COLLEGE BASKETBALL : TEAM-BY-TEAM LOOK AT THE NCAA MEN’S TOURNAMENT : WEST REGIONAL

1. UCLA (25-2)

* Player to watch: A tossup--either senior forward Ed O’Bannon or senior point guard Tyus Edney. O’Bannon scores the points, but Edney might be the most vital Bruin player because he runs the offense, plays excellent defense and doesn’t make many mistakes. Edney was hurt toward the end of last season and it showed, especially against Tulsa in the first round of the NCAAs.

* Little-known fact: Voters for the Naismith Award are dumber than a peach basket. No Ed O’Bannon on its list of five finalists? Dr. Naismith is doing a doing a reverse 2 1/2 from the pike position in his grave.

* Outlook: The Bruins might not be the best team in the country, but we can’t think of any better. Three things need to happen for the Bruins to reach the Final Four: Edney has to remain healthy, UCLA has to maintain its defensive intensity and someone other than Ed O’Bannon has to hit three-point baskets. In UCLA’s favor: its ability to go small or big, depending on the opponent and the game situation.

2. CONNECTICUT (26-4)

* Player to watch: Senior foward Donny Marshall is the emotional leader of the Huskies, but his play was decidely subpar as the regular season came to an end.

* Little-known fact: UConn rosters always seem to have an international flavor. This season’s roster includes guard Doron Sheffer and forward Uri-Cohen Mintz from Israel and forward Ruslan Inyatkin of Odessa, Ukraine.

* Outlook: The Huskies are very deep in the backcourt--a tournament must--but thin on the front line, where Marshall is struggling. Center Travis Knight has done a solid job, but is a finesse player, unable to handle stronger and bigger opponents. They lost to Kansas, which features a big front line, by 29 points, and to Villanova, which features a physical lineup, by 16 and 23 points. UConn plays good defense, has an excellent perimeter game and can give first-time opponents fits. But a regional final is as far as this team goes.

3. MARYLAND (24-7)

* Player to watch: No, not player of the year candidate Joe Smith. Instead, we’ll go with point guard Duane Simpkins. The junior is probably the most unheralded point guard in the talent-rich Atlantic Coast Conference. The guy rarely makes mistakes and knows when and how to get it to Smith.

* Little-known fact: When pneumonia-stricken Gary Williams was admitted to the hospital the day of the March 1 game at Duke, it marked the first time in ACC history that two substitute coaches, Maryland’s Billy Hahn and the Blue Devils’ Pete Gaudet, faced each other.

* Outlook: For the second consecutive season, the Terrapins have five players in double figures, no small feat. They also have three 1,000-point scorers in the lineup. Smith is a joy to watch, and the rest of the starters--Simpkins, Exree Hipp, Johnny Rhodes and Keith Booth--are capable of highlight plays. Last year, the Terrapins reached the Sweet 16. This year, the Elite Eight.

4. UTAH (27-5)

* Player to watch: UCLA and the other Pacific 10 Conference schools must be kicking themselves for letting 6-10 center Keith Van Horn, who’s from Southern California, get away. Van Horn, last season’s Western Athletic Conference freshman of the year and this season’s WAC player of the year, is second in the league in scoring, rebounding and field-goal percentage and third in free-throw percentage.

* Little-known fact: Coach Rick Majerus, who was an assistant coach on the Dream Team II staff, actually thought his job might be in jeopardy heading into the 1994-95 season. This, after seasons of 16, 30, 24, 24 and 14 victories.

* Outlook: The Utes are probably a guard short of becoming a factor in the tournament. This also is a very young team, with three freshmen and one sophomore seeing plenty of minutes. Still, Majerus is one of the best bench coaches in the business. Who knows, maybe he can pull off a mini-miracle like the one in 1990-91, when the Utes advanced to the Sweet 16.

5. MISSISSIPPI STATE (20-7)

* Player to watch: Sophomore center Erick Dampier isn’t well known nationally, but Southeastern Conference swears by him. He leads the SEC in rebounding and shooting percentage and is second in blocked shots. Along with junior guard Darryl Wilson, the Bulldogs have one of the best inside-outside combinations in the nation.

