COLLEGE BASKETBALL REPORT : NCAA TOURNAMENT UPDATE : UCLA : Harrick: Bruins’ Draw Not Easy

Apparently miffed that his team faces a possible second-round game against Georgetown in the NCAA tournament, Coach Jerry Tarkanian of Nevada Las Vegas said Sunday that UCLA, runner-up to Arizona in the Pacific 10 Conference, received a more favorable draw than UNLV, the unbeaten and No. 1-ranked defending national champion.

How about it, Jim Harrick?

“Consider the source,” said the UCLA coach, whose team will play Penn State in a first-round game Friday in the East Regional at Syracuse, N.Y., with the winner to play Mississippi State or Eastern Michigan in the second round. “He’s been on us all year long.”

Would the Bruins rather play Georgetown in the second round?

“You know, Georgetown’s coming on, but they’ve struggled all year long,” Harrick said. “If you start sniveling about where you’re going or who you’re playing, you’re going to be on a plane, coming home.

“Why worry about things you have no control over?”

Harrick was pleased with UCLA’s draw, but not overly so.

“There’s good parity in our region,” he said. “But hey, Mississippi State’s a heck of a basketball team. They played Ohio State to a two-point game. They beat LSU twice. Twice. Tell me somebody (else) who can do that?”

UCLA’s game against Penn State will begin 30 minutes after the completion of Eastern Michigan-Southern Mississippi, which begins at 9:25 a.m. PST.