Bruins Have Chance to Step Up in Rank : NIT: They play No. 6-ranked Seton Hall tonight in the semifinals of the preseason tournament.

UCLA, still considered somewhat of a mystery after losing many of its top players from last season, could improve its national ranking dramatically by playing well this week in Madison Square Garden.

Coach Jim Harrick’s No. 21 Bruins have joined three top 10 teams--No. 4 Indiana, No. 6 Seton Hall and No. 7 Florida State--in the semifinals of the preseason National Invitation Tournament.

UCLA will play Seton Hall in the late game tonight after outscoring Texas El Paso, 7-0, in the last 38 seconds of a 73-72 victory Friday night at Pauley Pavilion. Indiana will play Florida State in the first game tonight.

The championship and third-place games are Friday night.

Seton Hall is favored to win the Big East Conference championship after earning a share of its first Big East regular-season title last season and advancing to the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament.

Four starters return for Coach P.J. Carlesimo, including Terry Dehere, a two-time All-Big East guard who averaged 19.4 points last season and this month was voted preseason player of the year by Big East coaches.

Dehere averaged 25.5 points last week as Seton Hall defeated Delaware, 75-54, and Tennessee, 72-64, at East Rutherford, N.J.

Senior forward Jerry Walker, who played with Dehere and Duke’s Bobby Hurley at St. Anthony High in Jersey City, N.J., averaged 13.5 points and 8.5 rebounds last week after averaging 13.7 points and 7.4 rebounds last season and earning All-Big East second-team recognition.

Junior forward Arturas Karnishovas, a starter for the Lithuanian team that won a bronze medal in the Barcelona Olympics last summer, is doubtful after sitting out against Tennessee because of a knee injury.

Expected to start in his place is Luther Wright, a 7-foot-2, 270-pound center who had 15 rebounds in only 31 minutes last week.

Seton Hall’s other starters are forward John Leahy and guard Bryan Caver. Hurley’s younger brother, Danny, is the Pirates’ sixth man and No. 3 scorer after averaging nine points on 70% shooting last week.