* Little-known fact: Wilson leads the SEC in three-point shooting, the first time a Mississippi State player has done so.

* Outlook: The Bulldogs are another one of those sleeper teams that could do some serious tournament damage. Mississippi State doesn’t have many glaring weaknesses, especially with freshman guard Marcus Bullard and senior guard T.J. Honore playing so well.

6. OREGON (19-8)

*Player to watch: Senior guard Orlando Williams gives the Ducks one of the best three-point shooters in the conference and nearly 20 points per game.

* Little-known fact: Assistant coach Bobby Braswell ruptured his right Achilles’ tendon while celebrating during Oregon’s last-second victory against Arizona State Feb. 23.

* Outlook: With a backcourt of Williams and sophomore Kenya Wilkins, the Ducks are capable of a first-round surprise, but little more. Figure on Oregon having some tournament jitters. The Ducks haven’t played in the NCAAs since 1961. This is a team that lost to High Five America in an exhibition game, but also recorded victories against UCLA and Arizona State.

7. CINCINNATI (21-11)

* Player to watch: As senior guard LaZelle Durden struggled down the regular-season stretch, heralded freshman Danny Fortson, a 6-9 forward, stepped up and led the Bearcats. Fortson, who scored 30 points against Alabama Birmingham on Feb. 26, received rave reviews from conference coaches.

* Little-known fact: So disruptive was star freshman forward Dontonio Wingfield, that Cincinnati players and coaches weren’t especially sorry to see him leave for the NBA.

* Outlook: OK, the Bearcats have had their problems. But look at their nonconference schedule: Temple, Minnesota, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Tulane. When filling out your NCAA office pool entry, think hard about the Bearcats, who are a very athletic, physical and deep team.

8. MISSOURI (19-8)

* Player to watch: If 6-3 guard Julian Winfield had a dependable outside shot, he’d be an All-American. Instead, Winfield is best known as a decent scorer, but a great defender and rebounder (fourth in the Big Eight Conference). How important is Winfield? When he sat out three games with a strained quadricep, the Tigers lost each time.

* Little-known fact: Coach Norm Stewart is not only coaching twins (Sammie and Simeon Haley), but earlier this year he became the proud grandfather of twins.

* Outlook: Stewart hasn’t won nearly 600 games by accident. If the 7-foot Haley twins (Sammie is better than Simeon) play as well as they did during the latter weeks of the season, Missouri could maybe win two, even three tournament games.

9. INDIANA (19-11)

* Player to watch: Senior forward Alan Henderson has done everything but persuade Coach Bob Knight to junk the trademark red sweater. In a season of inconsistent Hoosier play, Henderson has been the one constant for Indiana. He finished the regular season with nearly a 24-point, 10-rebound average.

* Little-known fact: Knight and author John Feinstein, who wrote the much-acclaimed “Season on the Brink,” an account of the 1985-86 Hoosiers, actually shook hands earlier this season. Knight hated the book but apparently has softened his stance on Feinstein.

* Outlook: Henderson always comes to play, which means the Hoosiers’ chances depend on their three freshmen guards--Neil Reid, Charlie Miller and Michael Herman--and sophomore guard Steve Hart. Anything more than a first-round victory would be gravy for this team.

10. TEMPLE (19-10)

* Player to watch: Senior guard Rick Brunson is Coach John Chaney’s favorite player, but the guy who makes this team go is freshman guard Johnny Miller. Brunson wishes he had the same offensive game as Miller.

* Little-known fact: We would be willing to bet a Philly cheese steak that the Owls might be one of the worst shooting teams ever to reach the NCAA tournament. Entering the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament, Temple was shooting a dreadful 39.6% from the field and 58.6% from the free-throw line.

* Outlook: Temple is a higher-seeded team’s worst nightmare. The Owls play that quirky defense of theirs and aren’t intimidated by tournament conditions, mostly because they play lots of solid nonconference games during the regular season. Temple is hard on half-court teams, but had trouble against up-tempo opponents, such as Texas and Cincinnati.

