choice between remaining where he is or taking the Providence job.

Does he stay in Fairfax and continue to tend to a program that has become exponentially more popular and well-known in the last two years? Or does he leave to take over at his alma mater?

Does he remain at a place where he can continue to contend for league titles? Or does he take a gig at a power conference school that has not won an NCAA tournament game since 1997?

Does he stick around a campus where he is a de facto deity, a man who is the public face of his school thanks to an entirely unexpected Final Four run two years ago? Or does he decide to mix it up with the big boys of the Big East, where six other coaches --- John Thompson III, Rick Pitino, Bob Huggins, Jim Boeheim, Tom Crean and Jim Calhoun --- have been to the Final Four?

Does he, at age 58, decide he is done moving around and will finish his career at Mason? Or does he, at age 58, decide there's one more coaching challenge out there he wants to take on but is simply unavailable to take a swing at while at Mason?

Does he value the security offered by a supportive campus president and a well-regarded AD? Or will he decide bigger (profile, not campus population) is better, especially when Providence is the school involved?

A lot of times, these decisions are so easy a lab rat can make them. No one will blame Michael Beasley and Eric Gordon and whoever else in this year's freshman class when they --- in all likelihood --- turn pro. Who's passing up that sort of coin?

No one's blaming Darrin Horn for parlaying Western Kentucky's run to the second weekend into the South Carolina job.

The list of guys who cashed in on, pardon the term, mid-major success is a long one. Todd Lickliter, Mark Turgeon, Bruce Pearl, Thad Matta, Trent Johnson, Stan Heath, Bill Self --- just this decade, all of those guys parlayed Sweet 16 appearances into power conference jobs.

Not Larranaga, until maybe now. Maybe.

His is not an easy choice. There's no obvious right or wrong course of action. Only hindsight will offer the correct solution.

Larranaga does not enjoy that luxury, nor would anyone else in his situation. So while whatever decision he makes in the coming days might or might not turn out to be right, no one should immediately decry his choice as wrong.

There's just no way for anyone to really know --- and anyone almost certainly includes Larranaga at this juncture.

--- Patrick Stevens

What's a reasonable definition of an "easy" road to the Final Four in the 64/65-team era?

Playing three double-digit seeds would seem to be a pretty fair definition, even if that gives a bit of short shrift to a really good No. 10 seed like Davidson.

Still, Kansas managed to have one of the least painful paths to the Final Four of the last 20 years. Only four other teams got to play three double-digit seeds while also avoiding one of the top five seeds in their bracket.

Of course, looking back, just about all of them had some sort of intriguing road block to overcome:

* 1990 UNLV (16, 8, 12, 11): It's so easy to remember the Runnin' Rebels simply thrashing Duke in the national title game. But Jerry Tarkanian's crew also administered a 30-point beatdown to a particularly motivated No. 11 seed in the regional final -- Loyola Marymount, which was still mourning the death of star Hank Gathers a few weeks earlier. Forgotten amid the blowouts was UNLV's closest scare of the tournament, a 69-67 defeat of 12th-seeded Ball State (who, contrary to my original post, was coached by Dick Hunsaker and not Rick Majerus).

* 1990 Arkansas (13, 12, 8, 10): The only non-No. 1 seed on this list, Nolan Richardson needed to dispatch the first supposedly mediocre North Carolina team in a generation to reach a regional final. The Razorbacks did so with ease, then edged fellow Southwest Conference member Texas 88-85 to give Richardson his first Final Four appearance.

* 1991 North Carolina (16, 9, 12, 10): The Tar Heels made it to a regional final after trouncing Eastern Michigan, but then had to contend with Temple's wise old Owl, John Chaney. As was usually the case, Chaney's team managed to keep it close before Carolina emerged with a 75-72 victory. Like 1990 Arkansas and 2001 Michigan State, the Tar Heels lost in the national semifinals.

* 2001 Michigan State (16, 9, 12, 11): The bulk of the 2000 national title team was gone, but the Spartans still made it back for a third straight Final Four. However, the last two double-digit seeds were less than pleasant opponents. First up was Gonzaga, chronically underseeded at No. 12, before a regional final meeting with Chaney's last regional finalist at Temple. Michigan State survived, but was bounced handily by Arizona once it got to Minneapolis.

* 2008 Kansas (16, 8, 12, 10): The Jayhawks barely survived Davidson (which, upon further review, probably should have been in the neighborhood of a No. 6 seed), but had no great troubles with the likes of UNLV and Villanova. But it would be no surprise if Kansas was quickly shown the door on Saturday, continuing the trend of early departures of relatively untested tournament teams who nevertheless make it to the Final Four.

--- Patrick Stevens

Maryland suffered one of its seemingly inevitable spring injuries today, as redshirt freshman offensive lineman Maurice Hampton suffered a meniscus injury.

Hampton was injured during sled work ("He didn't even get hurt in contact," lamented coach Ralph Friedgen in one of his frequent laments) and is expected to undergo an MRI exam today to determine the severity of the injury.

Friedgen said Hampton might be able to return within two weeks, but sounded more or less resigned to losing Hampton for the rest of the spring. Hampton shifted over from guard this spring, and is the second redshirt freshman lineman to miss time because of injury. Tyler Bowen, out with a foot injury, is the other.

"He was doing OK," Friedgen said of Hampton. "He's a young kid and we moved him to center and he showed some promise there. This definitely won't help his development."

--- Patrick Stevens

We have another reporter working on this story, but here's one wire story --- very nuts-and-bolts --- on Jim Larranaga staying at George Mason. (update: Here is Jon Siegel's story in today's Times)

Obviously, Mason Nation will be thrilled, as well it should be. But it should also feel rather fortunate to have dodged this particular bullet, particularly given the proclivity of coaches from non-power schools to improve their lot in life shortly after runs to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament and beyond.

I tossed out a list of names yesterday that bolted, and it was a decent sampling but not a thorough list. Upon further review, a complete list of coaches in such a situation in, say the last 15 years is worth producing.

The qualifications for the list: A non-power conference school (a definition that has shifted over the years) that couldn't be considered an elite program in recent memory at the time of the regional semifinal (or beyond) run. That knocks out the likes of Massachusetts and Memphis under John Calipari, or Temple under John Chaney. It also gets rid of recent runs by UNLV and Utah to the Sweet 16; they aren't what they once were, but people still know the names pretty well.

