SOUTHEAST REGIONAL AT A GLANCE

* How they got here: No. 1 Connecticut received 95 points from guards Ray Allen and Doron Sheffer in victories over Colgate and Eastern Michigan, but it was a guard the Huskies lost--freshman Ricky Moore, who separated his right shoulder--that has them concerned. No. 5 Mississippi State, fresh off its Southeastern Conference tournament drubbing of Kentucky, beat Virginia Commonwealth and then gave UCLA a lesson in defending Princeton’s fabled back-door play, thus ending Pete Carril’s fabled career. No. 3 Georgia Tech handled No. 14 Austin Peay and No. 11 Boston College with relative ease, introducing the wonders of freshman guard Stephon Marbury to basketball come-latelies just pulling up a chair. No. 2 Cincinnati was ragged in a five-point victory over tournament first-timer UNC Greensboro, then muscled up to take out Temple and its matchup zone.

* Difference maker: Mississippi State’s Dontae Jones, junior forward. He’s the SEC’s best raw talent and has picked up his offensive game, taking some scoring burden off center Erick Dampier and guard Darryl Wilson.

* Four questions: Can UConn get to the Final Four without a penetrator like Moore? Is Mississippi State too slow to keep pace with the Huskies? How long can Georgia Tech milk Marbury? Can Cincinnati mix in enough finesse to win a close game?

* Looking forward to: UConn-Cincinnati is the matchup you’d pay to see. The Huskies are superior in the back court with Allen and Sheffer, but how would UConn’s weaker front court fare against the Bearcat brawlers, Art Long and Danny Fortson?

* Glimpse at the coaches: UConn’s Jim Calhoun is the one looking to make a long-overdue Final Four appearance. Mississippi State’s Richard Williams is the one who will remind you that Kentucky isn’t the only SEC dog in this hunt. Georgia Tech’s Bobby Cremins is the one who recovered from a 6-7 start this season. Cincinnati’s Bob Huggins is the one who will be screaming at the officials.

* How it shakes out: UConn’s guard play will be too much for Mississippi State; Cincinnati will mug Marbury and Georgia Tech. The deeper the tournament goes, the more physical things will get. There isn’t a more physical team than Cincinnati.

* Final prediction: The Bearcats advance to East Rutherford.