European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 27, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Arizona nabs first berth in Mcaa tourney new Orleans Reni Mason 10 steals a pass from Arkansas Little rocks Derek Fisher in the first half of the 20th-Rankcd privateers 86-60 win thursday night. By United press International there is a furious debate these Days As to which College basketball team is the Best one cast of the Mississippi River. There is no such argument in the West. The fourth ranked Arizona wildcats added to their reputation As the Best team in the Western half of the nation thursday night clinching at least a tie for their fifth Pacific-10 title in six years and running the nation s longest current win Ning Streak to 18 games. They did so with a hard earned 81-70 Victory Over the game Oregon state Bea vers leaving Arizona with a five game advantage Over Arizona state with five games to play. And because the wildcats have already beaten the Sun devils in both their meetings this year Arizona has wrapped up the first automatic bid awarded to the Mcaa tournament. The Pac-10 decides its automatic representative without the Benefit of a conference tourney. Arizona has been generally overlooked while Duke North Carolina Indiana and Kentucky have been battling for the no. 1 spot in the National rankings this season. But the wildcats figure to be no worse than no. 2 in the country next week thanks to recent losses by Indiana and Kentucky. They reached the 20-win plateau thursday night while two key Battles were taking place in the. Midwest. In a Duel Between ranked teams no. 10 Cincinnati came from behind to defeat no. 19 Marquette 66-57. And Illinois moved into a second place tie in the big Teh by Downing no. 18 Purdue in double overtime 78-70. The Only other action featuring ranked teams saw no. 24 Xavier Edge Loyola i 68-65 no. 20 new Orleans Roll Over Arkansas Little Rock 86-60 and no. 12 Nevada Las vegas fight off an upset bid to Down Nevada 10093. Khalid Reeves paced Arizona with a career High 31 Points and Chris Mills had 26 Points Ana seven rebounds. Arizona has won 53 of its last 54 Pac the stars and stripes ports february 27,1993 b Page 36 College basketball 10 Home games with the last 13 wins coming by and average margin of 26 Points. Elsewhere in College basketball thursday night a Louisville moved a half game ahead of Tulane in the metro conference with a 69-64 Victory Over North Carolina Charlotte. A Massachusetts increased its Lead to three games in the loss column in the Atlantic 10 by virtue of George Washington s 74-73 loss to St. Joseph s. The minutemen have two losses in the conference while George Washington St. Joseph s and Rhode Island All have five. A rider won a key 58-54 decision Over Wagner in the Northeast conference a a rider a two game advantage Over Ragner. Giving Wagne a sum moved one Victory away from clinching the Southwest conference championship by Downing Texas a amp a 84-73. The Mustangs have a one game Lead Over Rice their next opponent. A and the women s team from Vermont set an Mcaa record with its 50th consecutive regular season win. The catamounts Defeated northeastern 50-40, breaking the regular season Quot Mark of 49 set by Butler 12 years ago. Vermont went 29-0 last season before losing in the opening round of the Mcaa tournament to George Washington 70-69.plenty left on shelves for nil shoppers by Dave Goldberg a football writer new York need a quarterback for the Short term try 37-year-old Phil Simms. Need one for a longer period take a shot at Chris Miller Atlanta a injury prone signal caller the inconsistent Vinny Testa verde the temperamental Bobby Hebert the erratic Jay Schroeder the Short armed Jim Harbaugh. Plus backups like Steve Beuerlein Steve Bono Don Majkowski or Bubby Bris Ter who might like a shot at starting somewhere. All Are out there to be plucked in the a Fly a first try at unrestricted free agency1, which takes effect on monday. Thursday was the Day for nil teams to disclose the players they will protect As free Agency begins. It was a Light coating. Only 10 of the 28 teams sought to designate a franchise players a those who can to be touched by other teams. Another 56 players were declared a transition players a those for w Hom teams can match offers. Overall somewhere around 350 free agents a players with five years experience who Are free to sign with anyone a will probably be available. They include aging superstars like Lawrence Taylor Marcus Allen Art Monk Karl Mecklenburg Ronnie Lott and Eric Dickerson see protected lists on Page 30 and a number of fringe players not unlike the ones who formerly moved around under the defunct plan b. But they also include a group of quarterbacks who could be instant Balm to contenders such As Kansas City or Minnesota who Are Short at that one position. The 10 a franchise players a who must be paid among the top five at their position Are a mixed group that includes three offensive linemen a Lomas Brown of Detroit jumbo Elliott of the new York giants and Paul Gruber of Tampa Bay. That reflects the Long careers at that position. The others include san Francisco quarterback Steve Young and three dominant defenders a Neil Smith of Kansas City Wilber Marshall of Washington and Leslie of Neal of san Diego plus linebacker Duane Bickett of Indianapolis a less obvious Choice. The other two a franchise player ssh Are curiosities a Reggie White of Philadelphia and Tim Mcdonald of Phoenix. Neither can be protected because they Are plaintiffs in the lawsuits that led to the settlement but their inclusion Means their teams will receive compensation in the i Pool to it league. Pei in the form of draft picks from a Pool to be established by the a Many of the transition players included 1992 rookies whom teams want to protect even though their contracts Arentt close to being up. They included Indianapolis Steve Emtman and Quentin Coryatt the top two players chosen in last year s draft the los Angeles rams Sean Gilbert the third Overall pick Marco Coleman and Troy Vincent Miami a two first round picks last april and Kansas City comeback Dale Carter the defensive Rookie of the year