COLLEGE BASKETBALL : TEAM-BY-TEAM LOOK AT NCAA MEN’S TOURNAMENT : WEST REGIONAL

NEVADA LAS VEGAS

* Record: 30-0. Seeding: 1.

* Coach: Jerry Tarkanian.

* Key player: Opinions vary. Some say that forward Larry Johnson is the cornerstone of the defending NCAA champions. Others nominate forward Stacey Augmon, a defensive whiz without peer and a dangerous open-court player; or Anderson Hunt, the Runnin’ Rebels’ best perimeter shooter. But the most indispensable player is point guard Greg Anthony. He coordinates the offense, plays great defense and his absence from the lineup would mean turning to a suspect bench.

* Little-known fact: Tarkanian began sucking on towels in 1960, when his Redlands High team played Ramona for the league championship. Tired of walking to a drinking fountain each time he was thirsty, Tarkanian dunked a towel in water and returned to the bench. Nowadays, UNLV student managers actually are taught how to fold Tark’s towel just so.

* Outlook: A second championship could come as easily as ordering room service.

ARIZONA

* Record: 26-6. Seeding: 2.

* Coach: Lute Olson.

* Key player: Center Brian Williams nearly beat Duke single-handedly during a late regular season victory. He is the centerpiece of a huge Arizona front line. Chris Mills also should get a mention. He might be the most talented player in the Pacific 10, perhaps one of the 15 best in the country. Still, you get the feeling that the Wildcats were expecting more from Mills.

* Little-known fact: Everyone worried about the supposedly suspect backcourt of Matt Muehlebach, Matt Othick and freshman Khalid Reeves. Who would have thought that Arizona’s front line of Williams, Sean Rooks and Ed Stokes would cause the most problems?

* Outlook: Go figure these guys. They beat Duke but lose to Washington? Is it possible to have too much talent?

SETON HALL

* Record: 22-8. Seeding: 3.

* Coach: P.J. Carlesimo

* Key player: Guard Terry Dehere has struggled at times this season, but he remains the Pirates’ best player simply because of his scoring ability. Senior center Anthony Avent deserves mention, too. He gives Seton Hall a real presence up front.

* Little-known fact: Picked to finish near the bottom of the Big East, the Pirates have surprised even Carlesimo. The last time preseason predictions had Seton Hall finishing that low the Pirates ended up advancing to the Final Four.

* Outlook: Did the brutal Big East schedule toughen them or batter them? The Pirates should be the better for the experience and could manage a final eight showing.

UTAH

* Record: 28-3. Seeding: 4.

* Coach: Rick Majerus.

* Key player: Josh Grant is Utah’s best player and with good reason. At 6-9, he can play inside and also possesses a decent outside shot. He rebounds well and ranks as one of the most underrated players in the country.

* Little-known fact: Majerus always has a basketball in his car. Why, nobody knows.

* Outlook: Nobody expects the Utes to go too far. Then again, nobody expected them to finish the regular season ranked eighth in the country.

MICHIGAN STATE

* Record: 18-10. Seeding: 5.

* Coach: Jud Heathcote.

* Key player: Who else but guard Steve Smith? His only weakness this season was playing for a team that didn’t do half as well as expected. It would be hard to blame him for Michigan State’s somewhat disappointing record. When the Spartans need a basket, they turn to Smith. When they need a rebound, they turn to Smith. When they need a key defensive play, they turn to Smith. He won’t be the player of the year in the conference, but Michigan State would be sitting at home without him.

* Little-known fact: Only three schools recruited Smith: Michigan State, Missouri and Detroit.

* Outlook: A big-time sleeper.

NEW MEXICO STATE

* Record: 23-5. Seeding: 6.

* Coach: Neil McCarthy.

* Key player: Randy Brown, point guard. Brown might as well be named an assistant coach, what with all the positioning he does of players on the court. It isn’t unusual for Brown to instruct a player to do one thing while McCarthy is instructing him to do another. More times than not, McCarthy ends up agreeing with Brown. He averages 11.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 6.5 assists. If anything, Brown doesn’t shoot enough.

* Little-known fact: A reporter from a large East Coast newspaper recently called wanting to know about center Luc Longley, who plays for New Mexico, not New Mexico State. The reporter also informed a New Mexico State official that the 11th-ranked Aggies were on the NCAA tournament bubble. What? Told that the Aggies were a tournament lock and that Longley played for the Lobos, the embarrassed reporter quickly terminated the conversation.

* Outlook: Does anybody know that McCarthy is averaging 20 victories during his 16 years as a major college coach? New Mexico State is a team of overachievers, but still dangerous enough to do some damage.

VIRGINIA

* Record: 21-11. Seeding: 7.

* Coach: Jeff Jones.

* Key player: With Bryant Stith and John Crotty, it’s difficult to pick one key player from this team. Crotty is a wonderful playmaker, and if he weren’t playing in such an outstanding conference for point guards (Georgia Tech’s Kenny Anderson, North Carolina State’s Chris Corchiani, Duke’s Bobby Hurley) you’d hear more about him. Stith is the scorer on this team and also a strong rebounder, especially on the offensive boards.

* Little-known fact: Two players from the Cavalier football team play on the basketball team: Terry Kirby and Matt Blundin.

* Outlook: For a team that returned all five starters, the Cavaliers had a disappointing regular season. How much can be attributed to the transition from Terry Holland to Jones, the youngest coach (30) in Division I basketball is hard to determine. Still, the Cavaliers have a good enough team to advance one round, maybe two.

