Arizona

Brandon Rush sneaked along the baseline behind Arizona's defense, sprang off both legs and threw down an alley-oop, bringing the crowd to its feet and sending vibrations across the floor. Rush left no doubt: He's back. Rush scored five of his 17 points in overtime, including two dunks on his surgically repaired knee, helping fourth-ranked Kansas pull out a tough, 76-72 victory over visiting Arizona last night. Rush expected to be playing in the NBA this season, but a torn ACL during a pickup game over the summer changed his plans.

A first-round flop no more, Arizona showed Loyola (Md.) how merciless a team with something to prove can be. After two straight years of first-round exits, the ninth-ranked Wildcats came out ready this time, routing the Greyhounds, 81-55, at the ARCO Arena. The second seed in the West, Arizona led by as many as 29 points, and coach Lute Olson kept three of his starters in the game until less than two minutes remained. "In the past we lost in the first round, and I didn't want it to happen again," said Khalid Reeves, a senior who led the Wildcats with 32 points.

For those who seek deeper meaning in simple things, Arizona's 66-56 victory over Mississippi might be interpreted as a microcosm of the Wildcats' chaotic season. "You can't start thinking about what the score is," Arizona coach Lute Olson said after the second-seeded Wildcats advanced to the Elite Eight by rallying past the pesky Rebels in an NCAA Midwest Regional semifinal last night at the Alamodome. "You have to keep on keeping on. " Olson was referring to the 18-6 deficit Arizona (26-7)

Youth is not a problem so far for Arizona. With two freshmen in the starting lineup and three others playing extensive minutes, the No. 18 Wildcats opened the season yesterday with a 73-72 victory over No. 9 Tennessee at the BCA Classic in Albuquerque, N.M. Guard Jason Terry, who along with center A.J. Bramlett are the only starters back from last season's team that was 30-5, scored 26 points and Bramlett and freshman Justin Wessel blocked...

TUCSON, Ariz. - For the third time this year, strong wind has lifted an inflatable bounce house off the ground during a kids' celebration in southern Arizona. Parents were able to get all the children out of the structure Friday before wind picked it up at a fifth-grade party in a Tucson park. Six kids were hurt. In February, two young girls were hurt after a gust of wind picked up a bounce house at a birthday party north of Tucson. One of the girls was dumped in the yard; the other was carried two houses away and dropped on a roof.

Oklahoma playing stall ball? Arizona coach Lute Olson joked that Oklahoma's Billy Tubbs might surprise everyone today by discarding the run-and-stun for the four corners. "Which four?" Tubbs wanted to know. He had a point. The Sooners (34-3) do play four corners, the 94-foot variety, not the half-court stall. Baseline to baseline, Oklahoma wilts its opponents with exhausting pressure on defense and video-game scoring on offense. Oklahoma averaged 104 points this season, breaching the 100-point mark in 20 games.

Two-time American League MVP Juan Gonzalez agreed yesterday to a 1-year contract with Kansas City, and Roberto Alomar accepted a 1-year deal with Arizona for a huge pay cut. Gonzalez, a 34-year-old outfielder, is guaranteed $4.5 million by the Royals. He played in 82 games with Texas last year, hitting .294 with 24 homers and 70 RBI before a calf injury ended his season. Alomar, a 12-time All-Star at second base, is guaranteed just $1 million by Arizona, and $350,000 of that is deferred without interest until 2009.

Rondae Jefferson says his visit to the University of Arizona could not have gone any better. "I liked everything about it," said the Chester High basketball standout, who made an oral commitment Thursday night to play for the Wildcats. "Everything was perfect. " The 6-foot-7, 205-pound Jefferson, a swingman projected to be a small forward at the next level, said he chose Arizona over Rutgers, Temple, and Florida. Last year, the Wildcats went 23-12 and lost to Bucknell in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament.

Major-league baseball may not be playing in St. Petersburg's newly constructed domed stadium any time soon, but the Temple basketball team will. Details are yet to be finalized, but the Owls have been scheduled to play Arizona as part of a doubleheader Feb. 23 at the Suncoast Dome in St. Petersburg, Fla. In the other game, DePaul will play Florida State. Both games will be televised by ABC. Arizona owed Temple a game as part of a deal that began when the Owls played in last year's Fiesta Bowl basketball tournament at the McKale Center - the Wildcats' home floor in Tucson.

It might have been nicer had Mark Bryant not earned three personal fouls in seven first-half minutes; or had Seton Hall not suffered a 14-2 deficit in fouls in that half; or had its 460 pounds of low-post personnel been able to gather just one - one - offensive rebound; or had Arizona not picked up five three-point plays in the first 11 minutes. "The officiating was not a factor in the game," Seton Hall coach P.J. Carlesimo said, even though his team lost 14 points at the line during its dreadful first half of its 84-55 loss to top-seeded Arizona yesterday in the second round of the NCAA West Regional in Los Angeles.