COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NCAA MEN’S AND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENTS : Indiana’s Loss Is West’s Gain : National men: No love will be lost if Knight’s Hoosiers play Brown and LSU.

If nothing else, the NCAA basketball committee proved once again that there is something to be said for inexact sciences.

Emerging from days of intense team evaluations, the committee, by accident or otherwise, managed to sprinkle Sunday’s tournament selection proceedings with all sorts of drama and subplots.

With 64 bids at stake--34 at-large, 30 automatic--the committee apparently had little trouble whittling the list down to the appropriate number. To hear committee chairman Roy Kramer talk, the members were the picture of decorum.

In fact, there wasn’t a single room-service food fight to be had.

Sequestered in a Kansas City hotel for four days, the members were asked to watch countless games, digest reams of statistics and constantly update the all-important rankings chart. The result was an NCAA tournament bracket short on team surprises, but long on compelling matchups.

As expected, No. 1-ranked Duke was seeded No. 1 in the East Regional. The Blue Devils’ quest for a second consecutive national championship will begin Thursday against Campbell, the team from Buies Creek, N.C. Also as expected, Kansas was seeded No. 1 in the Midwest and UCLA was No. 1 in the West.

What didn’t follow predicted form was Indiana’s fall from grace. The Hoosiers’ loss to Purdue Sunday was a costly one, giving the Big Ten championship to Ohio State. The committee had little choice but to make the Buckeyes the No. 1-seeded team in the Southeast.

Indiana, seeded second, was dispatched to the West subregional in Boise, Ida. But by placing the Hoosiers where it did, the committee set up one of a dozen or so interesting situations.

For example:

--If Indiana beats Eastern Illinois, the Hoosiers probably will play Louisiana State, which opens against Brigham Young. Hoosier Coach Bob Knight’s disdain for LSU Coach Dale Brown is well known.

--Should UCLA manage to survive its part of the bracket, the Bruins might play the Hoosiers in regional final. Earlier this season, UCLA beat Indiana at the Hall of Fame Classic.

--In the Southeast Regional, which might have the strongest teams, Arizona could play Michigan during the second round. And in a clash of styles, Stanford, which barely made it into the tournament, will face a strong Alabama team.

--North Carolina, which has advanced to 11 consecutive Sweet 16s, might not make it past the second round. The Tar Heels, stuck in the tough Southeast Regional, would play the Alabama-Stanford winner.

--The committee rewarded USC with a No. 2 seeding in the Midwest Regional, which seemed appropriate enough, considering the Trojans’ late-season run. If all goes to form, USC probably would play Final Four candidate Arkansas in the round of 16.

--Duke appears to have the easiest path to another Final Four appearance. Only No. 2-seeded Kentucky, No. 5 Missouri and No. 3 Massachusetts, which was rewarded for its strong computer ranking, seem to pose any threat.

--For the fourth consecutive year, Seton Hall has been placed in the same regional as the No. 1-ranked team.

--Syracuse, which won the Big East Conference tournament, finds itself with the dreaded Princeton draw. Nobody wants to play defense-minded Princeton.

All in all, it was obvious that the committee was serious about its pre-selection vow to study strength of schedules and strength of conferences, in addition to overall team performance. That is why Stanford and West Virginia squeezed into the tournament, and Wisconsin Green Bay, Washington State, Arizona State, Alabama-Birmingham and Ball State--teams with many victories, but few of quality--did not.

Others, such as Notre Dame and Villanova--teams with 14-14 records against very tough opponents--also were left out. Notre Dame played 17 games against NCAA tournament selectees and finished 8-9. But Chairman Roy Kramer said the committee also had to consider losses to lesser-ranked opponents and Notre Dame had plenty of those.

Broken down by conference, the Big Eight led all leagues with six teams. The Atlantic Coast and Big East had five teams, and the Metro, which wasn’t eligible for any automatic bids, Southeastern and Pacific 10 had four apiece. All but six of the 34 at-large bids came from the major conferences.

The other six at-large berths came from the newly formed Great Midwest (DePaul, Memphis State and Cincinnati), the Atlantic 10 (Temple and West Virginia) and the Southwest (Texas).

When They Play

Days that the first- and second-round NCAA men’s tournament games will be played. Times have yet to be announced.

EAST REGIONAL

At Greensboro, N.C.

THURSDAY--Duke vs. Campbell; Texas vs. Iowa ; Seton Hall vs. La Salle ; Missouri vs. West Virginia.

SATURDAY--Duke-Campbell winner vs. Texas-Iowa winner; Seton Hall-La Salle winner vs. Missouri-West Virginia winner.

At Worcester, Mass.

FRIDAY--Masschusetts vs. Fordham; Syracuse vs. Princeton; North Carolina Charlotte vs. Iowa St.; Kentucky vs. Old Dominion.

SUNDAY--Massachusetts-Fordam winner vs. Syracuse-Priceton winner; North Carolina Charlotte-Iowa St. winner vs. Kentucky-Old Dominion winner.

SOUTHEAST REGIONAL

At Cincinnati

THURSDAY--Ohio St. vs. Mississippi Valley St.; Nebraska vs. Connecticut; North Carolina vs. Miami (Ohio); Alabama vs. Stanford.

SATURDAY--Ohio St.-Mississippi Valley St. winner vs. Nebraska-Connecticut winner; North Carolina-Miami (Ohio) winner vs. Alabama-Stanford winner.

At Atlanta

FRIDAY--Arizona vs. East Tennessee St.; Michigan vs. Temple; St. John’s vs. Tulane; Oklahoma St. vs. Georgia Southern

SUNDAY--Arizona-East Tennessee St. winner vs. Michigan Temple winner; St. John’s-Tulane winner vs. Oklahoma St.-Georgia Southern winner.

MIDWEST REGIONAL

At Milwaukee

THURSDAY--Arkansas vs. Murray St.; Memphis St. vs. Pepperdine; Georgia Tech vs. Houston; USC vs. NE Louisiana.

SATURDAY--Arkansas-Murray St. winner vs. Memphis St.-Pepperdine winner; Georgia Tech-Houston winner vs. USC-NE Louisiana winner.

At Dayton, Ohio

FRIDAY--Kansas vs. Howard ; Evansville vs. Texas El Paso; Cincinnati vs. Delaware; Michigan St. vs. SW Missouri St.

SUNDAY--Kansas-Howard winner vs. Evansville-Texas El Paso winner; Cincinnati-Delaware winner vs. Michigan St.-SW Missouri St. winner.

WEST REGIONAL

At Boise, Ida.

THURSDAY--Florida St. vs. Montana; Georgetown vs. South Florida; LSU vs. BYU ; Indiana vs. Eastern Illinois .

SATURDAY--Florida St.-Montana winner vs. Georgetown-South Florida winner; LSU-BYU winner vs. Indiana-Eastern Illinois winner.

At Tempe, Ariz.

FRIDAY--UCLA vs. Robert Morris; Louisville vs. Wake Forest; Oklahoma vs. SW Louisiana; DePaul vs. New Mexico St.

SUNDAY--UCLA-Robert Morris winner vs. Louisville-Wake Forest winner; Oklahoma-SW Louisiana winner vs. DePaul-New Mexico St. winner.