With the game scoreless, Penn started to move the ball up the court, lookin to take an early lead over its heavily-favored opponent. But just as freshman guard Darren Smith reached halfcourt, Texas A&M;'s Acie Law picked his pocket and dribbled the ball the other way, capping off the breakaway with a pretty finger roll to give the Aggies a lead that they would never come close to relinquishing.

LEXINGTON, Ky., March 14 - Talk about consistency. In this era of college basketball, when teams move all over the Associated Press Top 25 poll from week to week, Texas A&M; has stayed in almost the same place. The Aggies began the season ranked 13th, and end it ranked 9th, having never fallen below 13th and never risen above 6th.

LEXINGTON, Ky., March 14 - On a team with the top three-point shooter in the country, it would make sense that all of the buzz is around that one guy. But Texas A&M; sharpshooter Josh Carter has to take second fiddle to point guard Acie Law.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - The clock at Rupp Arena showed 11 minutes and 42 seconds remained in the game. Penn had gone on a 19-3 run to take its first lead of the afternoon at 39-37. On Texas A&M;'s next trip down the floor after a media timeout, senior guard Acie Law IV missed a runner, but Joseph Jones slammed home the rebound to tie the game.

LEXINGTON, Ky., March 14 - Three days to gameplan, 127 days of practice and an eight-game Tournament losing streak all lead up to 40 minutes today. The 14-seed Penn basketball team goes up against Texas A&M; in its third straight year in the NCAA Tournament, and is trying for its first win in the Big Dance since 1994.

It might seem like Penn's frontcourt can't look any smaller compared to Texas A&M;'s big men. But on Thursday afternoon it just might. Stephen Danley, the Quakers' biggest post presence, is a question mark for the game in Kentucky. Coach Glen Miller had suggested earlier that the senior would be fit to play, but sounded far less confident at practice on Monday.

Bruiser Flint has been waiting six years to get an ACC team to Drexel's Daskalakis Athletic Center, hoping that its hostile environment would unravel the major-conference opponent. But when North Carolina State finally showed up, it was Flint's team that lost its mettle.

LEXINGTON, Ky. It's surrounded by the land of bluegrass, thoroughbreds and bourbon. But at the heart of Lexington is one thing - the basketball scene. While divided loyalties make Philadelphia a special hoops town, in Lexington, there is no argument. The city bleeds Kentucky blue.

When the Penn women's lacrosse team takes on Delaware today at Franklin Field, one thing will be on its mind: revenge. "It's definitely a huge factor," senior tri-captain Sarah Eastburn said. "Last year we weren't supposed to lose to Delaware, and that definitely was one of the biggest disappointments of the season.

LEXINGTON, Ky., March 13 - When Penn's chartered plane landed here yesterday, it was probably the first time in the Bluegrass State for most of the passengers. "I don't know about Kentucky, I really don't," Ibrahim Jaaber admitted after the selection show Sunday.

How does Penn baseball plan on ending its recent slump? Easy. Look no further than coach John Cole's desk. "We're bringing it into the dugout tomorrow," Cole said, pointing at a bona fide Easy Button from the Staples commercial. After migrating to Florida for its first eight games, Penn returns north, looking for an win in its home opener against Temple this afternoon at Meiklejohn Stadium.

Here's a riddle for you: What do you get when a possible lottery pick guard teams up with a pair of uber-athletes, a 6-foot-10 Lithuanian paint-clogger and an all-Big 12 defensive first-teamer? Not a lot of leeway. Penn faces quite a conundrum as it prepares to take on heavily favored Texas A&M; in the first round of the NCAA Tournament tomorrow, but Quakers fans shouldn't give up on their team just yet.

Penn's December 2003 basketball game against St. John's may be remembered for a thrilling double overtime and former player Friedrich Ebede being punched in the face. However, it should be marked as the beginning of the Class of 2007 era, when Mark Zoller started his first career game.

The worst losses are the games that slip away. It seems more like your opponent did not really win, they just did enough not to lose. Fortunately in sports, a new season brings second chances and an opportunity at redemption for the ones that got away.

VILLANOVA, Pa., March 11 - The room full of Villanova faithfuls got a serious scare from Greg Gumbel on Sunday. "Maryland will play the Wildcats of ." What?! ". Davidson." Whew! The fans quieted down quickly during Sunday's NCAA Tournament selection broadcast when they realized their Wildcats were not the 13-seed forced to play the No.

History put Glen Miller in an unfortunate spot. Win, and he did what he was supposed to do. Lose and he was the second coming of Joe Scott. Get your seniors to roll with the changes, and it was just another Ivy title. Suffer a mutiny, and it was a disappointment of historic proportions.

After a week long tour of the Golden State, freshman Marissa Rosen emerged as Penn's top competitor. Although Penn (192.95) fell just short of Sacramento State (193.925) in its first meet over break, the highlight of the meet was Rosen's win in the all-around with 39.