Austin Peay

Loyola Marymount, still seeking its first victory this month, as well as its first against a Division I opponent, will play Austin Peay tonight in the second game of the inaugural Old Style tournament in suburban Chicago. Loyola, 1-3 despite its average of nearly 113 points a game, has three players averaging more than 20 points a game--forward Hank Gathers at 32 (plus 14.8 rebounds) and guards Jeff Fryer and Enoch Simmons at 20.5 apiece.

Alex Blandino drove in four runs and top-seeded Stanford beat No. 2 Pepperdine, 8-7, on Sunday night to win the Stanford Regional. Austin Wilson drove in two runs for the Cardinal (41-16), which will travel to Florida State next weekend for a super regional. Brian Ragira and Stephen Piscotty also drove in runs. Tony Cooper had two hits and drove in three runs for the Waves (36-23), who beat Fresno State, 8-5, earlier in the day. Pepperdine starter Matt Maurer went three innings, giving up three runs on three hits.

Maybe the New Year will be different for Lorenzo Romar. Certainly, 1996 was not kind to Pepperdine's first-year coach. The Waves lost another game Tuesday, this one to lowly Austin Peay, 58-54, in the consolation game of the Wisconsin Green Bay tournament. Pepperdine is now 2-10, while Austin Peay improved to 3-9. Joe Sibbitt scored 18 points on five three-point shots and three free throws in leading Austin Peay. Bryan Hill scored 15 for Pepperdine.

Holy Toledo! It's about time an underdog jumped up and bit a Big Ten Conference bully, making it pay more than just the cost of a large appearance guarantee for scheduling a nonconference patsy. Purdue was a 12-point favorite going into Saturday's game against the Rockets in West Lafayette, Ind. — not because the Boilermakers were so good, but mostly because Toledo had the worst-rated offense among the nation's 120 major-college teams. But Toledo accumulated 378 yards in a 31-20 victory, handing the Big Ten the first of two losses on what should have been, and mostly was, a day of mismatches.

Billy Donovan rescued Providence from becoming another casualty of Austin Peay's startling postseason. Donovan rallied Providence from a 10-point deficit in regulation Saturday and made three key points in overtime to bring the Friars a 90-87 victory over Austin Peay in the second round of the Southeast Regional.

Enoch Simmons sank a jumper with 5 seconds left to lift Loyola Marymount to a 94-93 victory over Austin Peay in the opening round of the Old Style tournament at the Rosemont Horizon Thursday night. In an earlier game, Terence Greene scored 16 points to lead DePaul to a 73-52 victory over North Carolina A&T. Loyola (2-3) will play DePaul today in the tournament final, and Austin Peay will face North Carolina A&T in the consolation game.

Austin Peay, a 5,000-enrollment Ohio Valley Conference school at Clarksville, Tenn., played its first game ever against a Big Ten team Thursday night and came away a winner. Lawrence Mitchell scored 18 of his game-high 26 points in the second half to lead Austin Peay over Minnesota, 73-64, at Minneapolis. Vincent Brooks scored 15 points for Austin Peay, all on three-point shots. Brooks hit two bombs midway through the second half that gave the Governors (5-4) the lead for good.

Maurice Hampton scored 18 points, and fifth-seeded Austin Peay advanced to the final of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament with a 67-61 victory over top-seeded Tennessee Tech on Friday night at Nashville. Zac Schlader added 14 points and seven rebounds, and William Durden added 10 points for the Governors, who lost in the tournament championship game last year. Austin Peay will face Eastern Kentucky, a 69-52 winner over Southeast Missouri, in today's title game.

Tony Raye made two free throws with two seconds remaining Thursday night to give Austin Peay a stunning 68-67 upset victory over No. 11-ranked Illinois in the opening round of the NCAA tournament's Southeast Regional at Birmingham, Ala. The Governors (20-11) came to the tournament from Clarksville, Tenn., after winning the Ohio Valley Conference tournament. They had a seven-point lead early in the second half.

Alex Blandino drove in four runs and top-seeded Stanford beat No. 2 Pepperdine, 8-7, on Sunday night to win the Stanford Regional. Austin Wilson drove in two runs for the Cardinal (41-16), which will travel to Florida State next weekend for a super regional. Brian Ragira and Stephen Piscotty also drove in runs. Tony Cooper had two hits and drove in three runs for the Waves (36-23), who beat Fresno State, 8-5, earlier in the day. Pepperdine starter Matt Maurer went three innings, giving up three runs on three hits.

