By The Associated Press

ALBANY, N.Y. - Much has been made of the youth movement that Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim has melded into a Final Four team.

Although he starts freshmen Carmelo Anthony and Gerry McNamara and sophomore Hakim Warrick, Boeheim is used to doing well with young players.

His Orangemen came within 4 seconds of defeating Indiana for the 1987 national championship - Keith Smart gave the Hoosiers a one-point victory with his memorable baseline jumper - and that team wasn't exactly packed with veteran players. Derrick Coleman, Sherman Douglas and Rony Seikaly were the pillars of that squad.

"When you look back on it, they were young," Boeheim said. "Derrick was only a freshman, Sherman was a sophomore, and Rony was a junior, so our three best players were underclassmen. They turned out to be real good players."

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SAN ANTONIO - As good a passer as T.J. Ford is, it's easy to overlook just how poorly he's been shooting in the NCAA tournament.

The Texas point guard went into Sunday's regional final shooting 29 percent from the floor and struggled again in an 85-76 win over Michigan State, going 4-of-12.

Ford, who shot 42 percent coming into the tournament, didn't hit a jumper until late in the second half.

But Ford continues to find points by driving for layups and drawing fouls. He made 11 of 13 free throws against the Spartans and set up numerous other baskets with 10 assists and other passes that helped his teammates get to the line throughout the game.

"To his credit, he didn't shoot that well but he got to the line 13 times," Michigan State's Chris Hill said.

"He's so aggressive to attack all the time," said the Spartans' Alan Anderson. "Either he's going to draw a foul or he's going to find somebody wide open, so that's what he kept doing."

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ALBANY, N.Y. - Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim was joined at center court at the end of the game by his two young sons. He said he could only handle two of his three young children - his 2-year-old daughter was back home - otherwise, he might miss the game.

Doing daddy obligations weren't too bad on this day, though.

"I was changing a diaper about 15 minutes before we left today," Boeheim said after the 651st victory of his 27-year career at Syracuse. "I guess it's good. You don't worry about the game too much, or else you're going to get dirty."

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ALBANY, N.Y. - Nine people were arrested for scalping tickets to the NCAA regional basketball tournament.

Plainclothes detectives made most of the arrests before the Friday night game between Oklahoma and Butler, police said. Syracuse played Auburn later at the Pepsi Arena in downtown Albany.

Most tickets had a face value of $60. Reselling them for more than 20 percent of face value violates the state's arts and cultural affairs law. Violators faced court appearances and possible fines.

"They were selling tickets for $600, $800," police spokesman Detective James Miller told the Times Union in Albany. Another anti-scalping effort was planned Sunday for the tournament's regional final between Oklahoma and Syracuse, Miller said.

Inside the arena Friday, ticket-takers confiscated about 100 counterfeit tickets, said Jeff Yule, marketing director. "The simple rule is, just don't buy any tickets off the street," he said.