WEST REGIONAL

Capsules by Times staff writer Chris Dufresne

1. PURDUE (25-5)

* First-round opponent: Western Carolina.

* Season in brief: Six heady seniors have made Coach Gene Keady’s personal season of sorrow more tolerable. In January, Keady’s stepdaughter struck her head in a kitchen fall and fell into a coma and Keady’s father, Lloyd, died. Keady missed several practices, but the Boilermakers held steady en route to a third consecutive Big Ten title.

* Player to watch: Brad Miller, sophomore reserve center. He is a pro prospect and coming on strong after a shaky start.

* Did you know? Neil Armstrong, first man on the moon, and Eugene Cernan, the last man to leave it, are Purdue graduates.

* Prospects: Four senior starters will guide the Boilermakers through the tournament. There is no more experienced team in the nation, and that could be enough for this no-frills team to give Keady what Glenn Robinson couldn’t deliver--Keady’s first Final Four.

2. KANSAS (26-4)

* First-round opponent: South Carolina State.

* Season in brief: Ho hum, another Big Eight title, the Jayhawks’ fifth in the last six years, not to mention that 85-70 rout at home against UCLA. Kansas has won at least 20 games the last seven seasons and is Division I’s winningest team in that span.

* Player to watch: Paul Pierce, 6-6 forward from Los Angeles. He has emerged as the best freshman at Kansas since Danny Manning.

* Did you know? The last time Kansas was not ranked in the top 25 was Jan. 21, 1991.

* Prospects: This is Kansas’ best chance to reach the Final Four since 1993, and another chance for Coach Roy Williams to lose that the “best-coach-never-to-win-a-national-title” tag. Jayhawks have what it takes to make a title run: five players who average double figures; a great point guard in Jacque Vaughn.

3. ARIZONA (24-6)

* First-round opponent: Valparaiso.

* Season in brief: Snubbed by preseason pollsters, Arizona answered with early victories against Arkansas, Michigan and Georgetown. The Wildcats survived scrutiny after refusing to travel for Jan. 13 game against St. Joseph’s, citing poor weather, and the loss of starting center Joseph Blair to academic ineligibility. Season highlight: Miles Simon’s three-quarter-court heave to beat Cincinnati at the buzzer.

* Player to watch: Ben Davis, senior forward-center, a relentless rebounder and scorer who stepped up his game in Pac-10 play after Blair was ruled out.

* Did you know? Starting guards Simon and Reggie Geary played at Santa Ana’s Mater Dei High School.

* Prospects: The Wildcats have been bounced out in the first round three of the last four years, but have one of the most experienced teams with four seniors who contribute.

4. SYRACUSE (24-8)

* First-round opponent: Montana State.

* Season in brief: Other than a midseason slump in which they went 3-6, the Orangemen were among the nation’s best as they opened the season with 11 consecutive victories and closed by winning 10 of 12 games, including a 21-point victory over Georgetown.

* Player to watch: Forward John Wallace was the Orangemen’s leading scorer in 24 of 32 games. He averaged 22.3 points and 8.8 rebounds after passing on the NBA to stay for his senior season.

* Did you know? Former Syracuse and Crenshaw High guard Stevie Thompson has the second-best career field-goal percentage in the NCAA tournament at .684. UCLA’s Bill Walton is at .686.

* Prospects: A possible second-round matchup with Memphis should be a game to watch. If the Orangemen can get scoring from guards Jason Cipolla and Lazarus Sims, they could be the sleeper team.

5. MEMPHIS (22-7)

* First-round opponent: Drexel.

* Season in brief: A Top 10 preseason pick, the Tigers had a three-point loss at Massachusetts in January and lost some games they shouldn’t have, but the starting five is equal to almost any team in the country with forwards Michael Wilson and Cedric Henderson, guards Mingo Johnson and Chris Garner and center Lorenzen Wright. Memphis suffered a tough blow when key backup center Chad Allen tore up a knee.

* Player to watch: Wright, probably the nation’s third-best big man behind Marcus Camby and Tim Duncan, plays with passion and purpose. He averages 16 points and 11 rebounds .

* Did you know? Memphis Coach Larry Finch was starter on the 1973 Memphis team that lost to UCLA in the NCAA championship game.

* Prospects: With their starting five, the Tigers can reach the Sweet 16, but don’t have enough depth to advance beyond that.

