MIDWEST REGIONAL

Capsules by Times staff writer Chris Dufresne.

1. KENTUCKY (28-2)

* First-round opponent: San Jose State.

* Season in brief: The Wildcats posted perhaps the most impressive pre-tournament romp since Jerry Tarkanian’s 1990-91 track team at UNLV ransacked the country in quest of consecutive national championships. Kentucky hopes it does not meet a similar fate as Vegas, though, which lost a tournament rematch to Duke. It took an early-season loss to Massachusetts for Coach Rick Pitino to realize he was using the wrong lineup. After moving guard Tony Delk off the point, the Wildcats have been all but unstoppable.

* Player to watch: Delk. He’s the senior, the leader, the shooter and the band director.

* Did you know? Kentucky players travel first class on a chartered plane owned by the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets and Atlanta Hawks.

* Prospects: The Wildcats may never have a better chance to win a national championship. The NCAA road shouldn’t be frightening, either, as the Wildcats are more comfortable away from Rupp Arena, racking up wins of 29 points or more at Tennessee, Vanderbilt, LSU, South Carolina and Florida.

2. WAKE FOREST (23-5)

* First-round opponent: Northeast Louisiana.

* Season in brief: In a show for NBA scouts, Tim Duncan lost his one-on-one battle with Massachusetts’ Marcus Camby on Dec. 6 at Amherst, but Duncan and the Demon Deacons recovered to establish themselves as a force in the ACC.

* Player to watch: Rusty LaRue, senior guard. A three-sport star who set passing records as Wake Forest’s quarterback, LaRue is a smart, hustling leader whose three-point touch is a nice complement to Duncan’s inside game.

* Did you know? Wake Forest’s golf teams of the past have included Arnold Palmer, Lanny Watkins, Jay Haas and Curtis Strange.

* Prospects: Duncan is the best low-post player in the country, and likely the top pick in the NBA draft. But if the Deacons want to reach the promised land, Duncan needs to add a little mean streak to his silky-smooth inside game.

3. VILLANOVA (25-6)

* First-round opponent: Portland.

* Season in brief: Everything was going great until star guard Kerry Kittles was suspended the last three regular-season games for charging unauthorized telephone calls. The Wildcats lost two of the three games in which Kittles was out, went 1-1 in the Big East tournament, and slipped to No. 9 in the polls. The stunt may have cost Villanova a No. 1 seed, while Kittles’ absence seemed to affect team chemistry.

* Player to watch: Jason Lawson, junior center, is a force in the middle, averages 12 points and six rebounds and complements perimeter men Kittles and forward Eric Eberz.

* Did you know? In a superstition that dates to high school, Kittles wears his left sock pulled up to his knee while wearing a cut-off right sock that does not extend above his ankle.

* Prospects: Who’s to say? Last year, the Wildcats won the Big East tournament, then fell on their faces against Old Dominion in the NCAA tournament. Maybe pause and reflection are what this team needs to make a run.

4. UTAH (25-6)

* First-round opponent: Canisius.

* Season in brief: The Utes survived the loss of Alex Jensen to a Mormon mission, the early-season suspension of Brandon Jessie and two losses to Fresno State, to end up a Top 15 team and the class of Western Athletic Conference.

* Player to watch: Keith Van Horn, junior forward. Fresno State Coach Jerry Tarkanian says Van Horn is one of top five players in the country, and it’s hard to argue. Van Horn is a premier finesse forward, with supreme skills and smarts.

* Did you know? When Texas El Paso Coach Don Haskins had heart bypass surgery in January, Utah Coach Rick Majerus drove from Salt Lake City to Texas to be with his mentor before and after the operation.

* Prospects: The losses to Fresno State are disconcerting, but the tag team of Van Horn and Jessie gives Utah real firepower. Had Jensen put off his mission and stuck around, this team had Final Four potential.

5. IOWA STATE (23-8)

* First-round opponent: California.

* Season in brief: Picked to finish last in the Big Eight, the Cyclones proved that experience wasn’t everything. Iowa started 7-0, cracked the AP poll with a No. 21 ranking on Feb. 5 and played what Coach Tim Floyd called his team’s best game in a two-point loss to Marquette on Jan. 10. Lost a bit of luster with consecutive February losses to Kansas and Oklahoma.

* Player to watch: Dedric Willoughby, junior guard. A transfer from New Orleans, he is the Cyclones’ leading scorer and one of the Big Eight’s best three-point shooters.

