Vanderbilt

Chuck Moore, the 6-foot-3 guard from Plymouth-Whitemarsh who elected to transfer after his sophomore season last winter at Seton Hall, has landed at Vanderbilt of the Southeastern Conference. Moore, who led the Pirates in three-point shooting last season while averaging 8.0 points a game in 18 minutes of playing time, had been avidly courted by both the Drexel and Penn men's basketball programs. Under NCAA rules, Moore must sit out a season before becoming eligible in 2000-2001.

In the space of two seasons, Jim Foster, a Mr. Nice Guy with a scowl, has raised the status of the Vanderbilt women's basketball program from middle of the pack to elite. All the teams in this weekend's Final Four have made it this far for the first time, but Vanderbilt's arrival was no surprise. When Foster, a native of Elkins Park, outside Philadelphia, left St. Joseph's for Nashville two years ago, the Commodores already had good players. "It's going to take us five years to find out how good Foster really is, because he's stepping into a load of talent that can carry him that long," Mississippi coach Van Chancellor said at the time.

Kevin Comer, a righthander from Seneca considered by many to be South Jersey's top pro prospect, has committed to Vanderbilt. Comer, who went 6-3 with a 1.43 ERA last season, said Thursday that he chose the school over UCLA. Comer, who has a 90-m.p.h.-plus fastball and a hard-breaking curve, is likely to face a decision in June, whether to choose college over professional baseball. Brooks decides. Gloucester Catholic junior infielder Joe Brooks has made an early college decision, accepting a partial baseball scholarship to East Carolina.

Rex Chapman scored 13 of Kentucky's final 16 points as the second-ranked Wildcats rallied to defeat Vanderbilt, 81-74, last night in Lexington, Ky., in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams. It was the 400th career win for Wildcats coach Eddie Sutton, who coached Creighton and Arkansas before taking over at Kentucky in 1985. Vanderbilt, which led by six points at the half, opened a 65-56 edge with 8 minutes, 1 second remaining on Barry Booker's sixth three-point field goal of the game.

Vanderbilt won its first postseason tournament as Derrick Wilcox scored all of his 16 points in the second half of a 74-72 victory over St. Louis last night in the National Invitation Tournament final. Penn State beat New Mexico, 83-81, in overtime in the consolation game. Vanderbilt (21-14), making its first appearance in a national tournament final, built a 17-point lead midway through the second half before the Billikens (21-12) rallied. St. Louis, making its second consecutive appearance in the tournament, drew within two points four times in the final minutes, including 71-69 on a three- point shot by Anthony Bonner with 33 seconds left.

Germantown Academy center Ted Skuchas made only one official college visit, but it was enough to convince him that he wanted to continue his basketball career at Vanderbilt. As expected, the 6-foot-11, 240-pound senior said yesterday that he would accept a scholarship offer from the school, which competes in the Southeastern Conference. He returned last weekend from his official visit to the Nashville campus. "I like what the coach is doing, and the academics are great," Skuchas said, referring to coach Kevin Stallings.

Chantelle Anderson wound up on the right side of the whistle. Anderson, who had fouled out of four games this season, scored 24 points and caused two defenders to foul out yesterday as No. 18 Vanderbilt beat No. 4 Georgia yesterday in Nashville, Tenn., 71-65. "She is a disciplined person and she has grown as a player," Vanderbilt coach Jim Foster said. "Experiences teach you lessons in life. Chantelle has a lot of experience playing with a lot of fouls. She's gotten good at that.

Jim Foster, the St. Joseph's women's basketball coach, will be named to that position at Vanderbilt tomorrow in Nashville, knowledgeable sources said last night. Foster, 41, who recently was named an assistant to U.S. Olympic coach Theresa Grentz, could not be reached for comment last night. Officials at Vanderbilt would not comment. The Vanderbilt position became vacant in March when Phil Lee resigned after the school had discovered NCAA rules violations. The Commodores compete in the Southeastern Conference.

Gene DeFillipo has heard the rumors, the ones that say he might be leaving Villanova, where he has been the athletic director for two years, to replace Paul Hoolahan as the AD at Vanderbilt. There is a connection. DeFillipo spent a lot of time in the Southeastern Conference, including five years at Vanderbilt in the early 1980s as a coach and administrator. But for the time being, DeFillipo insists he has no inclination to replace Hoolahan, who announced his resignation several weeks ago. "I have a great job here," DeFillipo said yesterday.

Pat Broome, Strath Haven's standout goalie who helped lead the Panthers to last fall's Class AAA state soccer championship, has accepted a full scholarship and grant-in-aid package to attend Vanderbilt in the fall. "I really liked Vanderbilt and everything they had to offer," said Broome, who chose Vanderbilt over Columbia and Swarthmore. "It's a great school and they made an unbelievable offer. I'm really surprised to be getting all my costs covered next year, because when I was a freshman, we (Strath Haven)

Jared Sullinger doesn't get mad anymore. Those days are over. The Ohio State sophomore forward knows he can't afford to lose his temper if the Buckeyes want to reach the Final Four. So rather than sulk after foul trouble and some solid Gonzaga defense frustrated him for 36 minutes Saturday, the quickly maturing big man relaxed, took a deep breath and hoisted the Buckeyes on his broad shoulders. Sullinger scored 18 points, including two big baskets on soft hook shots in the final 3 minutes to lead Ohio State to a 73-66 victory in Pittsburgh and a spot in the regional semifinals for the third straight year.