It also gives programs a chance to establish their reputations. Gonzaga's early tournament teams count; more recent ones do not. I left Xavier out of the equation this year, and not just because of the school's antipathy for the term "mid-major." Sometime between 2004 and now, the Musketeers graduated to the Memphis-Gonzaga level as a step above most of the non-power conference schools.

That leaves 28 different teams in that span, a pretty lengthy list. Here's a breakdown into six arbitrary categories, since you have to sort through those teams in some way or another.

Strike while the iron is hot: If you take, I don't know, Western Kentucky to the Sweet 16, it's often best to cash in while you can. And that's what a lot of coaches ultimately do. Twelve of the teams on this list went into the next year with new people in charge of their programs.

Among the coaches to pull this off: Ralph Willard (1993 Western Kentucky to Pittsburgh), Tubby Smith (1995 Tulsa to Georgia), Mack McCarthy (1997 Chattanooga to assistant at Virginia Commonwealth), Steve Alford (1999 Missouri State to Iowa), Dan Monson (1999 Gonzaga to Minnesota), Bill Self (2000 Tulsa to Illinois), Stan Heath (2002 Kent State to Arkansas), Trent Johnson (2004 Nevada to Stanford), Thad Matta (2004 Xavier to Ohio State), Bruce Pearl (2005 Wisconsin-Milwaukee to Tennessee), Todd Lickliter (2007 Butler to Iowa) and Darrin Horn (2008 Western Kentucky to South Carolina).

Strike while the iron is warm: What's better than cashing in immediately? Well, waiting a year or two and showing some loyalty in the process isn't too bad. Tubby Smith gets the best of both worlds, since he took Tulsa to back-to-back regional semifinals. This takes care of five more of the situations.

The coaches on this list include: Tubby Smith (1994 Tulsa to post-1995 Georgia); Jim Harrick (1998 Rhode Island to post-1999 Georgia); Bruce Weber (2002 Southern Illinois to post-2003 Illinois); Mike Anderson (2004 UAB to post-2006 Missouri) and Mark Turgeon (2006 Wichita State to post-2007 Texas A&M)

Stay at Saint Joseph's: The only school left on this list twice is Saint Joe's. Phil Martelli took the Hawks to the Sweet 16 in 1997 as a No. 4 seed and to the regional final in 2004 as a No. 1 seed. He's still on Hawk Hill, and quite deserving of his own category.

Left eventually: Some guys stick around for a while, then eventually move on in a natural ebb-and-flow. Both Mike Jarvis (1993 George Washington to post-1998 St. John's) and Todd Lickliter (another guy on the list twice, 2003 Butler to post-2007 Iowa) took new jobs within five years.

Jury's out: Obviously, it's too soon to tell whether Jim Les (2006 Bradley), Chris Lowery (2007 Southern Illinois) or Bob McKillop (2008 Davidson) will bolt. So they fall into this category for now.

That leaves four coaches, all with very good reasons for sticking around where they are at.

* Homer Drew, 1998 Valparaiso: The feel-good story of the '98 tournament wound up retiring and handing over the Crusaders to son Scott after the 2002 season. Scott Drew left for Baylor the next year, and Homer Drew has come out of retirement to coach five more seasons. He has nearly 600 career victories, which makes for a successful career no matter what level you're at.

* Charlie Coles, 1999 Miami (Ohio): Coles was 57 and a year removed from nearly dying from cardiac arrest when he led his alma mater to the regional semifinals. I don't profess to know the inner workings of the RedHawks' program, but age, health and personal roots make for a unique cocktail of reasons to stay --- which Coles has continued to do.

* Mark Few, 2000 Gonzaga: This is the last remotely surprising Gonzaga team, and even this one wasn't too stunning. Few decided to stick around and build a hoops empire in the Pacific Northwest. In the process, the Zags have elevated themselves into a national program that also reached the regional weekend in 2001 and 2006.

* Jim Larranaga, 2006 George Mason: Assuming he is at Mason for good --- and a three-year extension through 2015 would make that a probable scenario --- the man who took the Patriots to the Final Four will buck the trend. He also is the public face of his school, something very few people anywhere on the list could ever claim (though it will be interesting to see just how much people connect McKillop with Davidson). There is an undeniable value --- and not entirely a financial one --- for both Larranaga and Mason in that arrangement, and the reality that Larranaga is so woven into the fabric of the school had to have played a role in his decision to stay.

--- Patrick Stevens

While writing the exact same story dozens of other reporters will write at some point this week, I thought it would be fun to remember the last time people were asking Roy Williams about whatever his "second-favorite college team" was at the time.

That, of course, was in an interview with CBS' Bonnie Bernstein after the 2003 national title game when he was asked if he would leave Kansas for North Carolina. Here's the YouTube link, though be sure to remember that Roy chose to use a word that wasn't "very nice" toward the end of the clip.

It still remains one of my favorite live television moments ever, not just for the cursing but for the hilarity of Williams calling out "the guy in your ear who told you you have to ask that question." And in retrospect, Ole Roy held up reasonably well given that he'd just fallen short --- again --- of the elusive national title he would collect two years later at North Carolina.

--- Patrick Stevens

SAN ANTONIO --- It's been busy here at the home of the Final Four, which everyone knows is a congregation of coaches as much as anything else. After all, there is a basketball coaches convention right across the street from the Alamodome (not to mention the lovely media hotel).

But what people don't always realize is that it also means the airport and the flights coming into the host city are also a coaches' convention.

On my Southwest Airlines flight yesterday from BWI, multiple staff members from Maryland (including Gary Williams), UMBC (including coach Randy Monroe), Navy and Mount St. Mary's were on board, as were people wearing logos from places like Marymount, St. Mary's (Md.), Sacred Heart, Holy Cross, Hartwick and probably a few more that I'm forgetting.

Highlight No. 1 from the flight: Before taking off, one particularly obnoxious guy was yelling either to a buddy or into his cell phone "You wouldn't believe who's sitting next to so-and-so. It's GARY WILLIAMS, the COACH at MARYLAND. We're going to the FINAL FOUR, this big event, and so-and-so gets to sit next to GARY WILLIAMS on our flight down."

To answer the question I've heard most about this flight: I'm pretty sure Gary was in the tail end of the A group or the beginning of the B group. It certainly wasn't "wedged-into-middle-seat-in-the-back-of-the-plane" territory.