GEORGETOWN

* Record: 18-12. Seeding: 8.

* Coach: John Thompson.

* Key player: Alonzo Mourning, forward. Mourning was expected to have a great season. Then he strained his left arch Dec. 5 and never was the same. A switch from center to forward (to make room for 7-2 Dikembe Mutombo) didn’t help his confidence, either. Worse yet, he doesn’t even scowl anymore.

* Little-known fact: Mutombo, who speaks five languages, actually likes doing interviews--a first for a Georgetown player.

* Outlook: Not bad, if Mourning pulls out of his funk and figures out a way to co-exist with the shot-blocking, dunk machine that is Mutombo. Also, it would help if Georgetown’s three freshmen starters--Robert Churchwell, Joey Brown and Charles Harrison--improved their shooting percentage. They combined for 38% during the Big East regular-season schedule.

VANDERBILT

* Record: 17-12. Seeding: 9.

* Coach: Eddie Fogler.

* Key Player: Scott Draud, guard. One of the best long-range shooters in the country, Draud, a senior, receives (and deserves) constant attention by an opponent’s best defender. Even then, he manages to get open for his shots.

* Little-known fact: The Commodores won the NIT championship last year.

* Outlook: This is a sound, smart, well-disciplined team. If Draud is hot, Vandy could get to the Sweet 16.

BRIGHAM YOUNG

* Record: 20-12. Seeding: 10.

* Coach: Roger Reid.

* Key player: Steve Schreiner, a senior forward, is the team’s second-leading scorer and rebounder. A tough, rugged player, he averages 14.7 points and 7.1 rebounds. The Cougars would be lost without him.

* Little-known fact: BYU had the fewest three-point shots in the conference but led in three-point percentage (44.3).

* Outlook: The Cougars have to find a way to keep 7-6 freshman center Shawn Bradley in the game. Bradley, a spectacular athlete, has fouled out only three times this season, which is the good news. The bad news is that he’s averaging only 25 minutes a game, mostly because of foul trouble.

CREIGHTON

* Record: 23-7. Seeding: 11.

* Coach: Tony Barone.

* Key player: It was no accident that forward Bob Harstad recently was named outstanding player of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. Harstad, a senior, has dominated the MVC for the past two seasons. A steady double-figure scorer and strong rebounder, Harstad anchors a team rich in experience.

* Little-known fact: Barone has won 20 or more games in each of the past three seasons. Want to bet that a bigger program dangles a job offer soon?

* Outlook: A team worth watching. The Bluejays have won seven consecutive games and 15 of their last 16.

WISCONSIN GREEN BAY

* Record: 24-6. Seeding: 12.

Coach: Dick Bennett.

Key Player: Guard Tony Bennett, the coach’s son, was considered one of the best prep players in Wisconsin, but wasn’t approached by any other Division I school. Named the regular-season and tournament MVP of the Mid-Continent Conference, the 6-1 point guard averages 21.9 points and 4.8 assists. Every summer, he plays against Portland Trail Blazer Terry Porter, who played for Dick Bennett at Wisconsin Stevens Point.

* Little-known fact: The Phoenix leads the nation in three-pointers. As of last week, Green Bay was shooting 46.1% from long range.

* Outlook: A team to keep in mind for a first-round upset. The Phoenix beat DePaul at DePaul; beat Colorado at Colorado; handed Northern Illinois three of its five losses; led Nebraska with 40 seconds left, but lost; led Clemson at Clemson by 12 midway through the second half before losing.

SOUTH ALABAMA

* Record: 22-8. Seeding: 13.

* Coach: Ronnie Arrow.

* Key player: None. Only guard Kevin McDaniels averages more than 13 points.

* Little-known fact: After one game this season, the entire Jaguar bench was named player of the week in the Sun Belt Conference.

* Outlook: They enter the tournament on a hot streak, winners of 17 of 20. A dark horse pick to register an upset or two.

PEPPERDINE

* Record: 22-8. Seeding: 14.

* Coach: Tom Asbury.

* Key player: After his 32-point effort against St. Mary’s recently, is there any choice but junior forward Geoff Lear? He averages 18.6 points and 9.9 rebounds. Most impressive is his 56.5 field-goal percentage.

* Little-known fact: The last NCAA appearance for Pepperdine was in 1986. The Waves lost to Maryland, 69-64. It would be the last victory of Maryland forward Len Bias’ career. The Terrapins lost to UNLV in the next round.

* Outlook: With Doug Christie out because of a knee injury, the Waves will be hard pressed to make much of a dent.

ST. FRANCIS (PA.)

* Record: 24-7. Seeding: 15.

* Coach: Jim Baron.

* Key Player: Mike Iuzzolino, guard. Iuzzolino averages 24.3 points, but attempts an average of only 13 shots.

* Little-known fact: St. Francis is the second-smallest Division I school in the country, with an enrollment of 1,700.

* Outlook: As you might expect, the Red Flash doesn’t have much of a chance. This is their first NCAA appearance and their first postseason non-conference tournament since an NIT invitation in 1958.

MONTANA

* Record: 23-7. Seeding: 16.

* Coach: Stew Morrill.

* Key Player: Senior forward Kevin Kearney leads the team with a 17.9 scoring average. Only 6-4, Kearney plays power forward and gets most of his points by posting up.

* Little-known fact: In 1975, Montana almost beat UCLA in the NCAA. It was the last time the Grizzlies advanced to the tournament. Until now.

* Outlook: This hasn’t been the strongest year for the Big Sky. Montana is an above-average team with little hope of winning a tournament game.