EAST REGIONAL

1. NORTH CAROLINA (30-3)

* First-round opponent: Navy.

* Season in brief: Any questions about what the future held after Dean Smith’s unanticipated retirement were put aside when longtime assistant Bill Guthridge guided the team to the top of the polls. North Carolina won a No. 2-vs.-No. 1 showdown with Duke on Feb. 5, but lost to the Blue Devils in the rematch when Duke came from 17 points behind to win at Cameron Indoor Stadium. North Carolina won the rubber game in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament Sunday.

* Player to watch: Forward Antawn Jamison is the likely national player of the year, with quickness, power and a unique shot coaches say can be released from almost any angle.

* Tidbit: With six “starters” for five positions, Guthridge rotates players in alphabetical order.

* NCAA bio: Guthridge is 0-0, but North Carolina won national titles in 1982 and ’93 under Smith and in ’57 under Frank McGuire. The Tar Heels have appeared in every tournament since 1975 and reached the Final Four last season for the 13th time, losing to eventual champion Arizona in the semifinals, 66-58.

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2. CONNECTICUT (29-4)

* First-round opponent: Fairleigh Dickinson.

* Season in brief: Won the Big East regular-season title in the final game by avenging an earlier loss to St. John’s, then beat Syracuse in the final of the conference tournament. A year after playing in the NIT, Connecticut is poised to make a deep run into the NCAA tournament. Freshman Khalid El-Amin runs the show as the point guard, and forward Kevin Freeman complements leading scorer Richard Hamilton.

* Player to watch: Skinny sophomore forward Hamilton made a big impression this season. A terrific scorer with shooting range and the ability to drive to the basket, he’ll become one of best players in the nation if he stays in college.

* Tidbit: El-Amin observed Ramadan by fasting--except on game days--and was married and divorced while still in high school.

* NCAA bio: Connecticut has 19 NCAA appearances, highlighted most recently by a trip to the final eight in 1995 before losing to eventual champion UCLA. The Huskies went 32-3 in the next season, but lost to Mississippi State in a regional semifinal.

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3. SOUTH CAROLINA (23-7)

* First-round opponent: Richmond.

* Season in brief: A first-round bust last season--the sixth-ranked Gamecocks were stunned by Coppin State--South Carolina has been somewhat disappointing after being ranked in the top 10 early. The team has serious comeback ability--best illustrated in a victory over Cincinnati on a last-second shot after being behind by 23 points. But February losses to Tennessee, Arkansas and Kentucky knocked the Gamecocks out of contention for the Southeastern Conference title, and they were hammered, 86-56, by Kentucky in the SEC tournament final.

* Player to watch: Junior guard BJ McKie teams with senior point guard Melvin Watson to form one of the nation’s best backcourts.

* Tidbit: South Carolina’s athletic director is former USC athletic director Mike McGee.

* NCAA bio: Despite some glory years in the 1970s when Frank McGuire was the coach and South Carolina was in the ACC, the Gamecocks have never advanced past Round Two.

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4. MICHIGAN STATE (20-7)

* First-round opponent: Eastern Michigan.

* Season in brief: A surprise Big Ten regular-season co-champion, the Spartans weren’t even ranked in late January but reached the top 10 by winning 13 of their final 16 games going into the Big Ten tournament. That all but erased memories of early-season losses to Detroit, Temple and Illinois Chicago. The Spartans are a threat to make a deep NCAA run this season under second-year coach Tom Izzo.

* Player to watch: Sophomore guard Mateen Cleaves ends up in the news for problems a little too often--he was suspended for half a game for an underage alcohol arrest--but he’s a terrific scorer and the engine that drives the Spartans.

* Tidbit: Izzo’s best man--and vice versa--was San Francisco 49er Coach Steve Mariucci, his friend from high school and college at Northern Michigan.

* NCAA bio: Won the 1979 title with Magic Johnson, and will be making its first appearance in the tournament in three seasons.

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5. PRINCETON (26-1)

* First-round opponent: Nevada Las Vegas.

* Season in brief: A close early-season loss to North Carolina that was decided in the final minute is the only blemish on the Tigers’ record. But be careful about how much you expect after the first or second round. A 2-1 record against the ACC drew early notice, and Princeton vaulted into the Associated Press Top 10 when it swept through the Ivy League unbeaten, though it took an overtime victory at Penn in the final game to do so. It’s a a veteran team that is well-schooled in an innovative offense built on back-door cuts and three-point shooting.

* Player to watch: Center Steve Goodrich is the focal point of the offense, distributing the ball from the high post and capable of making the three-point shot as well. He has more three-pointers than dunks.

* Tidbit: Former coach Pete Carril, the architect of the Princeton system, is an assistant with the Sacramento Kings.

