As March Madness gets underway, AP sportswriters will be filing periodic, behind-the-scenes reports from the NCAA tournament:

SUNDAY, March 19:

DALLAS - Every NCAA tournament game has a loser and that team invariably has at least one or two key seniors whose college careers end when the buzzer goes off.

Bucknell's Charles Lee and Kevin Bettencourt made the sorrowful final walk to the sideline Sunday in the closing seconds of a 72-56 loss to Memphis.

They were met by coach Pat Flannery, who gave each of them a big hug and a surprising offer.

"When we get back, we'll have some beers," Flannery told them.

Flannery laughed telling that story, adding that it's a line he uses every year.

"They look at you like you've got two heads," he said. "Then they realize it's over at that point."

Here's hoping Flannery springs for pizza, too. It's the least he can do for two guys who have done so much for his program.

Lee and Bettencourt deserve a proud spot in their school's athletic history for what they've done the last four years, especially the last two.

When Lee and Bettencourt arrived as freshman, only a few Patriot League schools were giving out athletic scholarships. Bucknell wasn't among them.

When they were sophomores, the school started handing out three scholarships a year. Next year's incoming class will make it 12.

This year, both players were all-conference picks, with Lee named player of the year. They led the Bison to a 17-0 march through league play, making them one of only three teams in the country not to lose to a conference foe. (Trivia answer: The other two are Gonzaga and George Mason, both of which advanced to next weekend.)

They came to Dallas expecting to play two games, and they did. They beat a great collection of athletes Friday with a 59-55 victory over Arkansas. Against an equally athletic but more skilled squad from Memphis, they never really had a chance.

Lee scored 12 points and Bettencourt 11. And now, their careers are over.

"I think we've accomplished a lot," Lee said. "I think this team is in the right direction. I wish them the best of luck. I'm really glad i was able to be a part of it."

Said Bettencourt: "I have absolutely no regrets."

-AP Sports Writer Jaime Aron.

---

TRENTON, N.J. - As I walked into Sovereign Bank Arena for the first round of the women's tournament, the first thing that struck me was how small the arena was.

When I was in college at Binghamton in upstate New York, the basketball team was in Division III and played in a gym with bleachers that were pulled out from the wall on both sides of the gym. But I left college almost 14 years ago, and I haven't watched a game in a 'room' that small since.

I've been to many games at Madison Square Garden, both as a fan and a sports writer. It seemed like the seating area here would fit inside the bottom section of the Garden. Maybe a little more, since Sovereign Bank Arena's capacity is at best half of MSG's. The small size wasn't a problem during the afternoon session - the crowd of 4,067 was about half of the capacity.

Maybe the night session, which has nearby Rutgers playing, will have a bigger attendance.

The Hartford fan section was pretty loud during its game against Temple, often drowning out both schools' bands. They had plenty of reason to make noise, with their team getting its first NCAA tournament win.

One of the funnier sights of the day was an elderly woman wearing a white sweatshirt with 'Atlantic 10' in huge letters, standing by her seat and doing the arm motions with the Temple cheerleaders across the court while the school's band played its fight song late in the second half.

-AP sports writer Vin Cherwoo

---

PHILADELPHIA - Marcus Williams had quite a day Sunday in the second round of the NCAA tournament at the Wachovia Center.

Marcus Williams had 44 points on 12-for-28 shooting (0-for-7 from 3-point range) from the field and 20-for-24 from the free throw line. Marcus Williams had 11 rebounds and 12 assists.

Marcus Williams also went 1-1 on the day.

Junior point guard Marcus Williams had 20 points for Connecticut in its 87-83 victory over Kentucky. Freshman forward Marcus Williams had 24 points for Arizona in its 82-78 loss to Villanova.

West Coast natives both, Connecticut's Marcus Williams is from Los Angeles while Arizona's Marcus Williams is from Seattle.

The two almost met earlier this season in Hawaii. Connecticut beat Arizona 79-70 in the semifinals of the EA Sports Maui Invitational. Arizona's Marcus Williams had four points. Connecticut's Marcus Williams missed the game as part of his first-semester suspension for his role in the theft of laptops from a dormitory this summer.

-AP Basketball Writer Jim O'Connell

---

NORFOLK, Va. - One day later, I have egg on my face, sort of, and a sense of relief that only other AP sports writers - and the kindhearted - can likely appreciate.

I wrote this yesterday: "In women's basketball, fans don't wait for a dunk or some other big play to get jazzed up."

Today, I saw not one dunk, but two, and even the fans that don't like Tennessee went nuts when Candace Parker threw one down in the early going of each half.

The relief? That I saw the second one.

AP sports writers have to send their stories real quick once the final horn sounds, so when games are out of hand, the outcome long since decided, we start writing and occassionally glance up to see what the second- and third-stringers are doing.

Today, I was already well into my story about Parker's first dunk, its historical implications and such when I looked up, saw her pass the ball to Nicky Anosike at the top of the foul line, break for the basket, take a return pass and slam it again.

Amazing.

-AP Sports Writer Hank Kurz Jr.

---

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Nothing beats the NCAA tournament.

Not the Olympics, Super Bowl, Ryder Cup, NBA or NHL Finals.

I haven't covered the World Series, and I probably won't because I cover the Tigers, but I can't imagine it toppling my affection for college basketball this time of year.

