While the men's NCAA tournament is grabbing all of the headlines and pools, the quarterfinal rounds of the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) start this weekend.

Boston College (17-13), the only Massachusetts school in the tournament, has been impressive. The Eagles reached the quarterfinals of the NIT with an 86-81 victory over Evansville. Sophomore Dana Barros, famous for his 360-Spin shot he made against Harvard in December, had a game-high 32 points and hit five of six three-pointers.

Boston College will face Middle Tennessee (23-10) this Saturday in Tennessee. The Eagles recorded a 121-80 victory over Harvard. Barros scored only 26 against the Crimson.

Other NIT games include Virginia Commonwealth (23-11) at UConn (17-14), Ohio State (18-12) traveling to New Mexico (22-13) while Arkansas State (21-13) visits Colorado State (20-12). The finals will be held at Madison Square Garden, March 30.

A long way to Tacoma

The men's NCAA tournament is called The Road to the Final Four, while the interesting--but overlooked women's NCAA tournament--is called The Road to Tacoma. In the East region, Tennessee (29-2) meets James Madision (27-3) while Virginia (26-4) battles Rutgers (27-4) today in Norfolk, Va.

The Mideast regional in Athens, Georgia, features Maryland (26-5) versus Ohio State (25-9) and Georgia (21-9) against Auburn.

In the Midwest Regional at Austin Texas, Lousiana Tech (28-2) meets Mississippi (24-6) while Texas (30-2) gives a Texas welcome to Stanford. In the West Regional at Long Beach California, Long Beach State (23-5) hosts Washington (25-5). Iowa (30-1), the tournaments favorites, takes on USC (22-7). The finals will be held at Tacoma, Washington.

Quote of the Week

"It would be nice to go to Lake Placid for another reason besides fishing."--St.Lawerence Coach Joe Marsh when asked about the possibility of playing at Lake Placid, which is only 10 miles from St. Lawerence University. The NCAA Hockey semifinals and finals will be played at Lake Placid.

Contributor: Alvar J. Mattei.