November 19, 2001 | Volume 95, Issue 20

The Ty That BindsThe Patriots' Ty Law wraps up Bills quarterback Rob Johnson as Richard Seymour gives Johnson the eye during the Patriots' 21-11 victory (page 52).

Smaller, faster, finish higher: That's the motto of the new and improved Jayhawks

GRADUATION RATE: 64%AVERAGE NUMBER OF WINS: 27.9NCAA TOURNAMENT RECORD: 19-10TRANSFERS: 4MCDONALDS ALL-AMERICANS: 13PLAYERS IN NBA: 7

It took the Terps 63 years to make a Final Four, but they may return a year later

GRADUATION RATE: 19%AVERAGE NUMBER OF WINS: 20.7NCAA TOURNAMENT RECORD: 13-8TRANSFERS: 8McDONALD'S ALL-AMERICANS: 3PLAYERS IN NBA: 6

A secret the deep, talented Bruins can't keep: They're of championship caliber

GRADUATION RATE: 36%AVERAGE NUMBER OF WINS: 24.0NCAA TOURNAMENT RECORD: 19-9TRANSFERS: 6MCDONALD'S ALL-AMERICANS: 8PLAYERS IN NBA: 8

The talented Gators are thinking of what might be, not what might have been

GRADUATION RATE: 40%AVERAGE NUMBER OF WINS: 19.5NCAA TOURNAMENT RECORD: 12-5TRANSFERS: 10MCDONALD'S ALL-AMERICANS: 6PLAYERS IN NBA: 4

The Hawks are ready to prove that last year's Atlantic 10 championship was no fluke

GRADUATION RATE: 54%MCDONALD'S ALL-AMERICANS: 0NCAA TOURNAMENT RECORD: 3-2AVERAGE NUMBER OF WINS: 16.9TRANSFERS: 12PLAYERS IN NBA: 0

It's Kareem Rush hour for the Tigers, who are on the fast track to success

GRADUATION RATE: 13%AVERAGE NUMBER OF WINS: 19.7NCAA TOURNAMENT RECORD: 6-7TRANSFERS: 12MCDONALD'S ALL-AMERICANS: 2PLAYERS IN NBA: 2

With Luke Recker healthy the Hawkeyes hope to fulfill the promise of last season

GRADUATION RATE: 67%AVERAGE NUMBER OF WINS: 19.6NCAA TOURNAMENT RECORD: 7-6TRANSFERS: 8MCDONALD'S ALL-AMERICANS: 3PLAYERS IN NBA: 4

If the Tigers can get their chemistry right, they figure to be an explosive group

GRADUATION RATE: 0%AVERAGE NUMBER OF WINS: 18.4NCAA TOURNAMENT RECORD: 5-4TRANSFERS: 15McDONALD'S ALL-AMERICANS: 4PLAYERS IN NBA: 3

The Cardinal lost a lot, but a trip Down Under may help put it back on top

GRADUATION RATE: 100%AVERAGE NUMBER OF WIN: 21.9NCAA TOURNAMENT RECORD: 13-8TRANSFERS: 3MCDONALD'S ALL-AMERICANS: 4PLAYERS IN NBA: 4

A badly needed infusion of muscle should make the Cavaliers tougher to beat

GRADUATION RATE: 73%AVERAGE NUMBER OF WINS: 178NCAA TOURNAMENT RECORD: 6-5TRANSFERS: 13MCDONALDS ALL-AMERICANS-5PLAYERS IN NBA: 2

After facing their critical coach, the Trojans will find playing their games easy

GRADUATION RATE: 50%AVERAGE NUMBER OF WINS: 16.1NCAA TOURNAMENT RECORD: 4-3TRANSFERS: 9McDONALD'S ALL-AMERICANS: 2PLAYERS IN NRA: 2

The Golden Flashes would rather not be ranked, but they're too good to ignore

GRADUATION RATE: 27%AVERAGE NUMBER OF WINS: 14.6NCAA TOURNAMENT RECORD: 1-2TRANSFERS: 21McDONALD'S ALL-AMERICANS: 0PLAYERS IN NBA: 0

The Cowboys hope to lift their fans' spirits after last January's tragic plane crash

GRADUATION RATE: 33%AVERAGE NUMBER OF WINS: 22.5NCAA TOURNAMENT RECORD: 13-8TRANSFERS 15MCDONALD'S ALL-AMERICANS: 1PLAYERS IN NBA: 3