* Did you know? The five Iowa State returners this season combined to score only 65 of the team’s 1,207 points in 1994-95.

* Prospects: Floyd’s terrific reclamation project should not be confused with possible NCAA tournament success. The Cyclones were a nice little story, but the Big Eight wasn’t that good and, well, Iowa State took advantage.

6. LOUISVILLE (20-11)

* First-round opponent: Tulsa.

* Season in brief: This has been one of Denny Crum’s best coaching jobs. He lost two projected starters to academics, Alex Sanders and Jason Osborne, forward Samaki Walker (10 games) to an NCAA inquiry and forward Eric Johnson to a knee injury in the second game of the season. Only Purdue’s Gene Keady did more with less.

* Player to watch: DeJuan Wheat, junior guard. With the projected starting lineup in shambles, Wheat elevated his game.

* Did you know? Crum, asked in a questionnaire what he’d like to come back as in his next life, responded, “An East End housewife.”

* Prospects: Crum’s team has proven it can beat anyone on a given day--ask UCLA--but lacks depth and resources to make a serious run.

7. MICHIGAN (20-11)

* First-round opponent: Texas.

* Season in brief: More was expected of this group, which introduced a Fab Three freshman class of Robert Traylor, Louis Bullock and Albert White. Bullock is the best of the three. Discipline was a problem on and off the court, witness a 21-point home loss to Purdue and that early morning traffic accident involving five players in which Traylor broke his right arm.

* Player to watch: Maurice Taylor, sophomore forward, the team’s most consistent scorer.

* Did you know? On Dec. 11, 1993, Cazzie Russell was first Wolverine to have his number retired.

* Prospects: With Traylor out, the Wolverines lose 300 pounds of bulk in the middle, but they may be better without him. The backcourt isn’t good enough to sustain a run this year.

8. WISCONSIN GREEN BAY (25-3)

* First-round opponent: Virginia Tech.

* Season in brief: Mike Heideman took over from longtime Coach Dick Bennett and kept the Phoenix rising. With seniors Jeff Nordgaard, Ben Berlowski, Gary Grzesk and Eric Jackson, Phoenix went 16-0 in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference regular season and have another chance to be tournament pests.

* Player to watch: Nordgaard, senior forward, is the star, a complete player who can rebound, swat shots and make the 18-foot jumper.

* Did you know? Green Bay is 73-17 since this year’s four seniors were 13-14 as freshmen.

* Prospects: These guys are potential giant-killers. Under Bennett in the 1994 tournament, they pulled off a monumental upset over California and Jason Kidd. Last year, the Phoenix nearly upset No. 3 seed Purdue in the Midwest Region.

9. VIRGINIA TECH (22-5)

* First-round opponent: Wisconsin Green Bay.

* Season in brief: So much for the trauma of league changes. The Hokies followed the lead of the Sugar Bowl champion football team and established themselves as an instant basketball power in their first Atlantic 10 season. The nonconference schedule was nothing to brag about--Coastal Carolina, Wright State--but Bill Foster’s team won 19 of its first 21 games.

* Player to watch: Ace Custis, junior forward, is a blue-collar, overachieving force with more than 100 offensive rebounds in last two seasons.

* Did you know? Virginia Tech won the National Invitation Tournament last season, defeating Marquette in overtime.

* Prospects: How nice of the selection committee to notice after snubbing the Hokies last year despite a 20-plus victory season and a No. 24 RPI ranking. Hokies enjoy the underdog role.

10. TEXAS (20-9)

* First-round opponent: Michigan.

* Season in brief: The Longhorns were supposed to be rebuilding under Coach Tom Penders, but survived the toughest nonconference schedule in school history to end up ahead of schedule. Texas lost to Utah by one, was blown out by Louisville, but had home victories against Providence and North Carolina.

* Player to watch: Reggie Freeman, junior guard. He was among the nation’s leading scorers and was in the top 10 in seven Southwest Conference categories.

* Did you know? Since ‘89, only Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, North Carolina and UCLA have played more NCAA tournament games.

* Prospects: Take a look at the season. This team is capable of beating North Carolina or losing to Rice, depending on whether the three-point shot is dropping. The Longhorns lack an inside game, but can be expected to be loose and dangerous in the tournament.

11. TULSA (22-7)

* First-round opponent: Louisville.

* Season in brief: The Golden Hurricane will join the Western Athletic Conference next season, but leaves the Missouri Valley Conference as champion. Tulsa finished third in the regular season but avenged two overtime losses to Bradley by beating the Braves in the tournament final.