Highlight No. 2 from the flight: After the typically friendly Southwest flight attendant tried to do a poll of who would win the tournament (greeted by nonparticipation), an old lady in the front row asked her to find out how many people on the flight were playing in the Final Four. This, predictably, got some laughs.

Lowlight No. 1 from the flight: I know middle seats aren't any fun, but that doesn't mean you should spread out into the two adjacent seats like a guy to my left did. That's especially unpleasant on a three-hour-plus flight. Of course, that might have been my karmic reward for deciding as a 5-foot-8 reporter that it would be amusing to take one of the front row seats with extra leg room on a flight filled with basketball coaches who for the most part are a bit taller than I am (think Keith Booth).

But back to San Antonio. Walk around anywhere and you're bound to see some basketball luminary, great or small. Heck, I saw Oscar Robertson TWICE last night --- once in the hotel lobby (which prompted to say to a friend "It's not every day you see Oscar Robertson walk by.") and then later in a Riverwalk restaurant.

(Interestingly enough, an e-mail landed with the subject line "Oscar Robertson Trophy to UNC's Hansbrough" just as I typed the last paragraph. Spooky.)

Anyway, press conferences start in another four hours. Check back for more updates, some presumably not related to Oscar Robertson.

--- Patrick Stevens

SAN ANTONIO --- That would be Arkansas' Sonny Weems, who put on quite an exhibition last night at a dunk contest at a small local college. Four of us squirmed into the arena on the power of one press credential, a little charisma and a little luck.

As with anything else at the Final Four, all sorts of people were milling about. Less than five minutes after arriving, Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg passed by and briefly chatted. It's amazing how much more relaxed coaches look once their season is over, and not just because they aren't as nattily attired. Both Greenberg and Maryland coach Gary Williams looked far less stressed (and frankly, quite a bit healthier) than they had only a few weeks ago at the ACC tournament.

Once inside, everyone was reminded of a cardinal rule of dunk contests: Just do some basic, thoughtful dunks and advance out of the first round. Patrick Ewing Jr. from Georgetown didn't do that on his first attempt, producing the lamest non-Brian Randle try. Then he put together a true rim-rocker, which I'll have to take other folks' word on because I was distracted and missed it. One awesome dunk and one blah dunk doesn't get it done. The more workmanlike James Gist from Maryland took a steadier approach and made it into round two.

The two elite dunkers from start to finish, though, were Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's Will Bullard and Arkansas' Weems.

In a nutshell, Bullard can leap over multiple people in a single bound, over and over and over again. Weems can take flight from the foul line and produce between the legs windmill dunks from the baseline and, well, a lot of other stuff. Variety is a good thing.

Things we can be sure of: Unless Joey Dorsey is involved, we won't see a dunk anywhere near as good in the actual games left in this tournament.

--- Patrick Stevens

SAN ANTONIO --- Guess who I saw in the hotel lobby this morning?

Yep, Oscar Robertson.

The guy is everywhere.

Anyway, just got over to the Alamodome, in what was a really, really painless experience. Veteran basketball connoisseur David Teel of the Newport News Daily Press told me yesterday that San Antonio might just be the best Final Four site, based on things to do, how easy it was to get places, the overall setup, etc.

He might just be right.

More to come.

--- Patrick Stevens

Tyler Hansbrough was named the AP's player of the year today.

I can't say that I'm surprised. The North Carolina center has rightfully been lauded throughout the season and did so on a wire-to-wire top-10 team as well.

His margin was 56-15 over the Kansas State freshman (myself being one of the 15), with Memphis' Chris Douglas-Roberts earning the other vote.

That it was a landslide is a surprise.

Understand, this vote was taken before the NCAA tournament, so any arguments about postseason success should be thrown out the door. It's irrelevant.

There are two philosophies in voting for a player of the year. One is to choose the best player on one of the elite teams. The other is to choose the best player, regardless of team, while attempting to adjust for competitive differences.

I respect both of those. I very much subscribe to the second, but can understand why other folks prefer the first.

What I can't understand is how someone can say "Player X is the better player, but Player Y is the player of the year." Not "more talented" player, but "better" player. And maybe more than any other year, that rationale has been trotted out with Player X (Beasley) and Player Y (Hansbrough).

It's painfully illogical if the point of the exercise. And while I think there are still enough voters who either believe (a) Hansbrough is the better player or (b) team accomplishments should be factored into individual honors to have tilted the voting to Hansbrough, I am dubious a whopping 77.8 percent of the electorate truly thought the North Carolina star was the nation's best player.

Not that Beasley will mind all that much. He'll be doing well for himself all too soon, and Hansbrough will possess not only some individual hardware but perhaps a national title as well. And no will care a bit about some voting.

But it's still interesting to see what you can learn from it. Some analysts brought up the veteran vs. freshman deal. There's obviously the team accomplishment factor. And then there's the "he works so hard" vs. "he makes it look so easy" line of thinking --- which is incredibly lame, by the way --- that some folks see as an argument stepped in sociological (and perhaps even racial) codewords.

It's probably all of them in some combination that I'm probably neither smart enough nor qualified enough to distill into a formula of some kind. Just like I'm apparently not sharp enough to discern how the better player isn't the player of the year.

Maybe I shouldn't be surprised, after all.

--- Patrick Stevens

More injuries in College Park, apparently, where both the Amazing Pass-Catching Williamses are likely done for the spring.

LaQuan Williams has a broken foot. Isaiah Williams has a broken hand. And new receivers coach Lee Hull will be getting extended looks at the Torrey Smiths and Ronnie Tylers of the roster, guys who have yet to see the field during the regular season.

The university release detailing all this --- I certainly didn't jet back to D.C. just for football practice yesterday --- indicates coach Ralph Friedgen was pleased with quarterback Jordan Steffy, saying the senior "made a move" while splitting first team reps with incumbent starter Chris Turner.

Steffy was 8-for-10 for 65 yards, which looks an awful lot like what he did in early September against Villanova and Florida International. It bears watching, but quarterback is not the most compelling position in this program right now. People have a pretty good idea what both Steffy and Turner can do at this point.

What is more interesting is what the Da'Rel Scotts and Morgan Greens of the world can do over the next few weeks (and in August). On the other side of the ball, it will be important to keep an eye on safeties and defensive linemen, since those are the positions where Maryland is most untested on defense.