6. IOWA (22-8)

* First-round opponent: George Washington.

* Season in brief: Some thought the Hawkeyes would end Purdue’s reign as Big Ten champions, but it was not to be. Iowa started fast, beating Connecticut in overtime in November, but stumbled on the road in conference, losing at Purdue, at Wisconsin, at Michigan State, at Indiana, at Illinois.

* Player to watch: Chris Kingsbury, junior guard. A volatile player who was suspended for three games during conference play, Kingsbury scored 30 against Connecticut and is a great outside shooter.

* Did you know? In 1987 under Coach Tom Davis, Iowa won a school-record 30 games and started the season 18-0.

* Prospects: The Hawkeyes haven’t shown much away from home, which doesn’t bode well in the tournament. Davis has the program back on track after an 11-victory season two years ago, but there is still work to be done.

7. MARYLAND (17-12)

* First-round opponent: Santa Clara.

* Season in brief: Don’t let that win-loss record fool you. The Terrapins played the nation’s fourth-toughest schedule, facing Kentucky, Massachusetts, UCLA out of conference and ACC games against Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Wake Forest.

* Player to watch: Keith Booth, junior forward. Booth got better as the season progressed and entered March with a string of 19 games in which he scored in double figures.

* Did you know? Maryland is one of seven schools to have produced two No. 1 NBA draft choices. The Terps had John Lucus (1976) and Joe Smith (1995).

* Prospects: Had Smith not turned pro, this would be one monster of a team. Without him, the Terps walked the tightrope all season. This team is a mystery, but the backcourt is solid with Duane Simpkins and Johnny Rhodes, always a plus in the tournament.

8. GEORGIA (19-9)

* First-round opponent: Clemson.

* Season in brief: The Bulldogs broke fast under first-year Coach Tubby Smith, who previously led Tulsa to consecutive Sweet 16 appearances. The Bulldogs won 10 of their first 11 games and had their longest-ever stay in the Top 25 of five weeks. Then came a 2-6 January. Three consecutive victories in February got Georgia back on track.

* Player to watch: Katu Davis, senior guard. He cooled off after a sizzling non-conference stretch, but is a double-digit scorer and a pick-pocket on defense.

* Did you know? Smith is one of six Division I coaches this season who are coaching their sons. Smith’s son, Orlando, is a freshman guard.

* Prospects: You wonder which team will show; the pre-conference powerhouse that clobbered two tough Techs--Georgia and Virginia--or the team that swooned in January.

9. CLEMSON (18-10)

* First-round opponent: Georgia.

* Season in brief: With the National Invitation Tournament staring them in the face, the Tigers roared into the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament and stunned North Carolina Friday. It was Coach Rick Barnes’ first victory over nemesis Dean Smith, and a watershed victory for the program considering Barnes starts four freshman and is without starting point guard Merle Code--sidelined with a knee injury.

* Player to watch: Greg Buckner, sophomore forward. The the only non-freshman in the starting lineup, Buckner scored the game-winner against North Carolina with 0.6 seconds.

* Did you know? Barnes and Smith were each fined $2,500 for their heated on-the-court argument in last year’s ACC tournament.

* Prospects: The Tigers probably won’t last long starting four freshmen. Clemson’s record was bloated by a 10-0 start over powder-puff opponents, but any victory over North Carolina in March should be worth something.

10. SANTA CLARA (19-8)

* First-round opponent: Maryland.

* Season in brief: The Broncos should thank the NCAA gods for getting an at-large berth a second consecutive year. Obviously, they milked an early-season victory over UCLA for plenty. The reality is that Santa Clara got pounded at Marquette, was humbled more than once in conference and was bounced rudely at home by lowly Pepperdine in the first round of the West Coast Conference tournament.

* Player to watch: Steve Nash, senior guard. He is the best point guard west of Lawrence, Kan., an NBA prospect in the John Stockton mold.

* Did you know? Nash is expected to be the first NBA player drafted from Santa Clara since the Golden State Warriors took guard Steve Kenilvort in the seventh round in 1986.

* Prospects: Another first-round NCAA loss and you can bet Santa Clara will have to earn its next berth via automatic bid.

11. GEORGE WASHINGTON (21-7)

* First-round opponent: Iowa.

