COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NCAA MEN’S TOURNAMENT : TODAY’S GAMES : Ailing Childress Expected to Play

Guard Randolph Childress of Wake Forest (26-3) been hit with flu this week, an ailment Coach Dave Odom calls “more of a bother than a problem.”

The 6-foot-2 senior scored only 15 points in the top-seeded Demon Deacons’ 79-47 victory over North Carolina A&T;, and he skipped the session with the media Friday. But Childress is expected to be in good shape for today’s second-round game at Baltimore against St. Louis (23-7).

The first game at the Baltimore Arena will match fourth-seeded Oklahoma State (24-9) against fifth-seeded Alabama (23-9).

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For the Cincinnati Bearcats, the real season begins in March.

“Our focus from October 15th on is to get ready to play well this time of the year,” Coach Bob Huggins said. “A lot of the things we do lend themselves to playing well this time of year.”

Cincinnati, a Final Four team three years ago and in the NCAA tournament for the fourth time in a row under Huggins, takes on Connecticut in today’s second round of the West Regional at Salt Lake City.

The Bearcats (22-11) eliminated Temple, 77-71, in Thursday’s opening round, and Connecticut (26-4) opened with a 15-0 run to overwhelm Tennessee Chattanooga, 100-71.

Texas (23-6) takes on Maryland (25-7) in today’s other game at the Huntsman Center.

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Miami University and its loud, ticket-buying fans are only 45 miles from Dayton, Ohio, site of the school’s NCAA Midwest regional second-round game today against Virginia.

And Virginia Coach Jeff Jones isn’t too happy about it.

“I don’t think it’s fair,” Jones said Friday, after his team worked out at the University of Dayton Arena. “It’s definitely an advantage for Miami tomorrow. That’s one of the things we’ll have to deal with.”

Dealing with Miami (23-6) isn’t one of the things that 13th-ranked Virginia (23-8) was counting on. Miami, regular-season champion of the Mid-American Conference, upset 15th-ranked Arizona, 71-62, in Thursday’s opening round.

The other second-round game will pit fifth-ranked Kansas (24-5) against No. 21 Western Kentucky (27-3). The top-seeded Jayhawks defeated Colgate, 82-68, and Western Kentucky overcame a 14-point deficit in the final 8 1/2 minutes of regulation to top Michigan, 82-76, in overtime.

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Manhattan beat a team with comparable skill and style in the first round of the NCAA Southeast Regional at Memphis, Tenn. The 13th-seeded Jaspers (26-4) won’t find today’s matchup with Arizona State as much to their liking.

The fifth-seeded Sun Devils (23-8) are far more athletic than Oklahoma, and they play a pressing, fast-paced game. They blitzed Ball State early on Thursday, 81-66.

Arizona State center Mario Bennett was asked what he knew about Manhattan.

“I know they beat the hell out of Oklahoma,” he said. “That’s about all you need to know.”

Top-seeded Kentucky (26-4) did the same to Mount St. Mary’s of Maryland in the first round, winning, 113-67. Coach Rick Pitino said the blowout was probably good for his team, which plays ninth-seeded Tulane (23-9) today.