More from football tomorrow, where a marathon practice session will be just the answer to an early-morning flight home from San Antonio.

--- Patrick Stevens

SAN ANTONIO --- My hotel here at the basketball Final Four has both ESPNU and CBS College Sports (the rechristened CSTV), so I've actually had the luxury of watching some lacrosse during some downtime here.

Got to see Maryland-Navy live on Friday night, and also watched snippets of Towson-Delaware and Duke-Hopkins to help get back into the swing of things upon returning to the area and diving into the middle of the lacrosse regular season.

Here's what I'm pretty sure of at this point: Duke is loaded. Syracuse is back. Virginia is steady.

And that's about it.

Oh, one other thing: Johns Hopkins just might be in some trouble, having lost five straight games.

Of course, the defending national champs could just knock off Maryland and Navy the next two weeks and be in fine shape to avoid missing the postseason for the first time since 1971.

It might seem too early for lacrosse bracketology, it's worth taking a very premature swing at projecting a 16-team field without travel restrictions. Those come later, especially once the teams out west sort themselves out:

(1) Duke vs. MAAC/Canisius
(8) PATRIOT/Navy vs. GWLL/Ohio State

(5) ECAC/Georgetown vs. Denver
(4) IVY/Cornell vs. CAA/Drexel

(3) Syracuse vs. Brown
(6) North Carolina vs. AMERICA EAST/UMBC

(7) Maryland vs. Notre Dame
(2) Virginia vs. Bucknell

And here's one man's ballot for the Inside Lacrosse top 20:

1. Duke (11-1)
2. Syracuse (8-1)
3. Virginia (10-1)
4. Georgetown (7-2)
5. Cornell (8-1)
6. Navy (9-2)
7. Maryland (7-3)
8. North Carolina (7-3)
9. UMBC (7-3)
10. Notre Dame (7-2)
11. Ohio State (7-3)
12. Johns Hopkins (3-5)
13. Drexel (9-2)
14. Denver (7-4)
15. Princeton (4-4)
16. Bucknell (8-2)
17. Brown (7-2)
18. Loyola (5-4)
19. Army (7-3)
20. Penn (5-3)

--- Patrick Stevens

It was really easy to figure out a premature top five after last year's Final Four for the next season.

This time around, not so much.

There's lots of teams that could be good. Trouble is, nearly all of them have a player or two who might or might not bolt for the pros.

This is all very subject to change. There isn't a core set of a teams you can just pluck a national champion from. I'd have taken North Carolina, Kansas, UCLA, Memphis and Georgetown and given the field at this time last year and felt reasonably good about my chances of having a winner 80 percent of the time.

This is a much more fluid situation. But here's an early 10 top anyway (with an additional 25 that merit some mention but not a detailed analysis):

1. North Carolina: The Tar Heels would like Wayne Ellington to come back, prefer Ty Lawson return and need Tyler Hansbrough in Chapel Hill to have a legitimate claim to this spot. But only one senior is gone (Quentin Thomas) and plenty of help is on the way. Now, about using those timeouts...

2. Texas: The Longhorns won 31 games with a roster lacking contributing seniors. If D.J. Augustin comes back, Rick Barnes could get the chance to join Bill Self in erasing his name from the list of guys who couldn't win the big one. Knock the Longhorns down a few spots if Augustin bolts, but even then it still has the makings of a top-10 team.

3. UCLA: Kevin Love is as good as gone, and the only significant senior loss is Lorenzo Mata-Real. Maybe some combination of Darren Collison and Russell Westbrook leaves early. If one of them comes back, they'll have plenty of help from a sweet recruiting class to bolster a program that has reached three straight Final Fours with a defense-first approach.

4. Connecticut: There's a lot to like about the Huskies despite their opening-round loss to San Diego, notably the likely return of a healthy A.J. Price. Losing shot-swatter Hasheem Thabeet would hurt, but most of this balanced team will be back for another shot at a tournament run.

5. Louisville: Despite the departures of Derrick Caracter (knucklehead) and Earl Clark (really could have used one more year), the Cardinals will be knocking on the Final Four door next year. They will rely heavily on freshmen in the frontcourt, but the top three guards as well as swingman Terrence Williams (who plans to test the NBA waters this spring) should return. Probably won't be as hyped next year, and losing David Padgett will hurt. But this isn't a team that should be ranked around 20th at this juncture.

6. Kansas: Don't forget about these guys. They do lose four seniors and almost certainly Brandon Rush from their top nine, and Darrell Arthur's performance Monday night likely made him a very wealthy young man. But assuming Mario Chalmers and Sherron Collins come back, the backcourt is in place for a good team. And Bill Self does know a thing or two about recruiting. Back-to-back titles? Don't bet on it. Back-to-back Final Fours? That's doable.

7. Purdue: The Boilermakers arrived a year early, but their young core is made up of the sort of players who will stick around for at least three years. Gene Keady never made a Final Four, but his protege Matt Painter might be able to get there with a roster constructed for long-term success.

8. Duke: First, a caveat. I don't think Duke will be one of the eight most talented teams in the country. But the Blue Devils still won 28 games and will lose only DeMarcus Nelson (the sort of nice college player Duke specializes in churning out) and Taylor King (the sort of well-regarded high school player who quickly transfers that Duke also specializes in churning out). A No. 2 or No. 3 seed next March seems about right, assuming Kyle Singler comes back to man the middle.

9. Tennessee: The Volunteers should plummet if Tyler Smith bolts for the NBA. Chris Lofton is gone and point guard questions remain. But it should be pretty well understood by now that Bruce Pearl has a decent idea what he's doing, and the SEC isn't exactly the scariest neighborhood to be working in these days.

10. West Virginia: Bob Huggins gets some of the credit for this, but the Mountaineers were arcing upwards even before John Beilein departed for Michigan. Joe Alexander took a backseat to no one not named Mario Chalmers, Derrick Rose, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Kevin Love and Stephen Curry among the stars of March, and that's saying something for a guy who only played three NCAA tournament games. He could play many more if he sticks around Morgantown for another year.