* Season in brief: They’re down, they’re up, they’re out, they’re in. Less than a week after a possibly tournament-damaging loss to La Salle, the Colonials recovered to end Massachusetts’ perfect season with an impressive win at Amherst. If nothing else, the Colonials have the Minutemen’s number, having defeated Massachusetts four of last five games.

* Player to watch: Shawnta Rogers, freshman point guard. He’s only 5-3, but knows how to maneuver past opposing centers’ kneecaps, as evidenced by his 15-point, eight-assist performance against Camby and Massachusetts.

* Did you know? Rasheed Hazzard, a sophomore guard, is the son of former UCLA star player and coach Walt Hazzard.

* Prospects: Last year’s NCAA bubble boys were caught with their jaws down by CBS cameras when they were snubbed on Selection Sunday. This is the Colonials’ chance to make up for it. Sophomore center Alexander Koul, one of three players imported from Eastern Europe, has made Colonial fans forget Yinka Dare, but he needs to avoid foul trouble.

12. DREXEL (26-3)

* First-round opponent: Memphis.

* Season in brief: The Dragons went 17-1 in North Atlantic Conference play and lost three regular-season games by a total of 10 points. They entered the NAC tournament ranked fourth nationally in scoring margin (18.2) and 13th in field-goal defense. They didn’t post an impressive nonconference victory, however.

* Player to watch: Malik Rose, senior center. At 6-7 and 250, he reminds some of Charles Barkley and is the nation’s second-leading rebounder with 12.8 average.

* Did you know? All students at Drexel, an engineering school in Philadelphia, are required to have computers as a condition of enrollment.

* Prospects: Not good. Drexel has been first-round fodder in three previous NCAA appearances. A No. 13 seed the last two years, expect another early-round exit.

13. MONTANA STATE (21-8)

* First-round opponent: Syracuse.

* Season in brief: The Bobcats return to the NCAAs for the first time since 1986 after defeating Weber State in the Big Sky tournament final. Montana State lost to three teams in the tournament--Texas Tech, Drexel and Eastern Michigan.

* Player to watch: Quadre Lollis, senior center. He moved from power forward this season and was one of the nation’s leaders in field-goal percentage at .656.

* Did you know? The Bobcats have never won an NCAA title, but they did win the prestigious Helms Championship in 1929.

* Prospects: The Bobcats need to stay out of a physical game, because they lack size and depth. Easier said than done.

14. VALPARAISO (21-10)

* First-round opponent: Arizona.

* Season in brief: The Crusaders completed their third straight 20-victory season but are making their first NCAA appearance because the Mid-Continent Conference did not have an automatic bid until this year. Valparaiso won the regular-season and tournament titles.

* Player to watch: Bryce Drew, sophomore guard. He’s the son of Valparaiso Coach Homer Drew, but no daddy’s boy. Bryce is a former Indiana Mr. Basketball and scored 23 points in the tournament championship game.

* Did you know? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Jr, the son of you-know-you, is a redshirt freshman forward for the Crusaders.

* Prospects: If the Crusaders were looking to make a statement, now is the time. Despite a 20-8 record, they were snubbed from NCAA and NIT consideration last year.

15. SOUTH CAROLINA STATE (22-7)

* First-round opponent: Kansas.

* Season in brief: The Bulldogs ended the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference reign of Coppin State, which had won five of the previous six championships.

* Player to watch: Derrick Patterson, senior forward-guard. A transfer from Georgetown, Patterson was the MEAC tournament MVP and plays every position. He ranked in the MEAC top five in scoring, rebounds, assists and blocked shots.

* Did you know? Two hours before the team’s MEAC title game against Coppin State, all 10 South Carolina State players shaved their heads.

* Prospects: The Bulldogs, first-round losers in 1989 to Duke in their only other tournament appearance, need a miracle and the kind of game they played in the MEAC final, when they held Coppin State to 28% shooting.

16. WESTERN CAROLINA (17-12)

* First-round opponent: Purdue.

* Season in brief: Would you believe the Catamounts started 3-10 and lost a home game to Coker College, a Division II school? Western Carolina has since gone 14-2 and won the Southern Conference berth by defeating favored Davidson in the tournament final.

* Player to watch: Anquell McCullum, senior guard. He has scored 30 or more points in eight of the team’s last 12 games.

* Did you know? Frankie King, the Lakers’ only draft pick last year, played at Western Carolina.

* Prospects: Forget it. This is the Catamounts’ first post-season tournament appearance since losing in the first round of the 1972 NAIA.