COLLEGE BASKETBALL NCAA TOURNAMENT PAIRINGS : Did They Look Out for No. 1? : National: West Regional stacked with talented teams to challenge reign of Nevada Las Vegas.

Jerry Tarkanian’s worst fears came true Sunday as the NCAA Selection Committee placed all sorts of potholes in UNLV’s road to the Final Four.

First-round opponent: Montana. A likely rout by the No. 1-ranked and undefeated Rebels. The matchup met with Tarkanian’s approval.

But look who awaits if all goes according to the selection committee’s West Regional plan: enigmatic but dangerous Georgetown, featuring its twin toll booth towers--Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo. Tarkanian, who thinks the NCAA was designed specifically to torment him, hardly could contain his dismay.

“We’re No. 1 in the country and we get rewarded by playing Georgetown in the second round,” he said. “Not bad, huh?”

The selection committee didn’t stop with Georgetown. Also placed in the West were Arizona, Michigan State, Seton Hall and Utah, among others. All things considered, the regional probably contains the most teams capable of ending UNLV’s quest for a second consecutive national championship.

Of course, this is exactly what Tarkanian dreaded most. Even before the pairings were announced, Tarkanian told reporters that John Thompson’s Hoyas were atop his list of teams he would least like to play. Also on the list was Arizona, coached by Lute Olson--hardly a close, personal friend of Tarkanian’s--Indiana and North Carolina.

“Right from the beginning, I’ve been scared of Georgetown,” he said. “They’re the dark horse. They can beat anyone. Another team is Arizona. They’re really deep, have great size and they they’re strong inside.”

Well, the selection committee must have gotten hold of Tarkanian’s private stationery. Not long after his pre-pairings news conference, UNLV found itself in arguably the toughest of the four regionals. Meanwhile, Tarkanian found himself in a semi-funk.

“I guess every region is tough, so it doesn’t do any good to complain,” he said.

Instead, he picked on UCLA, which earned an invitation to the East Regional.

“I like UCLA’s draw,” he said. “They’re the fourth seed and if they win, they’ll play either Mississippi State or Eastern Michigan. Their second game looks a lot easier than Georgetown.”

UNLV joins Ohio State in the Midwest, North Carolina in the East and Arkansas in the Southeast as No. 1 seeds. On paper, the East Regional appears to be easiest of the four, followed by Midwest, Southeast and then the West.

Consider the top four seeded teams in each regional:

West--1) UNLV, 2) Arizona, 3) Seton Hall, 4) Utah.

Southeast--1) Arkansas, 2) Indiana, 3) Kansas, 4) Alabama.

Midwest--1) Ohio State, 2) Duke, 3) Nebraska, 4) St. John’s.

East--1) North Carolina, 2) Syracuse, 3) Oklahoma State, 4) UCLA.

Earlier predictions of seedings became useless when the Tar Heels beat Duke in Sunday’s Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championship. The victory elevated North Carolina to the top seeding in the East and dearly cost Duke--sort of. Sure, the Blue Demons lost their chance at a No. 1 seed and a chance to stay closer to home, but remember that Duke was defeated in the ACC final last season and still advanced to the Final Four.

Another team slightly peeved at the selection committee is Indiana. The Hoosiers could easily have been given a No. 1 seed in, say, the East Regional. Instead, the nine-man committee stuck Indiana in the Southeast, where the Hoosiers will face Coastal Carolina in the first round and, barring an upset, the winner of USC-Florida State in the second round.

That’s right: USC, coached by George Raveling, a longtime Knight friend and defender. The Trojans played themselves into a better-than-expected No. 10 seeding. The committee, no doubt, was impressed by USC’s late-season winning streak.

The NCAA tournament begins Thursday and Friday. Second-round winners will then play in the regionals, which begin the next weekend in Seattle (West), Pontiac, Mich. (Midwest), East Rutherford, N.J. (East) and Charlotte, N.C. (Southeast). The Final Four is March 30-April 1 in Indianapolis.

There will be the usual collection of disgruntled coaches who thought their teams deserved at-large invitations. Providence could make the best case, but Cincinnati, Houston and Fordham also have cause to lodge complaints. And, as usual, the committee unveiled a few surprises. It invited Georgia Tech, which was considered a semi-longshot with only 16 victories. New Mexico, after years of disappointment, finally was invited, as were Villanova and Northern Illinois.

Perhaps the most surprised coach was Stew Morrill of Montana. His team won 23 games and the Big Sky Conference tournament championship to earn the automatic bid. For their troubles, the Grizzlies get UNLV.

“Basically I was just shocked when I heard we were seeded 16th,” Morrill said. “I was led to believe by our conference commissioner that we would be around a 13th or 14th (seed).”

If you’re looking for meaningless numbers, there are plenty to go around. The Big East, as expected, is sending the most teams (seven: Syracuse, Georgetown, Seton Hall, Villanova, St. John’s, Connecticut and Pittsburgh). The ACC was next with six entries, followed by the Big Ten and the Southeastern Conference with five each.

Of course, the main number and team to remember is UNLV. Despite Tarkanian’s dissatisfaction with the selection committee, even he can’t argue with his team’s chances, loaded regional or not.

“I don’t think this team has any weaknesses,” he said. “The whole key to winning the tournament is that you’ve got to play real well and be lucky. I know we’ll play well. I hope we’ll be lucky.”

Times staff writer Mike DiGiovanna contributed to this story.

* MEN’S BRACKETS: C10

* THE 64 TEAMS: C12-13