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

ARKANSAS

* Record: 31-3. Seeding: 1.

* Coach: Nolan Richardson.

* Key player: None other than Oliver (The Real Meal) Miller. The junior center is an accomplished shot blocker, scorer and an even better passer. If he stays out of foul trouble, the Razorbacks can beat anyone.

* Little-known fact: Recruiting guard Lee Mayberry was made much easier when Mayberry’s sister married Richardson’s son.

* Outlook: The Razorbacks have all the necessary ingredients to make it to the Final Four. They play great defense. They have three legitimate stars in Mayberry, Miller and Todd Day. Their starting lineup is experienced and their bench is deep. One other thing: the Razorbacks are Final Four veterans of a year ago.

INDIANA

* Record: 27-4. Seeding: 2.

* Coach: Bob Knight.

* Key player: Sophomore forward Calbert Cheaney, another Wooden finalist, is to Indiana what Jimmy Jackson is to Ohio State: indispensable. Knight has actually compared the sophomore to some of the Indiana greats.

* Little-known fact: Cheaney is the first left-handed shooter to play for Knight at Indiana.

* Outlook: The Hoosiers are young (with only one senior), but Knight likes this team. A lot. Freshman guard Damon Bailey doesn’t play like a first-year starter, and he gains more of Knight’s trust with every game. Along with Cheaney and forward Eric Anderson, the Hoosiers are capable of a Final Four visit to Indianapolis, only a 40-minute drive from the Indiana campus in Bloomington.

KANSAS

* Record: 22-7. Seeding: 3.

* Coach: Roy Williams.

* Key player: Forward Mark Randall. At least one Big Eight coach said that if he could build a team using conference players, he’d start with Randall, who does everything well. The Jayhawks need Randall, the only starter from last season’s team, in the lineup.

* Little-known fact: Williams already has 71 victories in three seasons as a head coach. It isn’t unthinkable that he could join Syracuse’s Boeheim as the only other coach who won 100 or more games in four seasons.

* Outlook: On paper, the Jayhawks don’t appear to be much of a Final Four threat. Yet, there’s a feeling they’ll do better than expected.

ALABAMA

* Record: 21-9. Seeding: 4.

* Coach: Wimp Sanderson.

* Key player: Yes, a freshman: guard James Robinson. As the season progressed, Robinson became the star of this team. He has the ability to take over a game, a rare attribute for a freshman.

* Little-known fact: Sanderson says he planned on spending only one season at Alabama. That was 30 seasons ago, the last 10 of which he has been head coach.

* Outlook: Now that junior forward Robert Horry has been dismissed from the team, the Crimson Tide isn’t quite the postseason hopeful expected weeks ago. Without Horry, a solid scorer and rebounder, more pressure will be placed on Robinson and Melvin Cheatum.

WAKE FOREST

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* Record: 18-10. Seeding: 5.

* Coach: Dave Odom.

* Key player: Freshman forward Rodney Rogers is as special as advertised. Rogers plays as if he has been in the ACC for years and helps give the Demon Deacons a strong inside game.

* Little-known fact: Wake Forest finished 12-16 last season and still managed to challenge for best recruiting class in the country.

* Outlook: The Demon Deacons finished the regular season strong (despite an ACC tournament loss to Virginia) and could be another of those sleeper teams.

PITTSBURGH

* Record: 20-11. Seeding: 6.

* Coach: Paul Evans.

* Key player: Brian Shorter, senior forward. A preseason illness hampered Shorter for much of the early going. After that, who knows? Some games he plays great, others. . . . Still, he can dominate underneath, despite his 6-6 size.

* Little-known fact: Remember all those preseason stories predicting Pitt to do great things? Uh, those were typos.

* Outlook: A very strange team. The Panthers have the talent, but do they have the heart? Based on the regular season, the answer is no.

FLORIDA STATE

* Record: 20-10. Seeding: 7.

* Coach: Pat Kennedy.

* Key Player: Doug Edwards, who missed his freshman season because of academic difficulties, helped the Seminoles make a strong and important late-season run in the Metro Conference. Without it (and the 6-9 Edwards), Florida State would be in the NIT, not the NCAA tournament. When he was recruited in 1989, Edwards was considered one of the top 10 high school players in the country. He hasn’t disappointed Florida State followers.

* Little-known fact: Florida State readied itself for the tournament by playing non-conference opponents UNLV, Syracuse, Arkansas and LaSalle.

* Outlook: Beware of teams with impressive win streaks heading into the tournament. The Seminoles are worth watching.

ARIZONA STATE

* Record: 19-9. Seeding: 8.

* Coach: Bill Frieder.

* Key player: When the Sun Devils need a clutch basket, they almost always go to Isaac Austin, a 6-10 senior center who averages 16.3 points and 8.7 rebounds.

* Little-known fact: While eating at a Los Angeles soul food restaurant last month, Arizona State player Tarence Wheeler noticed civil rights legend Rosa Parks sitting nearby. By meal’s end, the entire Sun Devil team was talking with Parks. Later, Frieder invited Parks on his coach’s show.