11. Notre Dame
12. Michigan State
13. Ohio State
14. Memphis (Rose and CDR will probably depart, but Calipari will cope)
15. Florida
16. Pittsburgh
17. Georgetown
18. Gonzaga
19. Villanova
20. Davidson
21. Southern California (VERY subject to change)
22. Wisconsin
23. Syracuse (another team that could fall depending on defections)
24. Miami
25. San Diego (everyone's back, and the Toreros' March was no fluke)
26. Kentucky
27. Xavier (the world should know better than to ignore these guys)
28. Virginia Tech
29. Texas A&M
30. Clemson
31. UAB (assuming Robert Vaden returns)
32. Arizona State
33. Baylor
34. Washington State
35. Oklahoma State (Bill Self rumors make the Pokes even more intriguing)

--- Patrick Stevens

Crystal Langhorne won't be playing professionally too far from where she starred for the last four years.

Maybe a dozen miles, give or take.

The Maryland center went sixth overall in today's NBA Draft to the Washington Mystics. Teammate Laura Harper was the 10th pick, taken by Sacramento.

Tennessee's Candace Parker, predictably, was the No. 1 overall pick. She might save the Los Angeles Sparks. She won't the save the WNBA from being overshadowed by NBA and NHL playoffs in the first half of the season and MLB pennant races and NFL preseason/regular season in the second half of the season.

But she will get to play with Lisa Leslie, which is sort of like what you'd get if you paired Michael Beasley and Shaquille O'Neal on the same team next fall --- except O'Neal isn't returning from maternity leave like Leslie is.

--- Patrick Stevens

As coaching moves and jumps to the NBA intensify, there's bound to be some wise decisions --- and some head-scratchers --- trickling out in the coming days.

And that's what "Good move, bad move" is for.

Good move: Joe Alexander goes window-shopping for the NBA. With all respect to the West Virginia forward, hardly anyone knew who he was before the Mountaineers won a few NCAA tournament games. That's not his fault. But he'll have the chance to return to school for his senior season and play on an even better team. Even if labeling someone "a winner" is a bit disingenuous, being associated with a really good team never hurts.

Bad move: D'Andre Jordan even thinks going pro is the best long-term choice. The Texas A&M center hasn't signed with an agent, and that's smart even though nbadraft.net has him projected to be a back-of-the-lottery selection. However, NBA teams --- particularly bad ones --- are notorious for taking an athletic 7-footer with vastly more potential than production. Jordan was not dominant as a freshman, averaging 7.9 points and 6.0 rebounds. If he stays and gets better, the upper reaches of the lottery will await next year. If he leaves, here's betting he barely develops over the next three years and winds up with less coin in the long run because he does little early in his career. Jordan needs another year in school, and while bolting for riches is understandable, it's not the best choice he can make at this juncture.

Good move: Kevin Love reportedly headed to the NBA Draft. Well, duh. Even if UCLA coach Ben Howland refuted the Los Angeles Times report, absolutely no one should quibble with a first team All-American leaving if he so chooses.

To-be-determined move: Trent Johnson leaves Stanford for Louisiana State. There's a nice bump in pay, the Lopez twins are gone, and the Pac-10 will again be an unfriendly neighborhood even as some other notable names vanish from the league's tableau. But how much extended success can be had in Baton Rouge? John Brady had a Final Four and not a whole lot else as he tried to win with a series of guys who weren't staying more than a year or two. Helping matters is the relative weakness of the SEC West, where a good coach could build a division winner in two years.

Bad move: Mike Montgomery taking over at California a week too early. Imagine Montgomery returning to Palo Alto now that Johnson, his former assistant, is on the move to the Bayou, rather than sitting across the bay in Berkeley. This doesn't look so bad if Ryan Anderson comes back, but that trip to Maples Pavilion is going to make the former Warriors coach even more wistful than he once thought.

Good move: Travis Ford remains at Massachusetts. Sometimes, the right decision is standing pat for a year. Let's face it, many of the jobs that swung open this year weren't very good. He said he was uninterested in the Louisiana State job on Tuesday, though the Providence gig remains available. But another good season in Amherst might be able to net Ford something bigger at this time next year.

--- Patrick Stevens

Whether you remain perched in front of a TV or are out and about on what could be a stormy Saturday, there is no shortage of lacrosse within a couple hours' drive this weekend.

On the magic box, there is Navy at Army (noon); Maryland at Johns Hopkins (2 p.m.); and Duke at Virginia (6 p.m.). All are on ESPNU. Maryland-Hop is also on Channel 2 up in Baltimore.

For the magic box/Al Gore Invention combo, CN8 has a double-dip starting at 1 p.m.: Penn State at St. John's, followed by Drexel at Towson.

If you want to brave the elements, no less than 10 of the nation's top 20 teams are playing fairly close by tomorrow:

* No. 4 Georgetown at No. 19 Loyola in what could be a sneaky-good game on Charles Street.

* No. 16 Ohio State vs. No. 8 North Carolina at Boys' Latin up in Baltimore; the Buckeyes could use this game in case they don't win in the GWLL.

* No. 12 Drexel at Towson, though the Dragons are coming off a loss to Delaware and Towson has cobbled together a modest two-game winning streak to make itself relevant in the jumbled CAA.

* No. 7 Maryland at No. 15 Johns Hopkins in a rivalry that pretty much explains itself. But the Blue Jays have lost five straight, and the Terps will be without suspended attackman Travis Reed (marijuana possession and DUI) for another game.

* Albany at No. 11 UMBC is the logical nightcap for anyone catching one of the early games in Baltimore. Chances are, the winner gets homefield for the America East tournament and the inside track to an automatic NCAA tournament bid next month.

* And, of course, there is No. 1 Duke at No. 3 Virginia in what should be a highly entertaining game at Klockner Stadium in Charlottesville. Something tells me this is just round 1, with a round 2 definitely possible in another two weeks at the ACC tournament ... also in Charlottesville.

--- Patrick Stevens

No surprise here, but Virginia coach Dom Starsia said this week goalie Bud Petit will likely draw the start for the second straight week.

The fifth-year senior made 13 saves in last week's overtime victory over North Carolina while freshman Adam Ghitelman sat. Ghitelman's season has gone up and down --- hardly a surprise for a first-year player --- but Starsia sensed he was more than just frustrated after the Cavaliers yielded 13 goals in their loss to Maryland to weeks ago.

"He just looked so down and so beat up," Starsia said. "He just needed a little room. ... I had seen that look of 'I've got the weight of the world on my shoulders' a little bit earlier. When we took him out of the Stony Brook game and we'd given up 11 goals at that point, it was less about the shots and more about his shoulders slumped and he looked a little dejected."