Development of young players is the Owls' key to a Final Four berth

GRADUATION RATE: 20%AVERAGE NUMBER OF WINS: 21.4NCAA TOURNAMENT RECORD: 13-10TRANSFERS: 7McDONALD'S ALL-AMERICANS: 3PLAYERS IN NBA: 4

An upgraded early schedule could pay off late in the season

GRADUATION RATE: 53%AVERAGE NUMBER OF WINS: 20.6NCAA TOURNAMENT RECORD: 9-6TRANSFERS: 14MCDONALD'S ALL-AMERICANS: 2PLAYERS IN NBA: 9

These Wildcats are young, but they've proved they're ready for the big time

GRADUATION RATE: 13%AVERAGE NUMBER OF WINS: 26NCAA TOURNAMENT RECORD: 21-9TRANSFERS: 7MCDONALD'S ALL-AMERICANS: 5PLAYERS IN NBA: 11

The Hilltoppers, led by the country's best big man, hope to reach new heights

GRADUATION RATE: 30%AVERAGE NUMBER OF WINS: 177NCAA TOURNAMENT RECORD: 2-4TRANSFERS: 14McDONALD'S ALL-AMERICANS: 0PLAYERS IN NBA: 0

Here are the 45 other schools that SI projects will fill out the NCAA tournament field of 65, which includes 31 automatic bids and 34 at-large selections

After taking a year off to deal with depression, North Carolina's Nikki Teasley promises to be as flamboyant as ever—and more effective

Would reduced scholarship limits stop perennial powers like No. 1 pick (again) Connecticut from stockpiling talent?

1 Connecticut2 Tennessee3 Vanderbilt4 Oklahoma5 Texas Tech6 Louisiana Tech7 Duke8 Iowa State9 N.C. State10 Stanford

In the last 10 years 30 teams have joined Division I, though most have faced years of losing and seas of red ink. Is moving up the right move?

The roster of Division I schools has swelled by 15 in only the last four years, and the world that awaits new members is full of harsh realities: big losses, small crowds at home games and the...

Don't worry. The cretins on the other side of the glass can't see you. That's a one-way mirror. Just take your time and try to identify which of these Spam brains was the worst menace in sports...

NOVEMBER 2, 1964

Revisiting the TitansYour article on T.C. Williams High was enlightening and depressing (Remember the Titans? Oct. 15). I can't imagine a high school allowing a student to settle for less than a...

Letters

Greedy owners may disband the Twins, but memories of growing up at the Met will never fade

Highlights

Faceoff.com is the site for fans of the sport in North America and abroad who want their voices heard

If Jayson Williams's new gig as an NBA analyst for NBC becomes too mundane for him, he should head over to HBO and demand his own comedy special. Before his debut on the Nov. 3 coverage of Michael...

Where have you gone Roy Firestone? After uninspiring performances by Firestone's Up Close replacements Chris Myers and Gary Miller, ESPN canceled the show on Oct. I and replaced it with...

Mark McGwire leaves the game the way he played it—with class

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig did something last week that might go down as his most remarkable achievement: He made people care about the Expos and the Twins. That's right, the same folks who...

Q. How are World Series MVPs selected?

1,905Career goals through Sunday for the Red Wings' line of Luc Robitaille, Steve Yzerman and Brett Hull, more than the total for each of seven NHL teams—Blue Jackets, Lightning, Mighty Ducks,...

Ever wonder what Olympic athletes are thinking about when they march in the Parade of Nations at Opening Ceremonies? World peace? The fraternity of sportsmen? Their place in history? Not exactly....

Mark Cuban finally has a soapbox: Each Saturday night this season, Dallas's UPN station is airing The Mark Cuban Show, a half-hour variety show hosted by the Mavericks' owner. Here are excerpts...

Arrested•Trevor Harvey, 34, of Sarasota, Fla., for battery, after punching a referee during his seven-year-old son's flag football game. Harvey is president of the local chapter of MAD DADS, a...

Hollywood is getting extreme. While traditional sports subjects continue to be movie staples, filmmakers have also started to mine the world of skateboarding, snowboarding and BMX. In their rush...

At the beginning of CBS's Nov. 4 Emmy Awards telecast, host Ellen DeGeneres quipped, "For those of you who chose to watch us [instead of Game 7 of the World Series], wise decision. Because in...

As a result of a sponsorship deal with the National Pork Board, this Saturday's ARCA stock car race at Atlanta Motor Speedway is the Pork the Other White Meat 400.

JOHAN LINDEBERGSwedish fashion designer, on the appeal of his flamboyant countryman Jesper Parnevik: "He is the Madonna of golf."

