But the ACC's second-best team has demonstrated it has the toughness and confidence to challenge the Blue Devils in the final stretch of the season. No, it's not Wake Forest, Maryland or upstart Florida State. It's North Carolina State, the forgotten program on Tobacco Road that is off to its best ACC start in 15 years and is the only team with a realistic shot at catching Duke.

N.C. State defeated Wake Forest Wednesday with an impressive second-half comeback, moving to 6-2 in the ACC and 13-5 overall. No other team besides Duke is better than 4-4 in the league, leaving the unranked Wolfpack alone in second place.

There hasn't been a contender this late in the season in Raleigh since 1989, when N.C. State won the ACC regular-season title.

Now in his eighth season at N.C. State, coach Herb Sendek has built his best team, one with the leadership and star quality that define NCAA Tournament runs.

It hasn't been a painless journey. The Wolfpack did not make an NCAA Tournament until Sendek's sixth season in Raleigh. But support remained from university administrators and key donors. They recognized that Sendek ran a clean program and was undoing decades of suspicion at N.C. State that clouded national championships won by Norm Sloan in 1974 and Jim Valvano in 1983.

Sendek has taken N.C. State to two straight NCAA Tournaments, and State fans are filling the 5-year-old RBC Center in downtown Raleigh. The arena is an essential tool for recruiting against the likes of Duke and North Carolina. Sendek landed one of his most important classes in 2000; it included this year's seniors, Scooter Sherrill and Marcus Melvin. The next year he brought in Julius Hodge, now a junior who has developed into the most complete player in the ACC.

Hodge, at 6 feet 7, mixes finesse, strength and an understanding of team basketball to average 17.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists.

"We ask him to do a little bit of everything," Sendek said. "One of his greatest attributes is his versatility. He's a terrific passer. He creates shots for teammates. He rebounds and, of course, he can score."

Indeed he can. Hodge scored 28 points in a road win at Maryland on Sunday. He sprinkled in nine rebounds and five assists as the Wolfpack officially bounced back from a loss at North Carolina.

Now they're looking at a second half in which they play North Carolina and Duke at home, where N.C. State is 11-0. That doesn't mean N.C. State will win the ACC, but Wolfpack fans can be content in knowing the program is on solid ground and getting stronger.

Give me back my crouton!

Texas Tech chancellor David Smith had to know what he was getting into Monday when he decided to challenge basketball coach Bob Knight at a supermarket salad bar. Smith must have realized he could not accuse Knight of having issues without receiving verbal feedback from the volatile coach. By now you know that Knight responded to the accusations by subjecting Smith to a tirade that began at the salad bar and spread to the cereal aisle, the produce section and ultimately the parking lot.

The chancellor should have struck up the conversation in private, but being the chancellor, he's free to speak his mind to Knight wherever he wishes. That's the nature of normal chancellor-coach relationships, except that no relationship with Knight is normal.

Knight wasn't fired or suspended for the incident, only reprimanded. That means Texas Tech is no different than Indiana in letting its famous coach get away with gross misbehavior in exchange for 20 wins a season.

The rematch

Four weeks ago, Stanford proved how good it was by going into Arizona and posting a 10-point victory. The Cardinal are 19-0 and ranked No. 2, and today is Arizona's chance for payback at Stanford's Maples Pavilion.

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E-mail ddow@enquirer.com

Tipoff Page notes

C-USA: Brown returns to DePaul -- DePaul has regained the services of senior center Andre Brown in time for the stretch run of the conference regular season.

Brown, one of the best post players in the league, missed nine games because of a knee injury but returned last Saturday against East Carolina and scored 19 points with eight rebounds. The Blue Demons weathered his absence rather well. They're 12-7 overall and 5-3 in the league.

• Picked by the league's coaches during the preseason to finish fifth, Alabama-Birmingham finds itself in first place with a month left in the regular season. The Blazers, under second-year coach Mike Anderson, have won four in a row and six of their last seven. They're 6-1 in the league, with a showdown scheduled for today at Louisville. "It's going to be an up-tempo game and they're going to be favored playing at home," Anderson said. "One of the strengths of our team has been our depth, but they can match our depth."