Unbuckling the mailbag: Question: Will your love affair with USC ever end? I'm in love with the school from the right side of the tracks, so it's very difficult to read the L.A..Times sports section when all you write about is "them. " Dorie Iwata Answer: Wow. It's been that obvious, huh? Alas, my Trojan tryst has been exposed. What was the giveaway? Saying USC couldn't win the title last year by starting a true freshman at quarterback? Suggesting the Trojans couldn't win this year by starting a true freshman at athletic director (Pat Haden)

Rk. Team Rec. Result Next 1. CONNECTICUT 9-0 Did not play No. 2 Stanford, today 2. STANFORD 9-0 Did not play at No. 1 Connecticut, today 3. NOTRE DAME 10-0 Did not play at Central Florida, Tuesday 4. TENNESSEE 10-1 d. San Francisco, 89-34 Old Dominion, Dec. 30 Angie Bjorklund scores 19 points in 17 minutes...

Seeing Red We're not used to seeing Cornell in the NCAA tournament, but we might have to get used to it. The Ivy League champion, 22-5 and winner of 16 games in a row, is making its first tournament appearance in 20 years, and its top players still have two more seasons of eligibility. Sophomore point guard Louis Dale averages 13.8 points and is among the nation's best free-throw shooters at 90.6% (96 of 106). Sophomore swingman Ryan Wittman, whose father, Randy, coaches the Minnesota Timberwolves, leads the team with a 15.4 scoring average, shoots 46.6% (76 of 163)

Teams Favorites: No. 1 Memphis is older and wiser than the team UCLA defeated in the Elite Eight two years ago, holding the Tigers to 45 points. They have Derrick Rose, one of the nation's top freshmen, plus Conference USA player of the year Chris Douglas-Roberts. No. 2 Texas has one of the best backcourts in the country with D.J. Augustin and A.J. Abrams, plus big man Connor Atchley, a bruiser with three-point shooting range. No. 4 Pittsburgh overcame an injury-marred season and upset Georgetown in the Big East Conference tournament title game.

Maurice Hampton scored 18 points, and fifth-seeded Austin Peay advanced to the final of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament with a 67-61 victory over top-seeded Tennessee Tech on Friday night at Nashville. Zac Schlader added 14 points and seven rebounds, and William Durden added 10 points for the Governors, who lost in the tournament championship game last year. Austin Peay will face Eastern Kentucky, a 69-52 winner over Southeast Missouri, in today's title game.

THE DRAW: Is this a regional, or the launching point for Noah's Ark? Five states have two teams each -- Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, North Carolina State and Wake Forest, Austin Peay and East Tennessee State, Pennsylvania and St. Joseph's, and Syracuse and Manhattan (New York). Sixth-ranked Oklahoma has a walk in the first round but could have trouble with North Carolina State in the second round. The Wolfpack defeated Wake Forest, the regional No.

Arizona State (24-8)... Pacific 10 Austin Peay (20-11)... Ohio Valley Bucknell (21-9)... Patriot Chattanooga (23-7)... Southern Cincinnati (23-4)...Conference USA Connecticut (33-0)... Big East Duke (27-3)... Atlantic Coast Florida International (26-5)... Sun Belt Harvard (20-5)... Ivy Indiana (17-13)... Big Ten Liberty (23-7)... Big South Oakland, Mich. (16-13)... Mid-Continent Pepperdine (23-7)... West Coast St. Peter's (25-5)... Metro Atlantic Athletic Temple (20-10)...

Seeing Red We're not used to seeing Cornell in the NCAA tournament, but we might have to get used to it. The Ivy League champion, 22-5 and winner of 16 games in a row, is making its first tournament appearance in 20 years, and its top players still have two more seasons of eligibility. Sophomore point guard Louis Dale averages 13.8 points and is among the nation's best free-throw shooters at 90.6% (96 of 106). Sophomore swingman Ryan Wittman, whose father, Randy, coaches the Minnesota Timberwolves, leads the team with a 15.4 scoring average, shoots 46.6% (76 of 163)

Arizona State (24-8)... Pacific 10 Austin Peay (20-11)... Ohio Valley Bucknell (21-9)... Patriot Chattanooga (23-7)... Southern Cincinnati (23-4)...Conference USA Connecticut (33-0)... Big East Duke (27-3)... Atlantic Coast Florida International (26-5)... Sun Belt Harvard (20-5)... Ivy Indiana (17-13)... Big Ten Liberty (23-7)... Big South Oakland, Mich. (16-13)... Mid-Continent Pepperdine (23-7)... West Coast St. Peter's (25-5)... Metro Atlantic Athletic Temple (20-10)...