"The Maryland game where they score 13, he didn't give up 13 goals in three high school games. Even with the quality of the shooters, there was a feeling like 'I'm the one responsible for this.' He just needed to relax a little bit and get a little more of a look objectively."

In some years, this might seem like a serious problem, but goalie instability (or, at the very least, a goalie situation to speak of) seems a little more common this season. Maryland has two guys splitting time. Navy has Matt Coughlin's hamstring injury. Hopkins sophomore Michael Gvozden has stopped less than half the shots on goal he's faced.

Not everyone has a Jordan Burke, who has pretty much stood on his head for Brown and saved 69.5 percent of his shots on goal. Of the legitimate title contenders, Duke is probably in the best position in cage --- fifth-year senior Dan Loftus carries a 62.8 save percentage.

All of which means a little turbulence is goal isn't going to singlehandedly prevent Virginia from making a deep postseason run. And chances are, Ghitelman --- who Starsia said seemed to enjoy one of his best practice days earlier this week --- will be better off in the long run despite being in flux in the middle of his freshman season.

--- Patrick Stevens

It's a great question, one I don't feel comfortable trying to fully answer until I get a good look at the Blue Jays tomorrow at Homewood Field.

You can point to goalie play, which has been undeniably spotty this year.

You can point to bad luck, which is tough to ignore with three overtime losses (and is perhaps a regression to the mean for a program with an absurd 30-6 record in one-goal games between 2001 and 2007).

You can point to a merciless schedule, as tomorrow's game against Maryland ends the Blue Jays' annual ACC swing --- which is bookended by games against Syracuse and Navy.

You can point to the reality only two other Division I schools have avoided a losing season in the last 10 years (Maryland and Georgetown) and assert the cycle that nabbed Virginia and Duke in 2004, Princeton in 2005 and Syracuse in 2007 is going to get the Blue Jays this year.

It is true Hopkins has lost five in a row for the first time since 1964-65. It is also true that Hop is talented enough that it could win its last five games and roll into the postseason as a seeded team.

The Blue Jays have five losses, and four can be accounted for easily enough. Lots of teams are getting run off the field by Duke, and overtime setbacks to Virginia and Syracuse aren't fun but certainly indicate a team that isn't too far from the sport's elite.

Some folks I've talked to in the game cast a weary eye at Hopkins' overtime loss in the rain to a so-so Hofstra team as a sign for concern. But the weather played a role that day, and few teams will be as prepared for the Blue Jays as Hofstra --- which is coached by former Hopkins assistant Seth Tierney.

To me, the 13-8 whipping North Carolina administered two weeks ago at Homewood is much more startling.

One, because the Tar Heels started fast and didn't slow down for a while.

Two, Carolina was coming off getting trounced by Duke and Maryland the previous two weekends (with a victory over winless Marist tossed in) and certainly didn't seem imposing beyond a goalie who had just been shredded a couple times.

Three, Hopkins just doesn't lose by five goals at home every day --- just once this decade (2006 against Maryland in the Joe Walters Game).

I don't think Maryland will control things tomorrow like it did that night two years ago. And without Travis Reed in play, the Terps' offense will struggle much as it did against Navy last week.

But that doesn't mean Maryland can't win --- nor that all these questions about Hopkins will dissipate even with a victory over the Terps.

--- Patrick Stevens

The landscape shuffled a little bit in the last three days, and the number of head-coaching openings has dwindled to seven (the most notable: Oklahoma State, Providence and Stanford). But there were still some interesting decisions, both by players and coaches.

Good move: Dominic James stays at Marquette for his senior season. This is a nice early gift for new coach Buzz Williams. James' value was probably higher two years ago than it is now, which is sort of startling. But he's still an above-average point guard in a league stacked with above-average teams. If fellow senior-to-be Jerel McNeal returns, bump the Golden Eagles' expectations up a tick for next year.

Bad move: Providence whiffs again. The good news for Providence is that athletic director Bob Driscoll is targeting superb coaches. But both George Mason's Jim Larranaga and Massachusetts' Travis Ford have publicly turned down the Friars, and the most logical fallback plan for the Big East school --- Craig Robinson from crosstown Brown --- has already bolted for Oregon State. Driscoll is understandably busy with his NCAA hockey committee duties at the Frozen Four this week, so it's not the drawn-out process that is a concern. Rather, it's the perception that Providence isn't all that appealing a gig even if it dwells in the Big East --- or because the Friars' chances of seriously moving beyond a program that wins 15-20 games a year are hindered by their membership in the colossal confederation. And coaches turning you down --- even good coaches with comfortable gigs --- doesn't help that perception at all.

Good move: O.J. Mayo turns pro. This will go down as the second-most predictable early entry, right behind Michael Beasley whenever he decides to bolt Kansas State in the coming days. Southern California spent much of the season hovering around the outskirts of the top 25, so a lot of people didn't really develop their opinions of Mayo beyond the initial hype. But he ultimately proved to be really good, averaging 20.7 points and 4.5 rebounds, and barring anything too crazy he'll at least be an above-average NBA player. He's pretty much a lottery lock, which is why it is hard to argue with his decision.

What-the-heck? move: Purdue freshman Scott Martin opts to transfer. Part of the Boilermakers' cornerstone freshman class is on the move after a season. Martin averaged 8.5 points for Purdue, which surprisingly contended for the Big Ten title and lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament to Xavier. He filled a sixth man role, and will have no shortage of places to wind up at in the coming months. But possessing plenty of options doesn't make the decision any easier to figure out.

Bad move: UMBC assistant Frankie Allen takes over at UMES. It's hard to blame a guy who was a head coach for 18 years at three other stops for wanting to be one again. Allen worked at Virginia Tech, Tennessee State (where he earned NCAA tournament nods in 1993 and 1994) and Howard, and at age 59, it's pretty clear the guy still has a head coaching itch to scratch. But if you look up the phrase "coaching graveyard" in a thesaurus, chances are UMES is the first synonym you'll come up with. In the last 33 years, only one of the Hawks' 11 coaches has left Princess Anne with a winning record. And yes, some elementary math shows that the average tenure in that span is three years. Here's wishing Allen --- who helped UMBC earn its first NCAA berth this season --- the best of luck; history indicates he'll need it.