• After 2 1/2 years without winning a conference road game, East Carolina broke through Tuesday with a 59-57 victory at South Florida.

--Bill Koch

Atlantic- 10: Dayton closes in on title -- Dayton's overtime win against Richmond at home Wednesday means the Flyers are on their way to winning their second A-10 West title, but they will have to earn it on the road. Dayton is 8-0 in the league and holds a 2 1/2-game lead over George Washington with notable games at Saint Joseph's, George Washington and Xavier still to come. Dayton needs to win at least one of those, preferably the GW game, because George Washington (6-3) has played the toughest part of its schedule and is in good position to overtake UD if the Flyers stumble.

• Now that Saint Joseph's got past Villanova with a win Monday, it's logical to expect the Hawks will finish the regular season unbeaten. Led by Jameer Nelson, Saint Joseph's has not been rattled all season, even in the close games, and has not been exploited by its interior weaknesses because of its perimeter pressure. The remaining games to watch are today against La Salle at The Palestra, Feb. 11 against Dayton at home, Feb. 21 against Temple at The Palestra and, of course, the A-10 Tournament in Dayton.

--Dustin Dow

MAC: Streaking teams meet -- Last Sunday's game between Buffalo and Ball State in Muncie matched two of the conference's streakiest teams. After a 3-1 start, the Cardinals lost five, won five and lost two before falling 84-75 to the Bulls. Buffalo started 0-3 and followed up with streaks of five wins and six losses before extending a new streak to three consecutive wins by beating Ball State.

• Western Michigan's 11-game winning streak is the longest by a MAC team this season. Central Michigan's loss at Ohio last Saturday extended its conference-worst losing streak to nine.

• Perhaps the best of the ESPN Bracket Buster games involving MAC teams is the Creighton-Kent State matchup, which will be televised on ESPN2 at noon Feb. 21. The Blue Jays, who play in the Missouri Valley Conference, recently dropped out of the Associated Press Top 25. The Golden Flashes are on pace to win their fourth consecutive East Division championship.

• Toledo's 9-2 league start was its best since the 1980 squad was 10-1. The Rockets' 15-4 overall mark is their best since the 1999 team started 16-3.

--Mark Schmetzer

SEC: Bulldogs' best start -- Mississippi State's 18-1 start matches those of the 1958-59 and '61-62 teams as its best ever. Those teams finished 24-1, but neither participated in the NCAA Tournament. That was part of a run in which MSU won four SEC titles in five years, but Mississippians then had an unwritten law that banned their all-white teams from facing blacks in competition, which they would have done in the NCAAs. In 1963, MSU's then-president, Dean W. Colvard, famously snuck the team out of town to East Lansing, Mich., where it competed in the NCAAs. It lost in the regional semifinals to eventual champion Loyola (Ill.).

• This season's Bulldogs have been remarkable in that just one returning starter is on the court: senior guard Timmy Bowers (15.8 ppg). The other player who would have been a returning starter, Ontario Harper, tore his anterior cruciate ligament in September but hopes to return late in the season.

• Florida's 4-4 SEC mark leaves it on pace for its worst finish since at least 1998-99, when it was 10-6 and third in the SEC East. That's the last time it wasn't first or second in the division.

--Neil Schmidt

Thumbs up

John Calipari: He was understandably elated after his Memphis team upset Louisville 62-58 Wednesday.

Southern Illinois: The Salukis are 11-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference with a two-game lead over Creighton.

Pittsburgh: Carl Krauser has helped the Panthers win 39 straight home games and go 7-1 in the Big East.

Don DeVoe: After 31 years at five schools with 510 wins, the Navy coach is retiring at season's end.

Thumbs down

Providence: The Big East contender is on a two-game losing streak.

Maurice "Boo" Wade: The Wisconsin guard was arrested and suspended from the team for allegedly choking a woman.