I'm wrapping up my day at The Palace - after covering my 26th round of the tournament, dating to 1994 - and I feel fortunate to call this work.

The shockers, buzzer-beating shots and stories are consistently amazing.

Writing about tiny Northwestern State was the treat of my four-day stint at The Palace. The Demons went home with a loss to West Virginia, but these guys can't be called losers. They had a blast, stunned a third-seeded team, and soaked up every second of their experience.

Thankfully, Jermaine Wallace's falling-out-of-bounds 3-pointer with a split second left to beat Iowa will be shown for years because it will remind me of the guys from Natchitoches, La., that you wouldn't mind marrying somebody from your family.

-AP Sports Writer Larry Lage

---

SATURDAY, March 18:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Usually pep bands are stretching the limits beyond the school fight songs if they play tunes like "Time Warp" from the Rocky Horror Picture Show or "Tequila." UC Riverside, making its NCAA tournament debut, brought something very different to its inaugural game Saturday against top-seeded North Carolina - bagpipers.

The Highlanders' usual pep band is a jazz combo, and they've used bagpipers occasionally at halftime before. But for the biggest game in school history, they brought out a group of bagpipers and drummers replete with kilts, something that would be right at home in a St. Patrick's Day parade or firefighter's procession.

Now some of the bagpipers really looked out of place at a college women's basketball game with gray hair and beards.

But they had fans and reporters alike paying attention, enjoying the unique and thrilling sounds that sent chills down the spine and seemed appropriately at home in the old concrete block arena called Memorial Gym.

Now if only they had brought some cheerleaders to join the parents and close family that came to cheer on the Highlanders.

-By AP Sports Writer Teresa M. Walker.

---

NORFOLK, Va. - One of the most electric environments I've ever worked in as a sports writer, odd as it may seem, was at Old Dominion's field house in 1996.

The Lady Monarchs, one of the most storied programs in the women's game, were on their way back into the national elite with dazzling point guard Ticha Penicheiro and center Clarisse Machanguana, and they beat No. 1 Stanford there that night, 83-66.

In women's basketball, fans don't wait for a dunk or some other big play to get jazzed up. Instead, good fans sense trouble and get riled up to fend it off.

Every time Stanford seemed to be gaining some steam, the old gymnasium went nuts. Kate Bird had a bad night, and the Lady Monarchs held on easily for the big victory.

If the 10th-seeded Lady Monarchs can beat George Washington on Sunday, they'll likely take on longtime rival Tennessee on Tuesday night, hoping to draw a sellout crowd and the same kind of electricity to the 4-year-old Constant Convocation Center.

"I wish I had my red shoes on," Old Dominion coach Wendy Larry said at the start of her press conference today. "There's no place like home. There's no place like home."

Come Tuesday night, maybe some of those same fans will make another memory.

-AP Sports Writer Hank Kurz Jr.

---

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - One of the surprises of the Auburn Hills games so far - the Bradley fans.

Thousands made the six-hour trek from Peoria, Ill., up to The Palace for the weekend, and outshined every other school here in the first round.

And it's not like they were going up against some wine-and-cheese crowds from snobby institutions. Kansas, Pittsburgh and West Virginia - all with fan bases that historically travel well - are here, too.

But the red-clad Bradley faithful have owned the place so far.

In Friday's stunning win over Kansas, nary a "Rock! Chalk! Jayhawk!" could be heard above the din created by the face-painted, pom-pom-waving Braves fans.

Maybe you Panthers fans were waiting for Sunday, assuming a first-round win over Kent State. You were uncharacteristically quiet during Pitt's domination of the Golden Flashes. Steelers fans would have been ashamed of you.

Better bring your A-game Pitt fans. These Bradley backers are ready for you.

-AP Sports Writer Jon Krawczynski

---

PHILADELPHIA - The first and second-round games in Philadelphia are being played at the Wachovia Center, one of the four buildings in the city's sports complex.

The Flyers and 76ers play in Wachovia, while the Eagles are across the street, literally, in Lincoln Financial Field. The Phillies' home is a big parking lot away in Citizens Bank Park.

The fourth building is the one where one of, sorry, where THE greatest game in college basketball history was made. The Spectrum is now the home of the Philadelphia Phantoms of the American Hockey League and the Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League, the team owned by Job Bon Jovi.

On March 28, 1992, Duke beat Kentucky 104-103 in overtime when Christian Laettner's jumper from just inside the head of the key at the buzzer capped a night no basketball fan can ever forget.

The Spectrum was the biggest building in the world that night. Now it is by far the smallest in the complex. But those still covering the NCAA tournament, and I'm lucky enough to be one of them, will always have the memory of one of college basketball's greatest nights in the Spectrum.

-AP Basketball Writer Jim O'Connell

---

NORFOLK, Va. - Two press conferences into the women's tournament stop here, the contrast between first-round foes Tennessee and Army came through loud and clear.

The Vols' Tye'She Fluker spoke of how the Lady Vols (28-4) are planning to "channel the emotion" of being made a No. 2 seed in the Mideast to show how good they are.

Army, meanwhile, is making its first appearance in the tournament.

After their session answering questions, Army forward Megan Vrabel stood to leave, spied the paper name plate in front of her seat and immediately thought souvenir.

"Can I have this?" she said.

-AP Sports Writer Hank Kurz Jr.