Enquirer wire services

RATINGS DOWN: With viewers drawn to war coverage, the first two nights of the tournament had TV audiences roughly 25 percent smaller than last year's.

CBS Sports' broadcasts from 7 p.m. to about midnight Thursday and Friday averaged a 4.8 overnight rating compared with 6.3 in 2002, a drop of 23.8 percent. On Friday, the 7 p.m. games on CBS drew a 4.2 overnight rating, a 32 percent drop from last year's second night of the tournament. The 9:45 p.m. game got a 4.9, a decline of 14 percent.

Each rating point represents about 735,000 homes. Overnight ratings measure the 55 largest TV markets in the United States, covering nearly 70 percent of the country.

The NCAA has added time to halftimes, giving the network - which is paying the NCAA $6 billion over 11 years - more flexibility for war updates and some additional commercials.

CBS has moved some basketball action to cable channel ESPN so the broadcaster's news division can air war coverage. For Sunday, CBS worked out arrangements with ESPN, ESPN2, TNN, TBS and TNT so NCAA games could be shifted if necessary.

TBS could carry a game Sunday at 2 p.m., and TNT could at 7 p.m., Turner Sports Senior VP Greg Hughes said.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS: Michigan State coach Tom Izzo concedes that reaching three consecutive Final Fours from 1999-2001 has set a tough standard for the Spartans to maintain.

Despite stringing together several outstanding recruiting classes during the program's dominant run, Izzo said his job has become even more challenging because of the early departure of NBA draft picks like Jason Richardson, Zach Randolph and Marcus Taylor.

"We did have good recruiting classes, and losing some of those guys has made it a little more difficult to maybe sustain the level that we were at," Izzo said.

The Spartans (20-12) can take another step in the right direction Sunday when they meet Florida (25-7) in the second round of the South Regional.

BONNER DOUBLE? Florida star Matt Bonner took some razzing from teammates when the Gators began watching film of Michigan State in preparation for second-round game of the South Regional.

The 6-foot-10, 240-pound senior forward could pass as a double for Adam Ballinger, the Spartans' 6-9, 250-pound senior forward.

"Yes, we look alike and have similar games," Bonner said, breaking into a smile. "Us redheads have to stick together, I guess."

SING ALONG: Besides being a basketball coach, Auburn's Cliff Ellis is a musician who has recorded several albums. His latest, People Get Ready, was inspired by Sept. 11.

"When 9-11 occurred, I went into the studio for the Red Cross," Ellis said. "I enjoy it."

His players are hesitant to rate their coach as a singer.

"He has a couple of songs on there that I like," Tigers star Marquis Daniels said.

Today's games

EAST

• Syracuse (25-5) vs. Oklahoma State (22-9), 2:40 p.m.

• Wake Forest (25-5) vs. Auburn (21-11), 4:30 p.m.

• Louisville (25-6) vs. Butler (26-5), 2:20 p.m.

SOUTH

• Xavier (26-5) vs. Maryland (20-9), 4:40 p.m.

• Texas (23-6) vs. Purdue (19-10), 4:50 p.m.

• Florida (25-7) vs. Michigan State (20-12), 7 p.m.

MIDWEST

• Pittsburgh (27-4) vs. Indiana (21-12), 12:10 p.m.

• Kentucky (30-3) vs. Utah (25-7), 7:10 p.m.