EAST REGIONAL : WHAT TO LOOK FOR

* Massachusetts reasserted itself with a strong showing in the Atlantic 10 tournament. Central Florida is this year’s sacrificial lamb from the Trans America Conference, whose last three NCAA representatives have been defeated by an average of 36 points.

* The team that has its guards up the longest should win the Bradley-Stanford game. Anthony Parker, a 6-5 guard who averages 18.3 points, poses a matchup problem. Brevin Knight and Dion Cross are almost automatic on free throws for the Cardinal (a combined 87%).

* Penn State is the nation’s No. 2 three-point shooting team (42%), while Arkansas likes to take three-point shots but makes them at a 32% clip. The Razorbacks were picking up the pieces of their dismantled NCAA tournament final team and making a nice midseason run before two starters became ineligible.

* If defense wins NCAA games, count on Marquette, which limited opponents to 39% shooting, to reach the Sweet 16. Monmouth’s claim to NCAA fame is that it’s the tournament team located closest to the Final Four site, the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J.