REPORTING FROM ... FORD FIELD, DETROIT

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Ford Field in warmer, more pleasant times.

Snow is falling in Detroit, where Mother Nature seems to have confused March Madness for the Super Bowl. Inside Ford Field, though, the talk is all about the raised court and the setup of the 72,000-seat arena, site of next year's Final Four.

It's a huge space, but because the court sits like a boxing ring on the 50-yard line and is neatly lined with seats and press rows, there's an intimacy that doesn't exist at say, the Alamadome or the Superdome.

The court will be quite an adjustment for the players, none of whom have ever played in such a grand setting, or with the depth-perception challenges presented by such a setting. Davidson (with an enrollment of about 1,700) could just about fit every one of its alumni, living and dead, into the building for the Wildcats game against Wisconsin tonight. Considering their underdog status, and the feel-good vibe from the Board of Trustees' decision to pay for 300 students to travel to Detroit, the 10th-seeded Cats are already a sentimental favorite. Coach Bob McKillop, though, is just worried about how he'll adjust to standing above his team.

"I'm delighted that CBS has two-and-a-half minute timeouts, because it's going to take me that long to get down from the court, down the steps and kneel in front of our bench," he said, laughing.

The players seemed to be taking everything in stride, at least by the look of Thursday's practices. Wisconsin guard Michael Flowers shrugged when asked if the raised court would present any major problems.

"I don't think it's going to be tough," he said, pointing out that the Badgers are used to playing on the raised court from road games at Minnesota. "The baskets are still 10 feet, the court is still the same length, so it's just like playing anywhere else."

Just don't say that around Villanova guard Malcolm Grant, the Wildcats' shortest player at 6'. He's already tired of being asked by teammate Dante Cunningham if he'll be able to see from his seat on the bench. In fact, when he plopped down during Nova's practice, only the top of Grant's head was visible from the other side of the court.

Sometimes, the best seat in the house just isn't.

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