Linking hoops to campus hopes

The role played by sports in Chinese education is getting a boost thanks to an assist from American college basketball teams and the National Collegiate Athletic Association's China outreach program.

As Shanghai's packed Mercedes-Benz Arena reverberated with raucous cheering and intense on-court action on Saturday night, it looked like a scene from the NCAA's famous March Madness, the top collegiate hoops tournament in the US.

The University of Washington pulled off a 77-71 victory over the University of Texas to wrap up a week-long China tour by the two squads, highlighted by the first regular-season game ever played between US collegiate or professional teams in this country.