NCAA tournament

Georgia duo drops suit

ATHENS, Ga. -- Two Georgia players dropped their lawsuit seeking the right to play in the postseason.

Starters Ezra Williams and Steven Thomas decided Monday the lawsuit was pointless after the NCAA selected its field of 65 teams Sunday night, their lawyers, William Claxton and Doug McKillip, said.

The university pulled out of the Southeastern Conference and NCAA tournaments last week after finding evidence of academic fraud by two players. Neither Williams nor Thomas was accused of wrongdoing.

"We remain concerned about our players, but sometimes life is hard, sometimes life is not fair," university lawyer Ed Tolley said.

Judge David Sweat denied a temporary restraining order last week but scheduled a hearing Monday. The SEC tournament ended Sunday, and the NCAA field was set hours later.

SEATS REMAINING: The St. Pete Times Forum has tickets available for NCAA Tournament games Friday and Sunday. There were about 500 left before several hundred orders were filled Monday, Times Forum officials said. Tickets cost $165 for all three sessions and can be purchased at the Times Forum box office, which opens at 9 a.m. Call (813) 301-6600.

UNDERDOG, FEH: The math speaks for itself: North Carolina-Asheville is playing with a losing record, the only team among the 65 to do so.

Coach Eddie Biedenbach, however, doesn't want to hear talk of losers and undeserving teams. He thinks his Bulldogs can play.

"We are one of 17 losing teams that have been in the NCAA Tournament, but we have a schedule that includes Oklahoma, Kansas, Michigan State, Holy Cross, which is in the tournament, and East Tennessee State, which won its league," Biedenbach said. "Any mid major is going to have a tough time with that schedule."

The Bulldogs, whose schedule is ranked the 17th hardest in the nation, take a 14-16 record into tonight's play-in game against Texas Southern (18-12). The winner faces top-seeded Texas on Friday.

NO SOFTWARE SLUMP: For the second straight year, two university professors used computer software and a special formula to correctly predict almost all of the teams in the field.

Jay Coleman and Allen Lynch matched 63 of the 65 teams on this season's bracket for a three-year record of 190-5 using their "Dance Card" formula.

The software, developed by Cary-based SAS Institute Inc., failed to predict the inclusion of Alabama and North Carolina State. Instead, it picked Nevada-Las Vegas and Texas Tech.

KENTUCKY SETS POLL MARK: Kentucky is No. 1 at being No. 1 heading into the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats moved up one place to lead the season's final AP poll, the record eighth time they have held that position right before the postseason. They traded places with Arizona, which led for four straight weeks.

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