Road trip cheap thrill for Colorado students

How's this for a bargain?

In the wake of its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2003, the University of Colorado athletic department offered its students transportation, accommodations and a ticket to Thursday's second-round game against UNLV in Albuquerque, N.M., for only $50.

Granted, it meant riding a bus for eight hours, sleeping in a low-budget motel and sitting in the back of The Pit. But there was plenty of value in the deal, especially after the 11th-seeded Buffaloes shocked the sixth-seeded Rebels 68-64 to advance to today's third round against No. 3 seed Baylor.

One hundred students took advantage of the offer, and they'll be hanging around to root on the Buffaloes against their former Big 12 Conference foe.

The idea was hatched by the Colorado athletic department and had the blessing of athletic director Mike Bohn, who remembers the support UNLV got from his days as San Diego State's AD. He knew it was important to mix in some black and gold with all the scarlet and gray inside The Pit.

■ STILL REPRESENTING -- UNLV is out, but Las Vegas still has a presence in the NCAA Tournament.

Mojave High School's Donte Poole leads Murray State today against Marquette, while Desert Pines' Pierre Jackson will start for Baylor against Colorado. And with Kansas advancing on Friday by beating Detroit, that means more TV time Sunday for Elijah Johnson, who starred at Cheyenne High.

Poole scored 13 points but broke his nose in the second half of the Racers' 58-41 win over Colorado State on Thursday.

Jackson had 18 points in Baylor's win over South Dakota State. As for those hideous glow-in-the-dark uniforms the Bears are wearing, Jackson said: "I happened to see it in this book in my coach's office and I got a sneak peek, and I liked it."

■ GETTING DEFENSIVE -- In the aftermath of top-seeded Syracuse's controversial 72-65 win over 16th-seeded North Carolina-Asheville on Thursday, Orange coach Jim Boeheim summoned his inner Bob Knight while defending his team and the breaks it caught from the officials down the stretch.

"I don't think luck had anything to do with this game and I think the better team won," Boeheim said after two late calls went against Asheville and allowed Syracuse to survive.

Then, when he addressed the team's Academic Progress Rate issues, the NCAA moderator cut off Boeheim.

"I'm not done," Boeheim said. He proceeded to blast the APR concept, which penalizes programs that do not graduate their players within a designated time frame and leads to possible sanctions, including a postseason ban.

Boeheim's team, embroiled in controversy most of the season, has taken an "Us-against-the-world" mentality into the NCAA Tournament.

"I don't think it's the whole world," he said. "Three quarters, maybe. I think there are some people in China that aren't upset with us."

COMPILED BY STEVE CARP LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL