COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NCAA MEN’S AND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENTS : UCLA Seeded No. 1, USC Hits Road : Trojans: They will play Northeast Louisiana in Midwest Regional.

After being ousted by Florida State in the first round last season, USC Coach George Raveling set a goal of returning to the NCAA tournament and advancing beyond the first round this season.

The Trojans accomplished the first part of their mission when they received their second consecutive NCAA bid on Sunday. It’s the first time in 31 years that USC has made back-to-back appearances in the NCAA.

The Trojans, who defeated two No. 1-seeded teams this season, sweeping UCLA and defeating Ohio State, were seeded No. 2 in the Midwest Regional behind Kansas, the 1991 NCAA runner-up. USC (23-5) will face Northeast Louisiana (20-9) in a first-round game Thursday at Milwaukee.

“This is the fulfillment of a goal that we set on Day One,” Raveling said. “Along the way we were able to accomplish a lot of other goals. We had some remarkable victories during the regular season.

“I don’t think this season is over. The tendency at this juncture is to view the season as being over, but in reality it’s really just starting for us, because on a national basis I’m not certain that conference championships mean as much. I think the only thing that really matters today is: do you get to the Final Four?

“I think we have the capability of getting to the Final Four. I think we have the desire to get to the Final Four. Obviously, it’s going to take a lot of hard work.

“It’s a wonderful testimony to these kids’ performance that they were given a No. 2 seed in their region. That says a lot about what they’ve accomplished this season, but as I’ve said to them on many occasions, what we’ve accomplished is the side of the mountain. We’ve got a little short journey to go to get to the top of the mountain.”

After winning back-to-back Southland Conference titles, Northeast Louisiana was expected to have a rebuilding season because the Indians lost four starters from last season’s team.

However, Northeast Louisiana reached the NCAA tournament for the third season in a row after winning its third consecutive conference title.

Like USC, Northeast Louisiana is a guard-oriented team led by Ryan (China) Stuart, a 6-foot-4 junior college transfer who averaged 21.6 points and 9.1 rebounds and was named the Southland Conference’s most valuable player. Stuart had 19 points and nine rebounds in a season-opening one-point loss against Shaquille O’Neal and Louisiana State.

“He’s just been outstanding,” Northeast Louisiana Coach Mike Vining said. “He’s a talent and he’s getting better.”

Born in the Bahamas, Stuart didn’t play high school basketball because he was only 5-6. He worked for his father’s electrical company for two years after graduating from high school.

After spurting to 6-2, he began playing basketball at a local YMCA, where he caught the eye of a recruiter from Lon Morris Junior College in Jacksonville, Tex.

Stuart averaged 24 points and 14 rebounds as a sophomore.

If USC defeats Northeast Louisiana, the Trojans would face Georgia Tech or Houston. Raveling chose not to play Houston in the Freedom Bowl Classic at UC Irvine last December because he didn’t think the Trojans were ready to face the Cougars.

Trojan Notes

USC guard Harold Miner was voted the Pacific 10 Player of the Year by conference coaches. The leading scorer in the Pac-10, Miner averaged 26.7 points and 7.2 rebounds. USC guard Duane Cooper, who averaged 12.3 points and 2.6 assists, was also named to the All-Conference team. Trojan Coach George Raveling was voted the Coach of the Year. . . . UCLA forwards Don MacLean and Tracy Murray were named to the All-Pac-10 team. Arizona also had two players on the team, forward Chris Mills and center Sean Rooks. . . . Also named to the 10-man team were: Stanford forward Adam Keefe, Oregon State center Scott Haskin, California center Brian Hendrick and Washington State guard Terrence Lewis.