COLLEGE BASKETBALL : NCAA TOURNAMENT REPORT : ACROSS THE NATION : Packer: Power Leagues Taking Over

Of the 35 at-large berths in this year’s NCAA tournament, 24 were filled by teams from six conferences--the Big East, Atlantic Coast, Southeastern, Big Ten, Pacific 10 and Big Eight.

CBS analyst Bill Packer says that isn’t good. “I can see a day coming when those six conferences say, ‘Why do we need any of these other guys?’ ” he said.

“If those six leagues came together and said to some network--like Notre Dame did in football--’Hey, guys, we’ll bring you a pretty good package and hold our own national championship. Are you fellas interested?’--I think we (CBS) would have to look at it.

“The die is cast as to where this tournament is going. It’s going to the power leagues and power teams on strength of schedule, and the other teams are shut out.”

The CBS-TV West Coast lineup for the first round Thursday and Friday is as follows:

THURSDAY: Duke vs. Northeast Louisiana, 9:35 a.m.; Seton Hall vs. Pepperdine, 11:30 a.m.; Florida State vs. USC, 4:40 p.m.; Arizona vs. St. Francis (Pa.), 7:25 p.m..

FRIDAY: Arkansas vs. Georgia State, 9:15 a.m.; Penn State vs. UCLA, 11:45 a.m.; Georgetown vs. Vanderbilt, 5:10 p.m.; UNLV vs. Montana, 7:30 p.m.

CBS plans to show portions of other games as well.