Maryland to put a bite on Syracuse's big 'Mac' attack

Maryland doesn't need to study game film to figure out where its focus needs to be against Syracuse. The way Gerry McNamara shoots in the NCAA tournament, it's obvious.

Sure, the Terrapins will need to pay attention to Hakim Warrick and some of the other Orangemen, but stopping the sharp-shooting McNamara will be a top priority in the second round of the Phoenix Regional.

It won't be easy.

McNamara made a name for himself in last year's NCAA championship game, hitting six 3-pointers against Kansas to help Syracuse win its first national title. He kept it going in Thursday's first round against BYU, adding nine more 3s and scoring 43 points in an 80-75 victory.

McNamara is 15-for-23 from 3-point range in his last two NCAA tournament games.

"I don't think you have to be a basketball coach to realize you have to stop McNamara after what he did," Maryland coach Gary Williams said Friday. "That was one of the great shows I've ever seen."

The Orangemen (22-7), the fifth seed, might need an encore to get by fourth-seeded Maryland.

The Terrapins (24-7) were in danger of missing the NCAA tournament for the first time in a decade but closed out the season with wins over North Carolina State and Virginia before beating three ranked teams to win the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament as the No. 6 seed.

Maryland didn't slow down once the NCAA tournament started, hitting key shots down the stretch to hold off pesky Texas-El Paso 86- 83 in Thursday's first round.

The Terps are young, with four sophomores starting and Mike Grinnon the only holdover from the 2002 championship team, but they're confident and athletic. Maryland also has never lost to Syracuse in five tries, with the most recent win coming in 1980.

"It's not one or two guys that you can stop and think you're going to be all right," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. "They've got different guys that can hurt you. Their size hurts us, their depth hurts us and just the level that they've played at the last three weeks at times has been higher than anybody in the country."

The game will be just the third between the two previous national champions in NCAA tournament history and first since 1994 champ Arkansas beat 1993 title winner North Carolina in the 1995 semifinals.

The second game Saturday in Denver pits Texas (24-7) against North Carolina (19-10) in the Atlanta Regional. The teams don't have much of a history -- North Carolina leads the series 2-1 -- but Longhorns coach Rick Barnes certainly has had his run-ins against the Tar Heels.

Barnes coached four years at Clemson before moving to Austin in 1998 and his feisty nature rubbed North Carolina and its fans the wrong way.

He had the audacity -- in the Tar Heels' minds -- to go nose-to- nose with legendary North Carolina coach Dean Smith during the 1995 ACC tournament, and both coaches were called to the ACC commissioner's house the following year after the feud escalated.

"It's been a long time that I've been out of the ACC," said Barnes, who is 1-9 all-time against North Carolina. "But back when I was in the league, I was probably public enemy No. 2 behind Mike Krzyzewski, I would imagine, in terms of their fans."

Aside from Barnes' relationship with the Tar Heels, it should be a pretty good game.

North Carolina is back in the tournament for the first time since 2001, and opened with a 63-52 victory over scrappy Air Force in the first round. The Tar Heels are athletic and big up front, and they seem to have bought into coach Roy Williams' ways after three contentious seasons under Matt Doherty.

Texas has an experience advantage over North Carolina after reaching the NCAA quarterfinals the past two years, and guard Brandon Mouton always seems to play well in the tournament. He's scored at least 20 points in his past three tournament games, including 23 in a 66-49 win over Princeton in the first round.

"They run just like us, so I think it's going to be and up-and- down game," North Carolina center Sean May said. "This time of season you don't see a lot of teams run. It's more of the half-court sets and who can grind it out on defense. I do expect a high-pace game."

EAST RUTHERFORD

Friday's scores

Memphis 59, South Carolina 43

Oklahoma State 75, Eastern Washington 56

Wisconsin 76, Richmond 64

Pittsburgh 53, Central Florida 44

Today's games

Manhattan (25-5) vs. Wake Forest (20-9), 1:30 p.m.

Saint Joseph's (28-1) vs. Texas Tech (23-10), 3:30 p.m.

ATLANTA REGIONAL

Friday's scores

Illinois 72, Murray State 53

Cincinnati 80, East Tennessee State 77

Mississippi State 85, Monmouth 52

Xavier 80, Louisville 70

Today's games

Duke (28-5) vs. Seton Hall (21-9), 11:10 a.m.

North Carolina (19-10) vs. Texas (24-7), 6 p.m.

ST. LOUIS REGIONAL

Friday's scores

Kentucky 96, Florida A&M 76

UAB 102, Washington 100

Pacific 66, Providence 58

Kansas 78, Illinois-Chicago 53

Boston College 58, Utah 51

Georgia Tech 65, Northern Iowa 60

Today's game

Nevada (24-8) vs. Gonzaga (28-2), 1:20 p.m.

PHOENIX REGIONAL

Friday's scores

North Carolina State 61, La.-Lafayette 52

Vanderbilt 71, W. Michigan 58

Today's games

Maryland (20-11) vs. Syracuse (22-7), 3:40 p.m.

Stanford (30-1) vs. Alabama (18-12), 3:40 p.m.

DePaul (22-9) vs. Connecticut (28-6), 5:50 p.m.

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