* Outlook: If the Sun Devils shoot well from the perimeter and get a solid performance from Austin, Arizona State could cause problems for almost any opponent. Remember, this team beat Kansas, Texas, BYU and New Mexico this season.

RUTGERS

* Record: 19-9. Seed: 9.

* Coach: Bob Wenzel.

* Key Player: Keith Hughes, forward. Hughes was the player of the year in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The 6-8, 235-pounder senior averaged 21 points and 9.9 rebounds. Hughes transferred from Syracuse two seasons ago.

* Little-known fact: Rutgers advanced to the 1976 Final Four.

* Outlook: The Scarlet Knights are a lousy half-court team. To be successful, they will have to run an up-tempo game and avoid one of their pronounced shooting slumps. Don’t count on a championship ring for Rutgers.

USC

* Record: 19-9. Seeding: 10.

* Coach: George Raveling.

* Key Player: Here’s a surprise: Robert Pack. When the senior guard has scored 15 or more points, the Trojans are 19-3. Harold Miner and Ronnie Coleman produce most of the points and rebounds, but Pack’s play usually determines the outcome.

* Little-known fact: Raveling becomes only the eighth NCAA coach to take three teams (Washington State, Iowa and USC) to the tournament. Eddie Sutton leads with four (Oklahoma State, Kentucky, Arkansas and Creighton).

* Outlook: The Trojans are an underrated team, capable of an upset. Then again, they’re capable of getting whipped, too, when you least expect it (witness the game at Washington not long ago). Still, Miner is a prime time player, and Coleman is as steady as a monotone. For USC to do well, the guard play will be a key. This is a team that relies on quickness, not size. An up-tempo game favors it.

GEORGIA

* Record: 17-12. Seeding: 11.

* Coach: Hugh Durham.

* Key player: Litterial Green, guard. Rank the top guards in the Southeastern Conference and Green’s name is sure to be mentioned. He is an impressive offensive player (20.6-point average) capable of carrying a team. One problem: he has broken bone in his left hand but is probable for the tournament.

* Little-known fact: Durham is one of 10 coaches to lead two schools (Florida State and Georgia) to the Final Four.

* Outlook: Durham is known for producing NCAA tournament upsets. Why should this year be any different?

LOUISIANA TECH

* Record: 21-9. Seeding: 12.

* Coach: Jerry Loyd.

* Key player: P.J. Brown, center. Brown averages 14.4 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocks. He was the MVP of the American South Conference tournament.

* Little-known fact: The Bulldogs have averaged more than 20 victories the past 11 seasons.

* Outlook: New Orleans received much of the early season publicity, but Louisiana Tech earned the automatic NCAA berth by beating New Orleans in the conference tournament. Louisiana Tech peaked at the right time.

MURRAY STATE

* Record: 24-8. Seeding: 13.

* Coach: Steve Newton.

* Key player: Center Ron (Popeye) Jones is the guy the Racers depend on for scoring, rebounding and intimidation. At 6-8, 235 pounds (and that’s a conservative estimate), Jones provides Murray State with a pro-caliber presence inside. Jones hustles constantly and wears down opponents.

* Little-known fact: The Racers have won four consecutive Ohio Valley Conference championships.

* Outlook: A 16th-seeded NCAA team last year, the Racers came close to beating a strong Michigan State team in the first round. Murray State might be good for at least one tournament victory this time around.

NEW ORLEANS

* Record: 23-7. Seeding: 14.

* Coach: Tim Floyd.

* Key player: Ervin Johnson, a 6-11 sophomore center. Johnson isn’t the most polished player in the American South Conference, but he can block shots and rebound (his 12.2 average was eighth best in the country).

* Little-known fact: Johnson quit playing basketball after his sophomore year in high school. Two seasons ago, he asked Floyd for a chance to play for New Orleans. Floyd couldn’t get scholarship papers and a pen in Johnson’s hands fast enough.

* Outlook: The Privateers faded down the stretch, so it will be interesting to see how they respond in the tournament. Don’t count on them going far.

COASTAL CAROLINA

* Record: 24-7. Seeding: 15.

* Coach: Russ Bergman.

* Key player: Tony Duncan, a 6-7 forward, is averaging 18 points and leads the Chanticleers in rebounding. For the second year in a row, Duncan was the Big South Conference MVP.

* Little-known fact: In case you’re wondering, a chanticleer is a rooster.

* Outlook: A Division I program only since 1986, Coastal Carolina is to be congratulated on making the tournament. It had better enjoy the experience, because it won’t last long.

GEORGIA STATE

* Record: 16-14. Seeding: 16.

* Coach: Bob Reinhart

* Key player: Chris Collier, the Trans-America Conference tournament MVP, led the surprising Panthers to their first NCAA berth. In the tournament final against Arkansas Little Rock, Collier had 19 points and nine rebounds. Collier is easily Georgia State’s best player.

* Little-known fact: This is the first winning season at Georgia State in 15 years.

* Outlook: Gloomy. Enjoy the moment, fellas.