TEAM CAPSULES

KANSAS (29-6)

Road to Final Four: Ball State, 94-72; Brigham Young, 90-76; California, 93-76; Indiana, 83-77.

Losses: Michigan, 86-74, at Rainbow Classic; CS Long Beach, 64-49; at Nebraska, 68-64; Oklahoma, 80-77; at Iowa State, 75-71; Kansas State, 74-67, in Big Eight tournament.

Record vs. Final Top 25: 5-1.

STARTERS

RICHARD SCOTT, 6-7, Jr., F

Statistics: 10.7 points, 5.4 rebounds.

Comment: Tough inside defender who plays bigger; shot 65% in four NCAA games.

DARRIN HANCOCK, 6-7, Jr., F

Statistics: 7.6 points, 4.5 rebounds.

Comment: Complements Scott’s strength with quickness and jumping ability; made some jump shots in NCAA victory over Indiana.

ERIC PAULEY, 6-10, Sr., C

Statistics: 12.1 points, 4.7 rebounds.

Comment: Picked up both averages in tournament; won’t get pushed around.

REX WALTERS, 6-4, Sr., G

Statistics: 15.2 points, 4.3 assists.

Comment: Top scorer in tournament at 21.8 while shooting 68% from the field; 13 for 21 from three-point range.

ADONIS JORDAN, 5-11, Sr, G

Statistics: 11.9 points, 4.5 assists.

Comment: Playmaker who can also defend as shown by his job on Cal’s Jason Kidd; 11 for 23 on three-pointers in the tournament.

BENCH

Steve Woodberry averages 25 minutes as the first guard off the bench, while 7-1 Greg Ostertag has overcome injuries to make a solid contribution up front in the tournament.

ROSTER

No Player Po Ht Wt Yr 00 Greg Ostertag C 7-2 270 So 10 Calvin Rayford G 5-6 165 So 11 T.J. Whatley G 6-4 190 Fr 12 Patrick Richey F 6-8 190 Jr 20 S. Woodberry G 6-4 180 Jr 21 Darrin Hancock F 6-7 205 Jr 23 Rex Walters G 6-4 190 Sr 30 Adonis Jordan G 5-11 170 Sr 31 B. Weichbrodt G 6-2 200 Jr 32 Sean Pearson G 6-4 195 So 33 Greg Gurley G 6-5 185 So 34 Richard Scott F 6-7 215 Jr 51 Eric Pauley C 6-10 210 Sr

Coach: Roy Williams

NORTH CAROLINA (32-4)

Road to Final Four: East Carolina, 85-77; Rhode Island, 112-67; Arkansas, 80-74; Cincinnati, 75-68, OT.

Losses: Michigan, 79-78, at Rainbow Classic; at Wake Forest, 88-62; at Duke, 81-67; Georgia Tech, 77-75, in ACC tournament.

Record vs. Final Top 25: 9-4.

STARTERS

GEORGE LYNCH, 6-8, Sr., F

Statistics: 14.8 points, 9.6 rebounds.

Comment: One of best rebounders in the game; improved both numbers in the tournament.

BRIAN REESE, 6-6, Jr., F

Statistics: 11.6 points, 3.5 rebounds.

Comment: Known more for missed dunk at the buzzer of Cincinnati game; has to improve on 37% shooting in the tournament.

ERIC MONTROSS, 7-0, Jr., C

Statistics: 15.6 points, 7.8 rebounds.

Comment: Best big man left in the field; has eight blocked shots in the tournament.

DONALD WILLIAMS, 6-3, Soph., G

Statistics: 13.7 points, 1.9 rebounds.

Comment: Tar Heels’ only legitimate perimeter threat; broke open regional final with two three-pointers in overtime.

DERRICK PHELPS, 6-3, Jr., G

Statistics: 8.3 points, 5.4 assists.

Comment: Doesn’t look to score but runs Tar Heels’ offense; puts great pressure on ball and can shut down any guard--just ask Cincinnati’s Nick Van Exel.

BENCH

Almost everybody plays in Dean Smith’s system and one thing the Tar Heels have is depth up front with 7-footers Kevin Salvadori and Matt Wenstrom available for 10 more fouls. Pat Sullivan is a small forward who provides offensive spark.

ROSTER

No Player Po Ht Wt Yr 00 Eric Montross C 7-0 270 Jr 3 Pat Sullivan F 6-8 216 Jr 4 Larry Davis G 6-3 184 Fr 5 Henrik Rodl G 6-8 203 Sr 11 Scott Cherry G 6-5 180 Sr 14 Derrick Phelps G 6-3 181 Jr 21 Donald Williams G 6-3 194 So 24 Dante Calabria G 6-4 186 Fr 31 Brian Reese F 6-6 215 Jr 33 Kevin Salvadori C 7-0 224 Jr 34 George Lynch F 6-8 220 Sr 35 T. Stephenson F 6-7 222 Sr 40 Ed Geth F 6-9 250 Fr 55 Matt Wenstrom C 7-1 260 Sr

Coach: Dean Smith

KENTUCKY (30-3)

Road to Final Four: Rider, 96-52; Utah, 83-62; Wake Forest, 103-69; Florida State, 106-81.

