TODAY’S GAMES : Cremins Enjoying Tech’s Ride

If this is Bobby Cremins’ last stand at Georgia Tech after 12 years--he’s not denying that he might be wooed back to his alma mater, South Carolina--he is doing everything he can to keep his most surprising team rolling.

The Yellow Jackets (19-10), who upset top-ranked North Carolina to win the Atlantic Coast Conference title, aren’t going to suffer any letdown in the first round of the NCAA West Regional today against Southern (20-9) if Cremins can help it.

“I’m pumped up,” Cremins said. “We’ve been through a lot. We’ve been through some ugly basketball. And to see us play the way we played the (ACC) tournament was really exhilarating for me.”

All the attention in the regional is on No. 1-seeded and 1992 NCAA runner-up Michigan (26-4), which meets Coastal Carolina (22-9). UCLA (21-10) plays Iowa State (20-10) and New Mexico (24-6) faces George Washington (19-8) in the other first-round games.

Georgia Tech’s 6-foot-8 James Forrest scored 80 points in three games in the ACC tournament.

The NCAA tournament has been frustrating for Wake Forest in recent years. The same holds true for Iowa, Northeast Louisiana and Tennessee Chattanooga.

Today, they will get to work out their frustrations against each other in the NCAA Southeast Regional at Nashville, Tenn.

Wake Forest (19-8), seeded No. 5, goes against No. 12-seeded Tennessee Chattanooga (26-6), followed by No. 4-seeded Iowa (22-8) against No. 13-seeded Northeast Louisiana (26-4).

Later, top-seeded Kentucky (26-3) plays No. 16 Rider (19-10) and No. 8-seeded Utah (23-6) faces No. 9 Pitt (17-10).

Wake Forest lost in the first round a year ago and in the second round the year before.

Tennessee Chattanooga is 1-4 in the tournament, the only victory coming in 1982.

Northeast Louisiana will be trying to end a string of three first-round losses. The Southland Conference champions have won 12 in a row and 19 of 20.

Iowa is glad to have Duke in another region. The Blue Devils beat Iowa in the second round on its way to consecutive championships the last two years.

Oklahoma State is hoping a team meeting produced solutions to a late-season slide.

The Cowboys (19-8) head into today’s opening game of the NCAA Midwest Regional against Marquette (20-7) at Indianapolis having lost three of four games.

In the second game at the Hoosier Dome, Louisville (20-8) plays Delaware (22-7). The evening games pit New Orleans (26-3) against Xavier (23-5) and top-seeded and No. 1 Indiana (28-3) against Wright State (20-9).

Oklahoma State lost, 81-67, to Missouri in the opening round of the Big Eight tournament, which Coach Eddie Sutton said was “one of the worst games we’ve played all season.”

That’s when Sutton called a team meeting.

“I felt that we needed to go into a room like a family and discuss some things that I thought might be on some people’s minds,” Sutton said. “I thought it was very beneficial, very positive.”

In last year’s NCAA tournament, Massachusetts Coach John Calipari was staring in disbelief after a controversial technical foul was called against him in a regional semifinal loss to Kentucky.

The long wait for a second chance has arrived and the third-seeded Minutemen (23-6) open East Regional play today against 14th-seeded Pennsylvania (22-4) at Syracuse.

In later games, sixth-seeded Virginia (19-10) meets Manhattan (23-6), seventh-seeded New Mexico State (25-7) takes on Nebraska (20-10) and second-seeded Cincinnati (24-4) plays Coppin State (22-7).

“The players have told me to make sure I stay in the (coaching) box this year,” Calipari said.