* Player to watch: Michael Ruffin, freshman forward. Junior guard Shea Seals was the tournament MVP, but Ruffin had 15 points and 13 rebounds in the victory over Bradley.

* Did you know? First-year Coach Steve Robinson had never been a head coach at any level before taking over at Tulsa this season.

* Prospects: This team is no fluke. The Golden Hurricane, under former Coach Tubby Smith, advanced to the Sweet 16 the last two years. Smith moved on to coach Georgia, but he left the program in good shape.

12. CALIFORNIA (17-10)

* First-round opponent: Iowa State.

* Season in brief: Survived suspension of Tremaine Fowlkes, two losses to UCLA, the benching of three players late for breaking team rules. The turning point was a sweep of the Washington schools at home when the Bears were sitting on the NCAA fence at 14-8.

* Player to watch: Shareef Abdul-Rahim, center. He led the Pac-10 in scoring and established himself as the nation’s best freshman.

* Did you know? Jason Kidd, had he not turned pro, would have been a senior at Cal this season.

* Prospects: Blessed with talent equal to UCLA’s, and a high-wire coach in Todd Bozeman, Cal is one of the tournament’s enigmas, a team capable of losing in the first round or putting a scare into this regional’s top seeds.

13. CANISIUS (19-10)

* First-round opponent: Utah.

* Season in brief: The Golden Griffins won 20-plus games the previous two seasons but were ignored by the NCAA tournament selection committee. They made it with 19 victories this year by winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament.

* Player to watch: Michael Meeks, senior center. He’s a pro prospect who had 18 points and 11 rebounds in NCAA berth-clinching victory against Fairfield.

* Did you know? Canisius last appeared in the NCAA tournament in 1957, beating West Virginia in first round before losing to eventual champion North Carolina.

* Prospects: Canisius lacks NCAA experience, but did advance to the semifinals of last year’s National Invitation Tournament. Beware this conference’s giant-killer capabilities. Last year, MAAC representative Manhattan beat No. 3-seeded Oklahoma in the first round.

14. PORTLAND (19-10)

* First-round opponent: Villanova.

* Season in brief: The Pilots followed up a ho-hum 7-7 West Coast Conference regular season by winning the conference tournament and advancing to their first NCAA tournament since 1959.

* Player to watch: Kweemada King, junior forward. A junior college transfer from the Bahamas, King is a strong, athletic forward who scored 26 points in the WCC title-game victory over Gonzaga.

* Did you know? Portland Coach Rob Chavez is called by the Blue Ribbon Yearbook “one of the brightest young coaches in the country.”

* Prospects: Not much better than they were in 1959, when Portland lost a first-round game to DePaul. The Pilots are thrilled to be here after a 37-year drought. It will take all of Chavez’s acumen to muster a first-round victory.

15. NORTHEAST LOUISIANA (16-13)

* First-round opponent: Wake Forest.

* Season in brief: The Indians capped the biggest turnaround in school history by defeating North Texas in the Southland Conference title game. Northeast Louisiana, facing a bruising nonconference schedule that included losses to Arkansas, Mississippi State and Memphis, began the season 3-11.

* Player to watch: Paul Marshall, senior guard. He was the conference tournament MVP and is a shooter deluxe, having made 114 three-point baskets this season.

* Did you know? San Diego Charger quarterback Stan Humphries is from Northeast Louisiana. He did not play basketball.

* Prospects: The is old hat for the Indians, who are making their seventh tournament appearance and fifth in the 1990s. They have never won a tournament game, however, a streak that will likely remain intact.

16. SAN JOSE STATE (13-16)

* First-round opponent: Kentucky.

* Season in brief: The Spartans began the season 4-15 but have won nine of their last 10. They join Central Florida as the only teams in the NCAA tournament with a losing record after entering the Big West tournament as a sixth-seeded team. San Jose State rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit to defeat UC Irvine in the Big West semifinals and needed Rich Taylor’s last-second three-point shot to beat Utah State in the title game.

* Player to watch: Olivier Saint-Jean, a transfer from Michigan, was named most valuable player of the Big West tournament.

* Did you know? This is the second time Stan Morrison has coached a team that gained an NCAA bid by defeating Utah State in a conference tournament championship game. In 1979, Morrison led Pacific to postseason play with a victory over the Aggies in then-Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. tournament final.

* Prospects: The Spartans do not have the talent or the depth to keep up with Kentucky, but they made great strides heading into next season. Saint-Jean is a big-time player who can make things happen offensively.