Losses: at Vanderbilt, 101-86; at Arkansas, 101-94; at Tennessee, 78-77.

Record vs. Final Top 25: 8-2.

STARTERS

JAMAL MASHBURN, 6-8, Jr., F

Statistics: 20.8 points, 8.4 rebounds.

Comment: One of best all-around players who can score inside and out; averaged 4.5 assists in the tournament while shooting 50% on three-pointers.

JARED PRICKETT, 6-9, Fr., F

Statistics: 5.4 points, 4.5 rebounds.

Comment: Latecomer to the starting lineup who fits in perfectly in open-court game; averaging 10.3 and 5.3 in the tournament.

RODNEY DENT, 6-10, Jr., C

Statistics: 6.4 points, 5.2 rebounds.

Comment: Jumping jack who has 35 blocks; can get in foul trouble quickly.

TRAVIS FORD, 5-9, Jr., G

Statistics: 13.7 points, 4.8 assists.

Comment: Offensive spark plug has made 13 of 22 three-pointers in the tournament; his improved confidence seems to have spread to whole team.

DALE BROWN, 6-2, Sr., G

Statistics: 9.2 points, 3.4 rebounds.

Comment: Has to pick up shooting from both field and foul line; could be defensive key in backcourt matchups because of Ford’s lack of size.

BENCH

Freshman Rodrick Rhodes was a starter most of the season but was down to 13 minutes per game in the tournament. Gimel Martinez is first off the bench up front and could see a lot of time as Dent goes against Michigan frontline.

ROSTER

No Player Po Ht Wt Yr 00 Tony Delk G 6-1 185 Fr 3 Chris Harrison G 6-1 170 So 4 Rodney Dent C 6-11 240 Jr 5 Travis Ford G 5-9 160 Jr 10 Andre Riddick C 6-9 205 So 12 Rodrick Rhodes F 6-7 200 Fr 14 Jeff Brassow G 6-5 200 Jr 23 Junior Braddy G 6-3 195 Sr 24 Jamal Mashburn F 6-8 240 Jr 25 A. Timberlake F 6-9 205 So 31 Dale Brown G 6-3 200 Sr 32 Jared Prickett F 6-8 210 Fr 44 Gimel Martinez C 6-8 220 Jr 50 Todd Svoboda C 6-9 215 Sr

Coach: Rick Pitino

MICHIGAN (30-4)

Road to Final Four: Coastal Carolina, 84-53; UCLA, 86-84, overtime; George Washington, 72-64; Temple, 77-72.

Losses: at Duke, 79-68; Indiana, 76-75; at Iowa, 88-80; at Indiana, 93-92.

Record vs. Final Top 25: 5-4.

STARTERS

CHRIS WEBBER, 6-9, Soph., F

Statistics: 18.8 points, 9.9 rebounds.

Comment: Quickest jumper around, he can beat a team inside and out; shot only 54% on free throws.

RAY JACKSON, 6-6, Soph., F

Statistics: 9.1 points, 4.0 rebounds.

Comment: Defensive stopper who gets the best of the small forwards or big guards; second-leading scorer in tournament games at 14.8.

JUWAN HOWARD, 6-9, Soph., C

Statistics: 14.6 points, 7.6 rebounds.

Comment: True center who allows Webber to move outside and not lose much underneath; has picked rebounds up in the tournament but shooting has fallen off.

JIMMY KING, 6-5, Soph., G

Statistics: 11.0 points, 4.4 rebounds.

Comment: Shooting guard who leads the team in three-pointers; averages 3.0 assists so he is more than a scorer.

JALEN ROSE, 6-8, Soph., G

Statistics: 15.4 points, 4.0 assists.

Comment: Much-maligned point guard who also helps on the boards at 4.2 per game; his size creates matchup problems and he is more effective with turnovers down to 12 in four tournament games.

BENCH

Eric Riley is a 7-footer who could be a first-round NBA pick: He averaged 4.9 rebounds in 15 minutes per game. Rob Pelinka and James Voskuil are long-range shooters who can spark something if inside game is off early.

ROSTER

No Player Po Ht Wt Yr 3 Rob Pelinka G 6-6 200 Sr 4 Chris Webber F 6-9 245 So 5 Jalen Rose G 6-8 208 So 11 Dugan Fife G 6-2 170 Fr 14 Michael Talley G 6-1 197 Sr 21 Ray Jackson F 6-6 219 So 22 Jason Bossard G 6-4 210 Jr 23 Sean Dobbins G 6-1 178 Sr 24 Jimmy King G 6-5 201 So 25 Juwan Howard F 6-9 240 So 32 James Voskuil F 6-8 204 Sr 41 Leon Derricks C 6-9 190 Fr 42 Eric Riley C 7-0 245 Sr

Coach: Steve Fisher