UCLA Seeded No. 1, USC Hits Road : Bruins: Seeded first in the West, they open against Robert Morris at Tempe.

Two things excited UCLA most about its draw for the NCAA basketball tournament:

--It won’t play Penn State.

--It won’t have to fly across the continent to play its first-round game.

The Bruins will play Robert Morris, champion of the Northeast Conference, on Friday at Tempe, Ariz.

Winner of the Pacific 10 Conference championship for the first time since 1987 and owner of a 25-4 record, with seven victories and three losses against teams that made the 64-team field, UCLA was awarded the No. 1 seeding in the West Regional.

“That’s fair,” said junior swingman Mitchell Butler. “We definitely put ourselves in this position. It’s something that we’ve wanted and strived for. We definitely want to get to the Final Four. We want another crack at Duke.

“By giving us a No. 1 seed, (the tournament selection committee) essentially is telling us we’re going to get there. It’s definitely an honor. It’s something that I think a lot of people have wanted to see happen at UCLA for a long while. It’s been a long time since UCLA has done things like this.

“We’ve earned the right to be No. 1 (in the West), and we’ll try to hold onto that position for as long as we can.”

UCLA finished fourth in the Pac-10 in 1980, the last time the Bruins reached the Final Four.

After winning the Pac-10 championship in 1983, the Bruins were seeded No. 2 in the West Regional, but lost to Utah, 67-61, in their first tournament game.

Five years ago, after winning their last Pac-10 title, they were seeded No. 4 in the West, but were upset by Wyoming, 78-68, in a second-round game.

NCAA champions 10 times, UCLA will play a team that has never won a tournament game. But Penn State hadn’t won a tournament game since 1955 before upsetting the Bruins, 74-69, in a first-round game last March at Syracuse, N.Y.

Robert Morris (19-11) has won the Northeast Conference championship three times in the last four seasons, losing to Kansas, 79-71, in a first-round NCAA tournament game two years ago and to Arizona, 94-60, in a first-round game in 1989. The Colonials also lost first-round games against Indiana in 1982 and Purdue in 1983.

Coached by Jarrett Durham, Robert Morris was ineligible to compete for the conference title last season because of NCAA sanctions relating to an improper bank loan made to a player in 1986.

Their record this season includes December losses to USC, 92-77, at the Sports Arena and to Cal State Long Beach, 84-81, at Long Beach.

During their visit, they practiced one day at Pauley Pavilion.

They play their home games in the Charles L. Sewall Center, a 3,056-seat facility on campus in Coraopolis, Pa., about 20 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.

Their best player is Myron Walker, who was the player of the year in the Northeast Conference and most valuable player in the conference tournament.

A 6-foot-4 sophomore guard, Walker is averaging 20 points and 6.1 rebounds to lead the Colonials in both departments.

He scored 28 points last Wednesday night, making 11 of 20 shots during an 85-81 victory over Marist in the final game of the conference tournament.

Walker and Ricky Cannon, a 6-8 senior forward, both each scored 19 points against USC.

Cannon is averaging 13.5 points and six rebounds. Wade Timmerson, the Colonials’ 5-9 senior point guard, is averaging 11.6 points and 6.6 assists.

“I’m surprised we’re a No. 16 seed,” Durham said. “I thought we would be a little higher than that, but I’m happy (about) where we’re going. It’s nice because the kids have never been to Arizona.”

UCLA has played seven games in the University Activity Center during four seasons under Coach Jim Harrick, losing twice--to Arizona State in 1989 and to Arizona two years ago in the final game of the last Pac-10 tournament.