The top 25 teams in the Associated Press men's college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sunday, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking: Rec   Pts   Pr 1. Kentucky (61) 32-2   1,621   1    2. Syracuse (1) 31-2   1,545   2    3. Missouri (2) 30-4   1,459   5    4. N.Carolina (1) 29-5   1,403   4    5. Michigan St. 27-7   1,386   8    6. Kansas 27-6   1,330   3    7. Ohio St. 27-7   1,229   7    8. Duke 27-6   1,158   6    9. Baylor 27-7   1,064   12    10. Florida St. 24-9   972   17    11. Marquette 25-7   912   9    12. Murray St. 30-1   871   11    13. Michigan 24-9   808   10    14. Wisconsin 24-9   766   14    15. Georgetown 23-8   726   13    16. Indiana 25-8   576   15    17. Louisville 26-9   558   –    18. Wichita St. 27-5   517   16    19. Creighton 28-5   373   19    20. Vanderbilt 24-10   334   –    21. New Mexico 27-6   318   –    22. San Diego St. 26-7   223   18    23. UNLV 26-8   201   20   ...

Once the quarterback at Neshaminy High School, James Franklin now is one of the hot younger college football coaches in America. He called from the road, from the heart of SEC country, responding to an interview request. The first-year head coach at Vanderbilt was in Alabama visiting the family of a recruit who had committed to him. It's been an interesting ride since Franklin's days as quarterback at Neshaminy and then at East Stroudsburg. "I didn't know I was going to be a football coach even when I was in college," Franklin said.

Date   Bowl   Teams   Location   Time   TV    Dec. 17    New Mexico   Temple (8-4) vs. Wyoming (8-4)    Albuquerque   2:30   ESPN       Famous Idaho Potato   Utah State (7-5) vs. Ohio (9-4)    Boise, Idaho   5:30   ESPN       New Orleans   La-Lafayette (8-4)vs. San Diego St (8-4)    New Orleans   9:00   ESPN    Dec. 20    Beef O'Brady's   Marshall (6-6) vs. Florida Int'l (8-4)

LaMichael James ran for 219 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 8 Oregon beat UCLA, 49-31, in the inaugural Pac-12 championship game Friday night for the Ducks' third straight conference title and a likely berth in the Rose Bowl. Rick Neuheisel tipped his hat to the UCLA fans in his last game as coach. The former Bruins quarterback was fired this week after four seasons with his alma mater. While the Bruins (6-7) played with passion for their outgoing coach and kept it closer than many thought they would, it was not enough to overcome the Ducks (11-2)

The top 25 teams in the Associated Press' women's college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sunday, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking: Rec   Pts   Pr 1. Baylor (39) 6-0   999   1    2. UConn 6-0   946   2    3. Notre Dame 5-1   902   4    4. Texas A&M (1) 6-0   888   5    5. Stanford 4-1   851   3    6. Maryland 7-0   763   8    7. Duke 4-1   726   7    8. Tennessee 2-2   725   6    9. Miami 5-1   671   9    10. Louisville 6-1   645   11    11. Rutgers 6-0   562   13    12. Kentucky 7-0   527   14    13. Purdue 6-0   503   15    14. North Carolina 5-0   449   16    15. Georgia 5-1   408   10    16. Penn St. 5-1   347   17    17. Ohio St. 5-0   332   18    18. Oklahoma 3-1   306   12    19. Texas Tech 5-0   262   19    20. Georgetown 5-2   244   21    21. Texas 5-1   185   24    22. DePaul 5-1   181   23    23. Green Bay 5-0   146   –    24. Delaware...

LSU HAS SUSPENDED star cornerback Tyrann Mathieu, defensive back Tharold Simon and running back Spencer Ware for Saturday's home game against Auburn because they've run afoul of the team's drug policy, according to a person familiar with the decision. The person told the Associated Press about the suspensions yesterday on condition of anonymity because they have not been announced. But the person did not specify the drug for which the players tested positive. LSU coach Les Miles declined to confirm any punishment for members of his No. 1 Tigers after yesterday's practice.

Baseball star Chris Harvey has completed 2 days of classes at Vanderbilt University. Wait. Wasn't he a junior last school year at Germantown Academy? Indeed he was. But the 6-5, 220-pound Harvey, a first-team Daily News All-City catcher, used the summer to make himself eligible for enrollment at Vanderbilt and, well, he sounds extremely happy. "It does sting a little, the idea of missing out on your prom and your whole senior year of high school," Harvey said last night via cellphone.

OMAHA, Neb. - Preston Tucker drove in the go-ahead run with a bases-loaded single in the eighth inning and Florida survived some shaky bullpen work to advance to the College World Series finals with a 6-4 victory over Vanderbilt yesterday. The second-seeded Gators will play South Carolina in the best-of-three championship round starting Monday. The Gamecocks beat Virginia, 3-2, in 13 innings. Alex Panteliodis limited Vanderbilt (54-12) to three hits in six innings before five relievers squandered all of his 4-1 lead.

OMAHA, Neb. - Now comes the really hard part for Vanderbilt. The Commodores extended their first appearance at the College World Series with a 5-1 victory over North Carolina last night. Their reward is another game against Southeastern Conference rival Florida, which has beaten them in four of five meetings this season. "We're not thinking, 'How the heck can we beat Florida?' It's not really in the back of our minds at all," Connor Harrell said. "We feel we can compete with them.