Iowa State: They're unbeatable at home (12-0), but the Cyclones fall apart on the road (1-5).

Minnesota: A disastrous 0-8 start in the Big Ten.

Must-See TV

South Carolina at Kentucky, 1 p.m. today (Ch. 25): Isn't who UK expected to battle for the SEC East lead.

North Carolina at Wake Forest, 1 p.m. today (Ch. 12, 7): Wake won the earlier meeting in 3 OTs.

Texas Tech at Kansas, 4 p.m. today (ESPN): Behind the Bob Knight dramatics, Tech has a pretty good team.

Xavier at Richmond, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday (Fox Sports Net): Time to see if the Muskies are really back.

Louisville at Charlotte, 9 p.m. Thursday (ESPN2): Cardinals have appeared vulnerable lately.

Senior leaders

1. Jameer Nelson, Saint Joseph's: Takes on increased pressure so teammates don't have to. Averages 20.4 points a game.

2. Matt Freije, Vanderbilt: His effort is behind Vanderbilt's surprising season. Averages 18.6 points in 27.8 minutes a game.

3. Blake Stepp, Gonzaga: Averages 35 minutes a game on a very talented team and was named West Coast Conference player of the month for January.

4. Chris Duhon, Duke: With almost seven assists per game, he realizes he's not Duke's best scoring option.

5. Tim Pickett, Florida State: Leads the Seminoles with 16.2 points by shooting 40 percent from 3-point range.

Numbers game

6-5: Wake Forest's record since its 119-114 triple-overtime victory over North Carolina Dec. 20. Both teams entered that game with 6-0 records, but North Carolina hasn't had a winning streak longer than two games since, going 7-5 in that span. The 16th-ranked Demon Deacons meet the No. 17 Tar Heels again today.

Tipoff Sweet Sixteen

Rank	Team	Comment
1.	Stanford	Mike Montgomery's squad has few, if any, weaknesses.
2.	Duke	Blue Devils posted big win at North Carolina Thursday.
3.	St. Joseph's	Battling Stanford to see who stays undefeated longer.
4.	Gonzaga	Owning the West Coast Conference.
5.	Mississippi State	There's no slowing big man Lawrence Roberts.
6.	Pittsburgh	Most wins in the nation with 21.
7.	Kentucky	Showed impressive strength in victory at Florida.
8.	Texas	In three-way tie atop Big 12.
9.	Louisville	Tough loss at Memphis without two key players.
10.	Connecticut	Emeka Okafor dominating Big East opponents.
11.	Wisconsin	Two Big Ten road games coming up.
12.	Oklahoma State	Difficult game at Iowa State today.
13.	Kansas	Wayne Simien carrying the load inside.
14.	N.C. State	On the rise in ACC play.
15.	Wake Forest	Must regroup today against North Carolina.
16.	Cincinnati	Lost two straight going into today's game at Houston.

Tipoff Q&A

Q. From Stacy in Cincinnati: Xavier's Keith Jackson seems to do all the little things and provide a boost every time he is in the game, but he can't get more than 12-15 minutes a game?

A: Jackson's playing time will only increase as he continues to promote offensive execution. Jackson is not a prolific scorer and certainly has limited range, but he brings experience and selflessness to the lineup. Xavier's execution has been dreadful at times this season, but Jackson has been a bright spot. During his time at Xavier, however, he hasn't been able to do that for an entire season. Consistency and confidence ultimately will keep him on the court.

Q. From Randy in Erlanger: What are former UC players Steve Logan and Kenny Satterfield doing these days?

A: According to UC coach Bob Huggins, Logan is back home in Cleveland and Satterfield is back in New York. Neither is playing basketball professionally.

THE LIST

Xavier's Justin Doellman's favorite NBA teams:

Los Angeles Lakers
Minnesota Timberwolves
Sacramento Kings
Dallas Mavericks
New Orleans Hornets

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E-mail bkoch@enquirer.com or ddow@enquirer.com