Keith Bogans

Keith Bogans, the player with the most scrutinized body part at the NCAA Midwest Regional, wore a protective boot around his left ankle and a glum look on his face as he boarded a motorized cart back to the Kentucky locker room yesterday. The top-seeded Wildcats (32-3) take on Marquette (26-5) today at the Metrodome for a berth in the Final Four, and may have to do it without Bogans, the 6-foot-5 senior guard who is their leader on and off the court. Bogans suffered a high ankle sprain late in the first half of Thursday night's regional semifinal victory over Wisconsin, the Wildcats' 26th consecutive win. He sat out the final 22 minutes of the game, received treatment overnight, and watched yesterday's practice from the sideline.

The two freshmen starters who emerged this season for Kentucky - without whom the Wildcats would have been hard-pressed to be standing on the brink of the Elite Eight - both committed to other schools before winding up in Lexington. Jason Parker, the Wildcats' 6-foot-8 forward, turned to Kentucky after North Carolina rejected him in late August because he fell short of the university's academic requirements. Gerald Fitch, a 6-3 guard, changed his mind about attending Clemson after a late pitch last spring by Wildcats coach Tubby Smith.

Dwyane Wade's return was overshadowed by the MVP. Kevin Garnett came close to another triple-double, finishing with 25 points, 21 rebounds and eight assists for the Minnesota Timberwolves in a 108-97 win over the visiting Miami Heat last night. Wade, after missing the last two games with a sprained left ankle, scored 20 of his 25 points in the first half for the Heat. Shaquille O'Neal added 20 points and 15 rebounds. Garnett stole the show, though - surpassing 14,000 career points and guiding the Timberwolves' best all-around effort of the season.

Florida hardly lived up to its first No. 1 ranking. Keith Bogans scored 15 points - all in the first half - as No. 6 Kentucky used overwhelming defense to beat the visiting Gators, 70-55, last night, snapping Florida's 14-game winning streak. Gerald Fitch had 14 points for Kentucky (17-3, 7-0 Southeastern Conference), which won its 11th straight game, its second-longest winning streak in coach Tubby Smith's six seasons. The Wildcats haven't won their first seven league games since 1997-98, their last national championship season.

With two seconds left in overtime and his Simon Gratz team down, 68-66, Rasheem Sims wrestled for the ball under the rim, came up with the rebound, jumped, and flipped in a shot with his fingertips. He also drew a foul and hit the free throw that gave his team a 69-68 lead over dangerous DeMatha - finally. Finally. Bulldogs guard Marvin O'Connor sprawled horizontally to cut off the DeMatha pass with a second left, forcing DeMatha standout Keith Bogans to take a desperation shot that glanced off the rim, leaving his team short of victory.

Kentucky, tradition-rich and proud, outscored upstart Southern California by 15 points in the second half last night when the teams met in the NCAA East Regional semifinals at the First Union Center. But that scoring advantage was not enough for the Wildcats to overcome a spotty first-half performance. That was the primary reason that the surprising Trojans advanced with an 80-76 victory that put them in the Elite Eight for the first time since 1954. At halftime, Kentucky trailed by 19 points, 43-24.

Georgia hadn't beaten Kentucky in 16 meetings. Jarvis Hayes and Ezra Williams were determined to make sure the eighth-ranked Wildcats didn't make it 17 straight. The two combined to shoot 19-for-32 from the field and made key baskets down the stretch as the visiting Bulldogs beat Kentucky, 88-84, last night. Hayes scored a career-high 30 points and Williams added 20 as Georgia (13-2, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) snapped the losing streak and won in Lexington for only the third time in school history.

Bob Knight is long gone as Indiana's basketball coach, but temper tantrums remain. The Big Ten has asked Indiana to suspend coach Mike Davis, who succeeded Knight before the start of the 2000-01 season, for his outburst at the end of Saturday's game against Kentucky. The university said it will respond to the request Friday, the deadline set by the conference. The Big Ten notified Indiana by letter Monday that it expected the school to impose sanctions. Interim athletic director Terry Clapacs said it was implied that if Indiana did not penalize Davis, the conference would.

It was as if he said: "Enough. Enough toying around, enough of this close first-round nonsense. Give me the ball, and let's get out of here. " Of course, Tayshaun Prince would never say that. He would just do it - and he did, scoring 12 of Kentucky's final 14 points in its NCAA Tournament first-round victory over Holy Cross - but he would never say it. Prince can take over a game almost at will. He can sink a three-pointer, post up a big body or lull an opponent with his sweet baby left hook.

It's been a rocky season for Kentucky, one of the most storied teams in college basketball. Suspensions, distractions and injuries have made this the most trying season of Tubby Smith's head coaching career. You know it's bad when Smith, speaking of the fourth-seeded Wildcats' matchup against 13th-seeded Valparaiso today in the first round of the NCAA East Regional at the Edward Jones Dome, uses the U word when describing his team. No, not unbeatable. How about underdog? The Crusaders "won 25 games and won their conference," Smith said yesterday.

