THURSDAY, March 16:

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - I'm pretty sure Northwestern State's Clifton Lee is going to be a fan favorite around here.

The forward looks like he could be Ben Wallace's younger brother. He showed up today with the big afro puffed out and a menacing grimace. But that quickly gave way to a smile when he was asked if he was paying homage to "Big Ben," the Detroit Pistons' defensive demon.

"It's a tribute," Lee said, his gold teeth sparkling in the limelight. "I'm trying to get a little attention, get people talking to me."

That shouldn't be a problem at The Palace.

I don't know. There's just something about how these Northwestern State cats carry themselves. Something tells me Iowa's going to get a run for its money.

-AP Sports Writer Jon Krawczynski

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GREENSBORO, N.C. - There was a great scene in the Tennessee locker room after the Volunteers beat Winthrop on Chris Lofton's fadeway jumper with less than a second left.

The players were milling around talking to reporters, grabbing their to-go meals (a sandwich and chips, with a chocolate chip cookie) and generally just basking in the glow of the moment. Then SportsCenter came on the TV, and everyone froze.

The lead story was their game.

"Hold on, we've got to see this," said Dane Bradshaw, who made the inbound pass to set up Lofton's basket.

As the play unfolded on the screen, Bradshaw shouted out, "Look at me, I'm about to get the tip-in!"

The shot went in, of course, but the players never tired of watching it. When scores from elsewhere in the tournament were shown, several had a hard time believing what they saw.

"Nevada loss? Wow."

"BC went to TWO overtimes?"

"A bomb scare?"

I guess they're fans just the rest of us. Wonder who they picked in their bracket, Tennessee or Winthrop?

-AP Sports Writer Keith Parsons

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AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - As I'm unpacking in my hotel room in preparation for the day's press conferences in advance of Friday's first-round NCAA tourney action, I take a second to make sure I have everything I need.

Dress socks? Check.

Dress shoes? Check.

Dress shirt? Check.

Dress pants? (Crickets chirping)

Dress pants? (More of those dang crickets)

D'oh!

When you're watching the Big Dance by yourself from your couch at home, pants are optional. Not so when you have to show up in person to interview coaches and players, unfortunately.

Marshall Field's, here I come.

-AP Sports Writer Jon Krawczynski

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GREENSBORO, N.C. - Beneath the Xs and Os (along with six 3-pointers by Sean Ogirri) in Wichita State's first-round win over Seton Hall was a less-heralded matchup that might have had some sway with the outcome.

It pitted one AP sports writer against another to see who's karma was strongest: the one who apparently jinxed Seton Hall into an ugly 53-point loss at Duke in November or the one who was an apparent good luck charm in the Pirates' 18-point win at North Carolina State in January.

For myself, it was hard to imagine how well the Pirates played at N.C. State after seeing them struggle so badly at Cameron Indoor Stadium. For Keith Parsons, it was hard to imagine how they played at Duke after seeing them win easily in Raleigh.

So who had the strongest mojo? The answer came quickly. The Shockers silenced critics of the four-bid Missouri Valley Conference by taking a 20-point lead in the first half against a Pirates team that looked about as impressive as the one that showed up at Duke.

Sorry about that, Pirates. I'll steer clear of you next year.

-AP Sports Writer Aaron Beard

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PHILADELPHIA - First-round NCAA tournament games dominate the world of college basketball fans on Thursday. But the coaches, players and media at the sites that don't start play until Friday have to squeeze in eight news conferences while trying to pay attention to what's going on in the brackets.

One of the strategic keys for media members is to make sure your seat in the press workroom faces a television so no buzzer-beater or bad call is missed. You don't have to pay strict attention because the yells of those watching will let you know when to look up.

It takes a while to learn how to watch a game in an area where noise has to be kept to a minimum, like the interview room. Keep your hands in your pocket in case a big 3-pointer is hit. Don't stand near a writer who is easily excitable so if he or she does break the rules of etiquette, you won't be blamed.

No one who covers college basketball for a living is used to silence. Have you ever sat feet away from a band that has a horn section bigger than the football roster? You'd be surprised how quickly you can hate a fight song.

Please, bring on the games.

-AP Basketball Writer Jim O'Connell

WEDNESDAY, March 15:

GREENSBORO, N.C. - If Winthrop somehow advances to the tournament, you'll be seeing a lot coach Gregg Marshall. This is the sixth time in eight years he's brought his team this far, and he clearly enjoys his time in the limelight.

He had most of the reporters laughing pretty loud during his news conference today when he was asked if he considers himself a "hot" candidate for any of the job openings around the country.

"My wife thinks I've very hot," he said. "She tells me that every couple of weeks, especially when we go to the NCAA tournament and all the nice things that go along with it."

Marshall then chimed in on his wife, Lynn, a former college basketball player herself. She should get plenty of air time during the game against Tennessee, too, since she tends to get very animated while rooting for the Eagles.

"She's hot, too," Marshall said. "She's got enough basketball in her blood to be dangerous. She loves the game, fantastic coach's wife, because she understands the time."

-AP Sports Writer Keith Parsons

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PHILADELPHIA - There are many who believe Thursday and Friday should be declared holidays for college basketball fans.

Few people give as much time to their sport as true hoopheads will over those 48 hours.

Sixteen games each day, two 12-hour marathons of games that will range from instant classics - people still know the name of Valparaiso's play to beat Mississippi was "Pacer" - to those that are so one-sided even friends and family check on other sites.

Since there aren't any other days like these, here are a couple of hints that could go a long way to making a long day more pleasant.

-Instead of meals, have a snack each game honoring the local food of one or both of the teams. (There could be gastric trouble if Marquette were to meet Wisconsin.)

-Move small pieces of furniture into any path that could have someone step in front of the television. You don't want to have to utter the horrid phrase: "What happened?"

Happy holidays.

-AP Basketball Writer Jim O'Connell

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GREENSBORO, N.C. - Athletes can be superstitious about everything from the music they play on their iPod before a game to the number of dribbles they take before shooting a free throw.

Aren't coaches supposed to be above all that? Apparently not.

Mark Turgeon has guided Wichita State to its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1988. And to listen to him, part of this year's success can be attributed to time spent learning under Larry Brown and Roy Williams at Kansas during the late 1980s and early '90s.

And part of it apparently is due to him not picking up the phone to chat with Williams, now at North Carolina, for fear of disrupting both teams' winning streaks.

"I've been bad," Turgeon said. "I'm very superstitious. They got on a roll and we got on a roll. So finally (former KU assistant and current UNC assistant) Steve Robinson called me and said, 'Now we both lost. We can call each other and talk.'"

Ah, so that's how they do it. Practice, preparation ... and superstition.

-AP Sports Writer Aaron Beard