Duke

They won't have Christian Laettner or Shane Battier, but the Duke Blue Devils will return to Philadelphia for the NCAA tournament on Friday for the first time since 2001. Coach Mike Krzyzewski and senior forward Mason Plumlee will lead to second-seeded Duke against No. 15 Albany in a West Regional second-round matchup on Friday at 12:15 p.m. It was in Philadelphia that Duke clinched a spot in the 1992 Final Four en route to Coach K's second national title. He would not win another one until 2001, when he captured Philadelphia's East Regional.

Maryland's Dez Wells knocked down 9 of 13 from the field and 10 of 10 from the line, and the seventh-seeded Terrapins knocked No. 2 Duke out of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Greensboro, N.C. Wells scored a career-high 30 points and Maryland (22-11) upset the Blue Devils, 83-74, on Friday night in the ACC tournament quarterfinals. Mason Plumlee had 19 points to lead the second-seeded Blue Devils (27-5), whose quest for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament took a jolt.

THE FINAL FIVE leagues are joining the madness on Thursday with the start of their conference tournaments. Can Duke emerge with a No. 1 seed? Will Michigan and Indiana add a third chapter to their sparkling season series? And where in the world is Isaac Fotu? Atlantic Coast Regular-season champ: Miami won its first ACC crown, and just the second league title in history. The 'Canes shared the 1999-00 Big East title with Syracuse when Johnny Hemsley was their best player and Plymouth-Whitemarsh product John Salmons was a sophomore.

Seth Curry scored 20 points in his final home game and No. 3 Duke pulled away to beat Virginia Tech, 85-57, on Tuesday night in Durham, N.C. Ryan Kelly added 18 points for the Blue Devils (26-4, 13-4 ACC). Erick Green had 25 points to lead the Hokies (13-17, 4-13). Notre Dame 66, St. John's 40 - Jerian Grant had 21 points to lead the No. 24 Fighting Irish (23-7, 11-6 Big East) over the Red Storm (16-13, 8-9) in South Bend, Ind. Cameron Biedscheid of the Irish and Sir'Dominic Pointer of the Red Storm traded punches near the end and were ejected.

Joe Harris scored 36 points to lead the Virginia Cavaliers (20-8, 10-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) to a 73-68 upset of third-ranked Duke (24-4, 11-4) Thursday night in Charlottesville, Va. Seth Curry led the Blue Devils with 28 points. Ohio State 63, Northwestern 53 - Lenzelle Smith scored a season-high 24 points, Deshaun Thomas added 19 and the No. 16 Buckeyes (21-7, 11-5 Big Ten) used a late run to beat the host Wildcats (13-16, 4-12). Louisiana Tech 84, Utah State 61 - Brandon Gibson scored 20 points to lead the 25th-ranked Bulldogs (25-3)

HAPPY anniversary, Cavaliers! Joe Harris scored a career-high 36 points and host Virginia celebrated the 11-year anniversary of its last victory over a top-five team by doing it again, beating No. 3 Duke, 73-68, on Thursday night. Akil Mitchell added 19 points and 12 rebounds as he and Harris outplayed Duke's top twosome of Seth Curry and Mason Plumlee, giving Virginia (20-8, 10-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) its 16th consecutive victory at home. It came 11 years to the day since an 87-84 victory, also against No. 3 Duke.

Missing its best player, Duke didn't skip a beat in a surprisingly easy victory over a ranked conference foe. Elizabeth Williams scored 16 points and the No. 5 Blue Devils shook off the absence of injured point guard Chelsea Gray to beat No. 8 Maryland, 75-59, on Sunday in College Park, Md. Alexis Jones added 15 points for the 26-1, 16-0 Blue Devils, who won their 10th straight game, clinched the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title,...

Haley Peters scored 16 points and No. 5 Duke used a 21-5 run spanning the halves to overcome a slow start and win its 20th consecutive game against Virginia, 62-41, in Charlottesville, Va. The burst turned a 22-13 deficit into a 34-27 lead for Duke (21-1, 11-0 Atlantic Coast Conference). After Virginia closed within four at 34-30, Duke scored nine of the next 11 points and cruised to victory. Ataira Franklin led the Cavaliers (14-8, 6-5) with 15 points. Maryland 73, Wake Forest 63 - Tianna Hawkins and Alyssa Thomas each scored 23 points and the No. 7 Terrapins(19-3, 10-1 ACC)

It was 25 years ago this week when the first Big 5 team rose to No. 1 in the polls. That would be John Chaney's great 1987-88 Temple team. The Owls played brilliantly in nearly every game - until that forgettable East Regional final against Duke. Those Owls did not just beat teams; they crushed them, finishing 32-2 and 18-0 in the Atlantic 10. There was the one-point loss at then-No. 8 UNLV after a 14-0 start. There was the memorable 98-86 classic win at McGonigle Hall against then-No.

AN ASSISTANT women's college basketball coach and her fiance were found shot to death in a car at their upscale condominium complex in Southern California, and authorities say they have no motive or suspects in the killing. Cal State Fullerton assistant coach Monica Quan, 28, and Keith Lawrence, 27, were found dead around 9 p.m. Sunday on the top floor of a parking structure at the complex, said police in Irvine, Calif. Officers found their bodies after someone reported seeing Lawrence slumped over the wheel of his vehicle.