Dwyane Wade's return was overshadowed by the MVP. Kevin Garnett came close to another triple-double, finishing with 25 points, 21 rebounds and eight assists for the Minnesota Timberwolves in a 108-97 win over the visiting Miami Heat last night. Wade, after missing the last two games with a sprained left ankle, scored 20 of his 25 points in the first half for the Heat. Shaquille O'Neal added 20 points and 15 rebounds. Garnett stole the show, though - surpassing 14,000 career points and guiding the Timberwolves' best all-around effort of the season.

Keith Bogans, the player with the most scrutinized body part at the NCAA Midwest Regional, wore a protective boot around his left ankle and a glum look on his face as he boarded a motorized cart back to the Kentucky locker room yesterday. The top-seeded Wildcats (32-3) take on Marquette (26-5) today at the Metrodome for a berth in the Final Four, and may have to do it without Bogans, the 6-foot-5 senior guard who is their leader on and off the court. Bogans suffered a high ankle sprain late in the first half of Thursday night's regional semifinal victory over Wisconsin, the Wildcats' 26th consecutive win. He sat out the final 22 minutes of the game, received treatment overnight, and watched yesterday's practice from the sideline.

Florida hardly lived up to its first No. 1 ranking. Keith Bogans scored 15 points - all in the first half - as No. 6 Kentucky used overwhelming defense to beat the visiting Gators, 70-55, last night, snapping Florida's 14-game winning streak. Gerald Fitch had 14 points for Kentucky (17-3, 7-0 Southeastern Conference), which won its 11th straight game, its second-longest winning streak in coach Tubby Smith's six seasons. The Wildcats haven't won their first seven league games since 1997-98, their last national championship season.

Bob Knight is long gone as Indiana's basketball coach, but temper tantrums remain. The Big Ten has asked Indiana to suspend coach Mike Davis, who succeeded Knight before the start of the 2000-01 season, for his outburst at the end of Saturday's game against Kentucky. The university said it will respond to the request Friday, the deadline set by the conference. The Big Ten notified Indiana by letter Monday that it expected the school to impose sanctions. Interim athletic director Terry Clapacs said it was implied that if Indiana did not penalize Davis, the conference would.

It's been a rocky season for Kentucky, one of the most storied teams in college basketball. Suspensions, distractions and injuries have made this the most trying season of Tubby Smith's head coaching career. You know it's bad when Smith, speaking of the fourth-seeded Wildcats' matchup against 13th-seeded Valparaiso today in the first round of the NCAA East Regional at the Edward Jones Dome, uses the U word when describing his team. No, not unbeatable. How about underdog? The Crusaders "won 25 games and won their conference," Smith said yesterday.

Georgia hadn't beaten Kentucky in 16 meetings. Jarvis Hayes and Ezra Williams were determined to make sure the eighth-ranked Wildcats didn't make it 17 straight. The two combined to shoot 19-for-32 from the field and made key baskets down the stretch as the visiting Bulldogs beat Kentucky, 88-84, last night. Hayes scored a career-high 30 points and Williams added 20 as Georgia (13-2, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) snapped the losing streak and won in Lexington for only the third time in school history.

Kentucky, tradition-rich and proud, outscored upstart Southern California by 15 points in the second half last night when the teams met in the NCAA East Regional semifinals at the First Union Center. But that scoring advantage was not enough for the Wildcats to overcome a spotty first-half performance. That was the primary reason that the surprising Trojans advanced with an 80-76 victory that put them in the Elite Eight for the first time since 1954. At halftime, Kentucky trailed by 19 points, 43-24.

It was as if he said: "Enough. Enough toying around, enough of this close first-round nonsense. Give me the ball, and let's get out of here. " Of course, Tayshaun Prince would never say that. He would just do it - and he did, scoring 12 of Kentucky's final 14 points in its NCAA Tournament first-round victory over Holy Cross - but he would never say it. Prince can take over a game almost at will. He can sink a three-pointer, post up a big body or lull an opponent with his sweet baby left hook.

The two freshmen starters who emerged this season for Kentucky - without whom the Wildcats would have been hard-pressed to be standing on the brink of the Elite Eight - both committed to other schools before winding up in Lexington. Jason Parker, the Wildcats' 6-foot-8 forward, turned to Kentucky after North Carolina rejected him in late August because he fell short of the university's academic requirements. Gerald Fitch, a 6-3 guard, changed his mind about attending Clemson after a late pitch last spring by Wildcats coach Tubby Smith.

With two seconds left in overtime and his Simon Gratz team down, 68-66, Rasheem Sims wrestled for the ball under the rim, came up with the rebound, jumped, and flipped in a shot with his fingertips. He also drew a foul and hit the free throw that gave his team a 69-68 lead over dangerous DeMatha - finally. Finally. Bulldogs guard Marvin O'Connor sprawled horizontally to cut off the DeMatha pass with a second left, forcing DeMatha standout Keith Bogans to take a desperation shot that glanced off the rim, leaving his team short of victory.