--- Patrick Stevens

You know what makes it hard to evaluate teams in a "real-time" sense?

When nearly everyone you think is good loses within a few days.

From last week's ballot fired off from the comfortable confines of San Antonio, Nos. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 13 lost. No. 10 did not play. So what do you do?

Pretty much maintain the status quo for a week, and let it sort itself out next Saturday.

Army (over Navy) and Loyola (over Georgetown) were predictably big movers after upsets at home. I nosed Johns Hopkins back into the top 10 after its evisceration of Maryland. And after seeing UMBC handle Albany, it's pretty clear the Retrievers are a legitimate top-10 team.

Chances are, Inside Lacrosse's overall poll will look a lot different than this (besides the top two, who have very much earned their spots). And that's OK. I can't claim to know what the real order should be right now, and I suspect no one else can, either.

1. Duke (12-1)
2. Syracuse (10-1)
3. Virginia (10-2)
4. Georgetown (7-3)
5. Cornell (9-2)
6. Navy (9-3)
7. Maryland (7-4)
8. UMBC (8-3)
9. Johns Hopkins (4-5)
10. Ohio State (8-3)
11. North Carolina (7-4)
12. Army (8-3)
13. Notre Dame (7-2)
14. Loyola (6-4)
15. Denver (9-4)
16. Princeton (6-4)
17. Bucknell (9-2)
18. Brown (8-2)
19. Drexel (10-3)
20. Hofstra (6-4)

--- Patrick Stevens

Yesterday provided quite a doleful moment for the area's four Division I lacrosse programs --- Georgetown, Maryland, Navy and Virginia.

They all lost. Navy at Army. Georgetown at Loyola. Maryland at Hopkins. And Virginia at home against Duke.

(The definition of the "area" certainly can come under some fire, especially since there are four Baltimore schools within a shorter drive than Charlottesville. But it is the aforementioned four that technically fall under the local purview, though come May that definition usually extends itself to include perennial power Johns Hopkins.)

Anyway, as domino by domino fell yesterday, it got me wondering just when all four happened to lose on the same day. And the answer is surprising. Or maybe it isn't.

Either way, yesterday was the first 0-for-4 the schools had ever produced.

Now, Georgetown's only been going at it in Division I since 1970, and while the Hoyas' records don't include dates before 1991, it was hard enough finding days when two of the other three programs lost on a single day.

There are two of weekends when all four stumbled since 1991, but the ACC tournament contributed heavily to both:

* April 21-22, 1995: Maryland (lost at North Carolina in ACC semifinals), Virginia (lost to Duke in ACC semifinals), Navy (lost at Johns Hopkins) and Georgetown (lost at Hobart)

* April 19-21, 2002: Maryland (lost at Duke in ACC semifinals), Georgetown (lost to Massachusetts), Navy (lost to Johns Hopkins), Virginia (lost at Duke in ACC final)

--- Patrick Stevens

First off, a rapid rundown of the chase for the seven automatic berths:

* UMBC handled Albany on Saturday, outlasting a 35-minute lightning delay as well as the Great Danes to remain perfect in the America East. If the Retrievers upend either Vermont or Hartford --- in recent years, the AE's weaker siblings --- in the next two weeks, they'll play host to the league tournament and probably receive another shot at Albany.

* The CAA is a bit of a mess, but DREXEL can secure home field throughout the conference tournament with victories over Sacred Heart and Villanova. If the Dragons lose, Hofstra would likely slide into the No. 1 spot; the Pride's only remaining league game is against Robert Morris.

* LOYOLA is a weird team. How else to explain a dominant early victory over Towson, double-digit thrashings of Massachusetts and Rutgers, an upset of Georgetown ... and an unsightly home loss to Siena. But the Greyhounds are in control of the ECAC, and need only defeat either Fairfield or Hobart in the next two weeks to head to the NCAA tournament for the second straight year.

* The looming showdown in the GWLL features OHIO STATE and DENVER in Columbus on Saturday. Both are 3-0, and the winner will be in good shape to earn the No. 1 seed in next month's league tournament.

* In the Ivy League, CORNELL, BROWN and PRINCETON are unbeaten in conference play and will take turns playing over the next three weekends. First up: Cornell-Princeton, a game the Tigers desperately need just so they have a quality win on their resume.

* CANISIUS and PROVIDENCE are rolling along in the always unpredictable Metro Atlantic, but a curious third option has emerged: VMI. The Keydets are making a play for a spot in next month's conference tournament, and former Maryland defenseman Jeff Shirk's team would have to feel pretty comfortable if it poached Canisius when the Golden Griffins visit this weekend.

* It's a three-way tie at the top in the loss column in the Patriot League. NAVY failed to wrap up home-field advantage for the league tournament when it lost to ARMY. Meanwhile, BUCKNELL will get to play host to the four-team tournament with a win over Colgate and an Army defeat of Lafayette.

So with that in mind, here's a 16-team field based on the results to date --- and with an attempt to meet the NCAA's travel restrictions. Ties in the loss column in conference play are broken by the RPI, courtesy of laxpower.com.

The Duke and Virginia quadrants funnel into Annapolis for the quarterfinals. The Syracuse and Cornell quadrants funnel into Ithaca for the quarterfinals. And since teams with losing records aren't eligible, Johns Hopkins will have to wait at least a week to get into this field.

(1) Duke vs. CAA/Drexel
(8) Georgetown vs. Navy

(5) North Carolina vs. UMBC
(4) IVY/Cornell vs. Ohio State

(3) Virginia vs. ECAC/Loyola
(6) Maryland vs. Bucknell

(7) PATRIOT/Army vs. GWLL/Denver
(2) Syracuse vs. MAAC/Providence

Is UMBC the sixth-best men's lacrosse team in the country?

Don't know about that.

Do the Retrievers have the goods to make it back to the quarterfinals next month? Absolutely.

UMBC was the beneficiary of a lot of losses by other teams in this week's Inside Lacrosse poll, and a leap to No. 6 seems like it's a bit much. But after seeing the Retrievers take out Albany on Saturday night, it's pretty clear they have the pieces to make some noise in the tournament.

The 14-10 victory was UMBC's seventh straight win. A 1-3 start featured blowout losses to Delaware and Rutgers, as well as a grind-it-out setback at Johns Hopkins. Perhaps people should have read more into that result; the Retrievers looked a lot better than a 1-3 team that night at Homewood, and Hopkins looked awfully vulnerable --- and proceeded to lose five straight.

