Pairings set for March Madness
ATLANTA, March 11 (UPI) -- Maryland, Duke, Kansas and Cincinnati were made No. 1 seeds in a new-look NCAA Basketball Tournament Sunday and the selection committee created a top-heavy West Region that features champions from four of the nation's power conferences.
Cincinnati edged out Oklahoma for a No. 1 seed, but both were placed in the West, where Arizona, Ohio State, Miami and Gonzaga filled out the top six seedings.
The top four seeds in that region won the Conference USA, Big 12, Pac-10 and Big Ten tournament titles.
Thirty-three teams from six conferences were included in the 65-team field, including six each from the Big East, Big 12, Pac-10 and Southeastern conferences.
The tournament begins Tuesday night when the two teams deemed the weakest by the selection committee -- Alcorn St. and Siena -- will play in Dayton, Ohio. The winner of that game will advance to meet Maryland in Washington on Friday.
Duke will open defense of its national title on Thursday in Greenville, S.C., against Winthrop. Kansas, which fell in the Big 12 tournament final Sunday to Oklahoma, will play its opening round game Thursday in St. Louis against Holy Cross and Cincinnati, which received a No. 1 seed for the first time in school history, will travel to Pittsburgh for a game Friday against Boston University.
It all ends on the night of April 1 in Atlanta with the playing of the national championship game at the Georgia Dome.
Oklahoma had hoped to be rewarded with a No. 1 seeding after its win over Kansas, but had to settle for a No. 2 seed along with Connecticut (East), Alabama (South) and Oregon (Midwest).
Among the featured opening-round matchups of any NCAA Tournament are those involving teams that are seeded eighth and ninth and those games this year will be Wisconsin vs. St. John's, Notre Dame vs. Charlotte, Stanford vs. Western Kentucky and UCLA vs. Mississippi.
Another game that will be closely watched will be the one that sees Bob Knight return to the NCAA tourney. After being dismissed by Indiana University and then sitting out a year, Knight returned to coaching this season at Texas Tech and his team was given a No. 6 seed in the East Region.
Texas Tech will play Friday night in Chicago against Southern Illinois.
In the women's tournament, Connecticut, Duke, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt were seeded No. 1 in their regions. Connecticut is the overwhelming favorite, having won all 33 games this year.
Tony Stewart wins NASCAR race
HAMPTON, Ga., March 11 (UPI) -- One of the few things missing from Tony Stewart's impressive list of NASCAR accomplishments was victory in a 500-mile race and he added that to his resume Sunday by winning the MBNA America.
Stewart's Pontiac Grand Prix was able to hold off the charging Chevrolet Monte Carlo of Dale Earnhardt Jr. to capture his 13th career Winston Cup win. Rookie Jimmie Johnson was third in a Chevrolet and was followed by the Ford Tauruses of Matt Kenseth and Ricky Craven.
It also was Stewart's first win on a superspeedway in more than a year.
Stewart made the winning pass 22 laps from the finish when he drove by Daytona 500 winner Ward Burton.
Stewart defeated Earnhardt by .376 seconds and drove to victory at an average speed of 148.435 miles per hour.
Kings clamp defense on Bucks
MILWAUKEE, March 11 (UPI) -- The Sacramento Kings limited the Milwaukee Bucks to their second-lowest point total of the season Sunday while rolling to a 98-73 victory.
Peja Stojakovic scored 21 points and Chris Webber added 20 and 15 rebounds for the Kings, who have the best record in the NBA but have struggled at times both on the road and on the defensive end.
Sacramento is 30-3 at home but improved to just 14-14 on the road as it began a five-game trip. The Kings won in Milwaukee for the first time since the 1996-97 season.
The Kings came in tied for 20th in defense with Milwaukee, giving up 97 points per game. But they forced 18 turnovers as they put together their second-best defensive effort of the season against one of the NBA's better offensive teams.
Other NBA results: Indiana 89, Detroit 84; Los Angeles Clippers 95, Cleveland 78; Houston 95, Utah 92; Boston 98, Washington 91; Los Angeles Lakers 117, New York 103; Orlando 92, Toronto 79; Phoenix 92, Charlotte 88.
Sabres drive Hasek from the ice
BUFFALO, N.Y., March 11 (UPI) -- Playing their best hockey of the season, the Buffalo Sabres chased Dominik Hasek after two periods in his eagerly anticipated return to HSBC Arena Sunday and ended his personal 15-unbeaten streak along with the Detroit Red Wings' eight-game road winning streak with a 5-1 victory.
Hasek, who won six Vezina Trophies and two Hart Trophies during nine seasons with the Sabres, returned to Buffalo for the first time since he was traded to Detroit last June 30. But he lasted just two periods as the Sabres tied a season high with their third straight win.
Hasek surrendered three goals on four shots during one stretch of the first period as Buffalo handed him his first loss since Jan. 16.
He helped the Red Wings set a club record with eight consecutive road wins, but the Sabres had little trouble with the NHL's best team. Miroslav Satan scored twice and Martin Biron made 19 saves to outplay his former mentor.
Other NHL results: Washington 4, Edmonton 2; Minnesota 5, Columbus 0; New Jersey 3, Dallas 0; Philadelphia 6, Toronto 3; New York Islanders 6, Atlanta 1; Tampa Bay 5, Nashville 1; Ottawa 4, Anaheim 2.
Agassi wins 50th tournament
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., March 11 (UPI) -- Top-seeded Andre Agassi captured his 50th career ATP title Sunday with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) victory over Spain's Juan Balcells at the Franklin Templeton Classic.
Already one of five men to win all four Grand Slam titles in his career, Agassi became just the eighth in the Open Era (post-1968) to win 50 career singles titles.
The 31-year-old Agassi joined Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, Bjorn Borg, Guillermo Vilas and Ilie Nastase on the elite list. Agassi and Sampras still compete on the ATP Tour. The others already have been enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
The Las Vegas native collected his fourth Scottsdale title as well as the $51,500 winner's check. Agassi also took this hardcourt title in 1993, 1994 and 1998. His 1994 triumph was his 20th career ATP crown.
USA wins World Cup tune-up
BIRMINGHAM, Ala., March 11 (UPI) -- The United States, playing with 10 men for a half-hour after striker Clint Mathis was ejected, held on to down Ecuador in a World Cup tune-up Sunday, 1-0.
Eddie Lewis got the game-winner in the 21st minute and the Americans then used superior midfield play to preserve the victory.
It was the first win for the Americans in nine games against the South American side, ending an 0-4-4 streak. The United States benefited from not having to face hulking defender Ivan Hurtado or potent striker Austin Delgado, both of whom were out due to injury.
It was by no means a full Ecuador squad, the team bringing just 17 players to the United States on Thursday. Nonetheless, it was an impressive performance by the home team.
Lewis got the goal when Mathis found him facing three defenders in the box. Cobi Jones began the play by giving a chaser to Mathis low in the left corner of the field. Mathis smartly played the ball back to Lewis and he one-timed it past Jose Francisco Cevallos.
Kuchar wins first PGA Tour event
CORAL SPRINGS, Fla., March 11 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Amateur champion Matt Kuchar, with an ever-present smile, earned his first PGA Tour title in his 17th start Sunday, winning a shootout at the Honda Classic with a final-round 6-under-par 66.
Kuchar grabbed sole possession of the lead with a birdie at the 14th hole and never let go, holding off a group that included veteran Joey Sindelar, Brad Faxon and playing partner Brett Quigley.
A full-time member on the tour for the first time this season, the 23-year-old Kuchar finished the oft-suspended tournament with a 72-hole total of 19-under 269 and claimed the $630,000 top prize.