11. TEXAS (22-6)

* Player to watch: Have to go two-deep on this one. Senior guard Roderick Anderson is the only player in the country to be found among the top 50 scorers, the top 20 in assists and top 10 in steals. Senior point guard Terrence Rencher is a four-year starter who should end his career as the all-time leading scorer in Southwest Conference history. And won’t that be a nice trivia answer to remember when the league folds.

* Little-known fact: In the school’s first 1,840 games, Longhorn basketball teams had scored more than 100 points 28 times. Since Coach Tom Penders arrived in Austin seven seasons ago, Texas has scored more than 100 points more than 50 times.

* Outlook: The Longhorns’ problem certainly isn’t guard play. What kills Texas is its lack of talent inside. Senior center Rich McIver, who transferred from Michigan during the days of Juwan Howard and Chris Webber, is OK, but nothing special. He played well in last year’s tournament and needs to have a repeat performance if Texas expects to reach the second round.

12. SANTA CLARA (21-6)

* Player to watch: Junior point guard Steve Nash is the first Santa Clara player since Kurt Rambis in 1979-80 to be voted West Coast Conference player of the year. Much like Rambis, Nash has NBA potential.

* Little-known fact: Santa Clara has had 15 losing seasons since 1925-26. Thirteen of those 15 times, the Broncos had a winning record the following year. Guess what? Santa Clara was 13-14 last season.

* Outlook: Not good. The Broncos lost to Kansas by only five points but were later wiped out by Brigham Young.

13. LONG BEACH STATE (20-9)

*Player to watch: Senior center Joe McNaull, the former two-time all-Western Athletic Conference performer, has made his first--and last--season at Long Beach State a memorable one. McNaull, who transferred from San Diego State, is averaging about 12 points and seven rebounds. If you need a reason for Long Beach’s late-season win streak, McNaull will do just fine.

* Little-known fact: Coach Seth Greenberg is considered an accomplished recruiter. But what does he say when recruits ask about the Big West Conference’s pipeline to the pros? Not much. Last year, not one Big West player was selected in the NBA draft.

* Outlook: If McNaull and senior forward Terrence O’Kelley are making their shots and the 49ers are playing their usual tight defense (68.5 points per game), then Long Beach could pull off a mild upset.

14. GONZAGA (21-8)

* Player to watch: John Rillie, a senior guard, is averaging a modest 15.5 points. But in the West Coast Conference Tournament, Rillie averaged 32 points, making 27 of 42 shots from the field, 20 of 28 three-point baskets and 22 of 24 free throws.

* Little-known fact: After 37 years as a Division I program, this is Gonzaga’s first appearance in the NCAA tournament.

* Outlook: The Bulldogs depend almost entirely on outside shooting, which isn’t exactly the formula for first-round success.

15. TENNESSEE CHATTANOOGA (19-10)

* Player to watch: If nothing else, senior forward Brandon Born is consistent. He averaged 16.8 points last season and 16.8 points this season. An excellent shooter, Born converted 40% of his three-point shots and 86% of his free throws.

* Little-known fact: Born, an all-Southern Conference selection, was virtually ignored by college recruiters when he came out of high school.

* Outlook: When the Moccasins have stepped up in class, they’ve had problems. Their nonconference losses: Michigan, Tennessee State, Ohio State, Purdue, Southern Mississippi and Memphis.

16. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL (11-18)

* Player to watch: Senior forward James Mazyck, the tournament MVP of the Trans America Athletic Conference.

* Little-known fact: When Florida International, a Miami commuter school, completed its run through the TAAC tournament to win an automatic NCAA bid, one of the first people to call Coach Bob Weltlich was Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski. They used to be assistant coaches at Indiana under Bob Knight.

* Outlook: Barring another miracle, this will be Weltlich’s final game at FIU. Weltlich announced his resignation Jan. 15, when the Golden Panthers were 3-10 and headed nowhere. Now they’re headed to the NCAAs with an 11-18 record, the worst for a tournament qualifier since 1961. Who cares? That’s what makes the NCAAs so much fun.