There are three excellent reasons for the Retrievers to continue to blow through the America East and lock up their third straight NCAA berth:

* Terry Kimener. The senior is an old-school midfielder who ranks second for UMBC in both goals (20) and caused turnovers (seven). He's also got a team-high 16 assists. Kimener isn't the sort of bulky midfielder that will force people to pay attention, but he does everything well and is deserving of All-America consideration.

* Ryan Smith. The junior college transfer tossed in five goals and three assists on Saturday, and it's pretty obvious he's adapted quite nicely to Division I. UMBC lost its entire starting attack after last season --- all 112 goals --- and Smith's emergence has ensured the Retrievers would have an offensive pulse late this season.

* Jeremy Blevins. UMBC lists the junior goalie at 135 pounds, and while numbers aren't wowing (9.21 goals against, .541 save percentage), they're right in line with his career totals and are far more of an asset than an obstacle. The Retrievers know what they're going to get in goal, and that's more than a lot of other teams can say at this juncture.

None of that can completely prevent UMBC from being derailed. To wit:

* Startling stat No. 1: A faceoff winning percentage of .463, 39th out of 56 teams in the country

* Startling stat No. 2: A scoring margin of +0.18, 30th in the country

* Startling stat No. 3: Man-up (38th) and man-down (39th) units nestled in the bottom third in the country

All that means is the Retrievers don't have as much of a cushion as might be expected out of an 8-3 team. But it's still a bunch that has defeated Denver, Maryland and Ohio State, hung tough with Johns Hopkins and could take an 11-game winning streak into the NCAA tournament if things break right the rest of the way.

They might not really be No. 6. But they're way too good to ignore.

--- Patrick Stevens

I'll break this down in my next post, but just wanted to pass along a slate just released by the ACC office:

Monday, Dec. 1

Wisconsin at Virginia Tech

Tuesday, Dec. 2

Duke at Purdue
Clemson at Illinois
Ohio State at Miami
Virginia at Minnesota
Iowa at Boston College

Wednesday, Dec. 3

North Carolina vs. Michigan State (Ford Field, Detroit)
Indiana at Wake Forest
Michigan at Maryland
Florida State at Northwestern
Penn State at Georgia Tech

--- Patrick Stevens

The ACC/Big Ten Challenge usually doesn't have much of a lasting effect, other than to provide ACC coaches three days worth of data to use as ammo to describe a full season of results when it comes time to plead for NCAA tournament berths.

But unlike some years, this really does look like a balanced, intriguing event.

First of all, Sidney Lowe and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat will be the team left out, the consequence of pairing the League of the Expanded Geographic Footprint against the Big Eleven.

That, though, shouldn't spoil some analysis of the matchups --- a good seven-plus months in advance. The best part about this year: Six first-time matchups in the event. It's not like we needed more Duke-Michigan State, Clemson-Penn State, Virginia-Northwestern or Maryland-Illinois, anyway.

Premium matchup: North Carolina vs. Michigan State. This will be played at Ford Field, site of next year's Final Four. And it will feature two teams that should be picked at or near the top of their respective leagues. It's also only the third time they've met in 10 years of the challenge; the Tar Heels and Spartans also played in 1999 and 2000.

Family values matchup: Virginia at Minnesota. A quarter-century ago, Virginia had a center by the name of Ralph Sampson. Now, Minnesota has an incoming freshman by the name of Ralph Sampson III. Wonder how many stories will be written around that angle come December. It will be the schools' third meeting in the challenge.

Fundamentals matchup: Duke at Purdue It's not a stretch to suggest Duke will be the most technically sound team in the ACC next year. And if Purdue isn't the Big Ten's savviest team, it will probably be Wisconsin. But this meeting of second-round losers could be the best game of the bunch.

Dr. Tom matchup: Iowa at Boston College. He's retired (and his son is apparently off to Providence according to multiple reports), but Tom Davis has ties to both schools. Davis took BC into the Big East and took Iowa to No. 1 in the country in 1987. Neither program will be reaching those lofty heights next season, but both should be better than this past year.

It's not the Fiesta Bowl, but it's close matchup: Ohio State at Miami. This should be a tremendous game. The Buckeyes will be in great shape to build upon their NIT championship, and Miami has a chance to be the ACC's second-best team. This meeting comes without a controversial pass interference call in the closing seconds.

Football-related karma matchup: Wisconsin at Virginia Tech. These schools were supposed to play in football, but those plans got shelved in the last few years. No worries. This basketball meeting should be even better.

Orange crush matchup: Clemson at Illinois. The Tigers should still be good. No clue whether the Illini bounce back from a disastrous season. This one goes down as a ho-hum matchup.

Creaned on the road matchup: Indiana at Wake Forest This happens early enough that it could be Tom Crean's first road game at Indiana. Wake Forest has a loaded recruiting class coming in to join a roster that pretty much remains intact. It might just be a coming out party for the Demon Deacons, who figure to be better next year than the rebuilding Hoosiers. It's these teams' second challenge meeting.

The heat is on matchup: Penn State at Georgia Tech Paul Hewitt shouldn't be in any trouble at Georgia Tech, though it seems like impatient Yellow Jackets fans don't like their NCAA tournament appearances interspersed with losing seasons. Chances are, Penn State's Ed DeChellis will probably be on the list of coaches on the proverbial hot seat heading into next year. The Nittany Lions and Yellow Jackets will meet in the challenge for the second time.

Is anyone watching? matchup: Florida State at Northwestern. Florida State's Leonard Hamilton would love to double, even quadruple the NCAA tournament size. Here's betting he wouldn't mind rotating out of this event so the Seminoles don't have to play Northwestern for the fourth time in 10 years.

Time machine matchup: Michigan at Maryland. Oh, are we going to hear about when the Wolverines and Terrapins met in the 1994 NCAA tournament. Michigan won, lost in the regional final two days later and has not escaped the second round since (and only did that once, in 1998). The Terrapins' tradition is a bit stronger, but with three missed NCAA tournaments in the last four years they've occasionally provided "NIT-chigan" some company of late. These teams haven't met since the 2000 BB&T Classic --- when the Wolverines were in the throes of the Brian Ellerbe era.

--- Patrick Stevens