NEW ORLEANS — Finally, genuine NCAA Tournament electricity came to the Crescent City.

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The NCAA Midwest Regional bracket may have opened up with the elimination of No. 1 seed Kansas, but UT wasn’t willing to look ahead just yet.
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The tailback who South Carolina coaches and fans believe will change the direction of the Gamecocks’ running game was at Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday for the first spring scrimmage. So was the tailback who arrived with similar expectations last year.

And with incoming freshman Marcus Lattimore looking on, Jarvis Giles showed he plans to be more of a factor in his second SEC season.

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COLUMBIA — Stephen Garcia didn’t have to look over his shoulder last year. The job as South Carolina quarterback was all his. Now, though, it’s as if the coaching staff is putting a mirror in front of him, just so Garcia knows where freshman Connor Shaw is in relation to his heels.
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Tennessee shattered one glass slipper and slipped into another Saturday afternoon in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
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Layup with 8.2 seconds left lifts Tar Heels to win
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Coach Les Miles bothered by offensive penalties
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By LARRY VAUGHT
NEW ORLEANS — Kentucky hasn’t won the national championship yet, but the Wildcats certainly are playing like a championship team.
The Wildcats broke away from a 19-19 tie with Wake Forest here Saturday night with one of their most impressive performances of the season to win 90-60 and advance to the NCAA Sweet [...]
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Moving pocket, key runs on the agenda
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GAINESVILLE – Josh Shaw has no connection to the state of Florida, not even a distant relative.

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TUSCALOOSA — There aren’t as many questions facing Alabama’s football program as there were a year ago in spring practice. But finding the answers is just as crucial if the Crimson Tide plan to add more hardware to their trophy case this fall.
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Jobs aren’t necessarily won during spring football, but a strong first impression certainly doesn’t hurt.
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The quiet of spring break on the University of Alabama campus was broken only by the sound of a few swinging cranes and the movement of construction workers Friday afternoon.
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NEW ORLEANS—There was Kansas on the television, dying the slowest death since Arnold Schwarzenegger in “The Terminator,” and Kentucky coach John Calipari immediately recognized that was the last thing his Wildcats needed to see before their own second-round NCAA Tournament game.

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Anybody out there still think the NCAA Tournament field should be expanded to 96?

Hello? Anybody?

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St. John’s athletic director Chris Monasch said the magic words Friday when he spoke about the future of the basketball program at the Big East school in the wake of the Norm Roberts firing. Monasch said the university was ready to make a commitment to hire someone who would be one of the top-25 paid coaches in the country.

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NEW ORLEANS — Wake Forest forward Al-Farouq Aminu couldn’t fathom a faster player than his teammate, point guard Ishmael Smith.

“I think ‘Ish’ might be the fastest person I’ve ever seen in real life,” he said on Friday.

Kentucky point guard John Wall, certainly no cartoon figure although his exploits this season tested the bounds of credulity, might give Aminu a new perspective on speed when the teams play in the NCAA Tournament second round Saturday night.

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Cornerback Myron Lewis made another good impression at Vanderbilt Pro Day on Friday, and according to one pro scout may be a better prospect than his former teammate D.J Moore.
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With three losses in its last four games, Vanderbilt went into March like a lion but went out like the proverbial lamb.
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Even before Friday’s second-round NIT game between Ole Miss and Memphis, Rebels sophomore guard Terrico White looked around a loud and fairly packed Tad Smith Coliseum. “The crowd is crazy,” he said. “That’s pretty good.”
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Tennessee has defeated SEC champion Kentucky, Big 12 kingpin Kansas, Atlantic Sun winner East Tennessee State University and Mountain West Conference victor San Diego State. The Vols (26-8) play yet another league champion, Ohio (22-14) in the Dunkin’ Donuts Center today with a trip to the Sweet 16 regional in St. Louis on the line.
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Healthy at last, he’s ready to play
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GAINESVILLE – Coach Urban Meyer isn’t the only Gator making a return to the field this spring after battling health issues.

Redshirt sophomore cornerback Jeremy Brown is back on the practice field after missing all of last season with a back injury.

“[There were] long nights, couldn’t sleep. It was excruciating pain,” Brown said. “I almost thought I was done. There were times when we were talking about that, but I’m 100 percent now.”

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Says Auburn rumor ‘just talk’
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1.  Former Alabama cornerback Kareem Jackson’s NFL draft stock is soaring.

2.  Minnesota athletic director Joel Maturi said yesterday that he can’t afford to give Tubby Smith a raise above his current $1.75 million per year salary.  Are you listening, Jay Jacobs?

3.  Maturi said he’s “heard the rumors” that AU might be interested in Smith, “but I haven’t gotten the call.”  Minnesota plays Xavier today… and Maturi isn’t happy about the timing of rumors connecting Smith to both Auburn and Oregon.

4.  LSU’s Stefoin Francois is following in Harry Coleman’s footsteps and moving from safety to linebacker.

5.  New right tackle Alex Hurst says the Tigers’ offensive line is “starting to pick it up.”

6.  North Carolina’s Roy Williams says Rick Stansbury is “a big-time quality coach.”

7.  Williams said his team is happy to still be playing.  (Even if it means playing in Starkville at noon ET tomorrow?)

8.  No introductions will be necessary when Ole Miss and Memphis hook up this evening in the NIT.

9.  Tad Smith Coliseum hasn’t been “home sweet home” for Andy Kennedy’s club this season.

10.  The Rebels have a deeper bench than the Tigers.

11.  Speaking of Memphis, it’s looking like their appeal of NCAA sanctions will be denied.  So if John Calipari wants a Final Four to appear officially on his resume, he’s going to need to reach one with Kentucky.

12.  Even after his horrible season last year, one group still ranks Jevan Snead as the #7 quarterback prospect in their year’s draft.