Samantha Fleeman, PLEASANT HILL, MO.SoftballSamantha, a senior at Pleasant Hill High, had 44 strikeouts in 21 innings while leading the Chicks to their second consecutive Class 3A state...

VICTORY LANE

CONSTANT SPEED: d From 1977 through '87 Darrell Waltrip won three titles and finished second thrice, third once and fourth and fifth twice each.

Hoop Rootsby John Edgar Wideman/Houghton Mifflin, $24

Detroit Pistons scout Will Robinson, 90, thinks he's way too young to retire

Which teams don't have a shot at reaching the playoffs? Not many in this wacky season when Sunday's losers need remember they're only a week from turning things around

Two players on track to break NFL records were the only unanimous selections to SI's annual Midseason All-Pro Team, picked last week by a panel of eight pro personnel scouts. If Broncos wideout...

Call this get-even week. November is the big month for rematches, and no fewer than five of them come up this Sunday.

When quarterback Drew Bledsoe went down, the Patriots turned to unheralded Tom Brady, who is the biggest surprise of the first half

Fun-loving and Steve Spurrier-Resistant, Florida's may become the first second-year player to win the Heisman Trophy

Rex Grossman has passed for more yardage than any other sophomore quarterback Steve Spurrier has coached in his 12 seasons at Florida. Here is a comparison between Grossman's output this fall and...

The NHL

Gold MettleMike Richter's strong return in goal boosts U.S. chances at the Salt Lake City Games

RW Shane DoanCOYOTESWinnipeg's first-round selection in the 1995 entry draft, the 6'2", 228-pound power forward recently signed a multiyear contract. He averaged .33 goals per game over the past...

Flyers Wing Mark Recchi got off to a slow start this season (two points in seven games), but over the last three weeks he's averaged more than a point per game. One reason is that Recchi switched...

Slide RulersAmerica's best lugers are smoothing out the bumps en route to Salt Lake City

Kwan song way off-keyForget the triple Salchow. Kwan's signature maneuver could become the downward career spiral now that she's dumped coach Frank Carroll, who guided her to four world titles. At...

I [Love] New JerseyKeith Van Horn is a happy Net again, now that he is healthy and plays with Jason Kidd

A surprising trend seemed to be developing last week when the Pistons, the Celtics and the Warriors beat the Wizards while using single coverage against 38-year-old Michael Jordan who led...

For complete men's and women's Division I schedules, stats and scores, plus more from Seth Davis and Grant Wahl, go to cnnsi.com/basketball/college.

Height of FashionTall receivers are the latest thing as offenses try to get a jump on short cornerbacks

•YA GOTTA LOVE THIS GUYAs an all-district quarterback at Burleson (Texas) High in 1996, Steve Kelly signed with Miami. However, after redshirting one year and seeing only mop-up duty the next,...

Wendell Bryant's fourth season with Wisconsin has been invaluable

The General, Bob Knight, will be storming the sidelines again this season—only in Lubbock, Texas, not Bloomington, Ind. The Maestro, Rick Pitino, will be firing up the crowds once more in...

Though he hasn't given up all his old ways, Bob Knight has shown a warmer side in his first appearances at Texas Tech

After four unhappy seasons with the Celtics, Rick Pitino returns to his beloved college game—and to the state of Kentucky

Duke guard Jason Williams might have been the first player chosen in the NBA draft, but he decided to stay in school because he figured he still has a lot to learn

Everybody's off and running to get to the Final Four in Atlanta but when it's all over, Duke figures to be the winner again

A core of talented returnees enhances the Blue Devils' bid to retain their championship

GRADUATION RATE: 73%AVERAGE NUMBER OF WINS: 27.4NCAA TOURNAMENT RECORD: 29-7TRANSFERS: 6McDONALD'S ALL-AMERICANS: 16PLAYERS IN NBA: 10

The return to form of a forgotten star could make for an award-winning season

GRADUATION RATE: 46%AVERAGE NUMBER OF WINS: 19.4NCAA TOURNAMENT RECORD: 7-7TRANSFERS: 9MCDONALD'S ALL-AMERICANS: 4PLAYERS IN NBA: 2

The battle for playing time among the Wildcats might be as fierce as their games

GRADUATION RATE: 55%AVERAGE NUMBER OF WINS: 29.3NCAA TOURNAMENT RECORD: 34-8TRANSFERS: 9MCDONALD'S ALL-AMERICANS: 9PLAYERS IN NBA: 10