* NCAA bio: In 1996, Princeton pulled one of the most famous first-round upsets, knocking out defending NCAA champion UCLA. Back in 1965, the Tigers reached the Final Four behind Bill Bradley, a future U.S. Senator.

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6. XAVIER (22-7)

* First-round opponent: Washington.

* Season in brief: A disappointment overall after a top-10 ranking early in season. But it’s an erratic team that won seven of its final nine games--and had a one-point loss to Rhode Island--to solidify its standing before winning the Atlantic 10 tournament. The guard combination of Lenny Brown and Gary Lumpkin is one of keys to success.

* Player to watch: Junior forward Darnell Williams emerged as team’s leading scorer.

* Tidbit: Brown and Lumpkin played together at William Penn High in Wilmington, Del.

* NCAA bio: It was beaten by UCLA in the second round last season and is making its third trip under Skip Prosser after seven appearances under Pete Gillen in late ‘80s and ‘90s.

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7. INDIANA (19-11)

* First-round opponent: Oklahoma.

* Season in brief: Another tumultuous season under Coach Bob Knight. Three consecutive losses to end the regular season seemed to make the Hoosiers a bubble team. Winning a game in the first Big Ten tournament doubtless helped cement a No. 7 seeding. A 48-point loss to Michigan late in the season was one of Indiana’s worst ever, and two days later, Knight again was embroiled in controversy and facing Big Ten penalties, this time for his actions after being ejected by official Ted Valentine.

* Player to watch: Sophomore guard A.J. Guyton was the Big Ten freshman of the year last season.

* Tidbit: The Hoosiers haven’t missed the tournament since 1985.

* NCAA bio: Indiana has lost in the first round three years in a row: to Missouri, Boston College and Colorado. But the Hoosiers’ five NCAA titles--1940, ‘53, ‘76, ’81 and ‘87--are surpassed only by UCLA’s 11 and Kentucky’s six.

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8. N.C. CHARLOTTE (19-10)

* First-round opponent: Illinois Chicago.

* Season in brief: The 49ers finished strong enough to challenge Cincinnati for regular-season supremacy in Conference USA but lost a showdown with Bearcats by one point, then lost to Cincinnati by 14 points in the conference tournament final. Highly regarded before the season, Charlotte faltered in a 3-5 start because of various difficulties, including a suspension for point guard Sean Colson, who averages eight assists.

* Player to watch: DeMarco Johnson, a 6-8 power forward and probable late first-round NBA pick, averages 20 points and 10 rebounds.

* Tidbit: Doctors say freshman forward Charles Hayward is in remission after undergoing treatment for leukemia. His illness was discovered shortly before the season.

* NCAA bio: The 49ers beat Georgetown last season before losing to Utah in the second round. They reached the Final Four in 1977 with Cedric “Cornbread” Maxwell.

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9. ILLINOIS CHICAGO (22-5)

* First-round opponent: N.C. Charlotte.

* Season in brief: In his second season, former Illinois assistant Jimmy Collins has guided the Flames to the first NCAA tournament bid in school history. Illinois Chicago is one of three Midwestern Collegiate Conference to make the field, along with Detroit and Butler. The Flames made noise against the Big Ten early, beating Michigan State and losing to Illinois by one. Mark Miller, Bryant Lowe and Anthony Coomes do most of the scoring and rebounding and Lowe shoots 56% from three-point range.

* Player to watch: Miller, a senior guard, had 37 points against Wisconsin Milwaukee.

* Tidbit: Coomes’ father, Mark, is an assistant coach.

* NCAA bio: This is the school’s first NCAA appearance.

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10. OKLAHOMA (22-10)

* First-round opponent: Indiana.

* Season in brief: Reached the Big 12 tournament final, losing to Kansas. The Sooners had a good record, but the nonconference and Big 12 schedules weren’t taxing, with the exception of playing Kansas.

* Player to watch: Senior guard Corey Brewer has been a star for the Sooners after stops at two junior colleges.

* Tidbit: Coach Kelvin Sampson was formerly at Washington State.

* NCAA bio: Oklahoma has lost five consecutive first-round games. The Sooners reached the Final Four three times, most recently in 1988 under Billy Tubbs.

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11. WASHINGTON (18-9)

* First-round opponent: Xavier.

* Season in brief: A late-season victory over UCLA helped propel Washington into the tournament-- its only win over a ranked team, although the Huskies also gave Stanford a scare earlier in the season.

* Player to watch: Junior Todd MacCulloch, one of Washington’s two 7-footers, averages close to a double-double a game, but has had poor outings in some big games.

* Tidbit: Swingman Donald Watts is the son of former NBA guard Slick Watts.

* NCAA bio: It’s the Huskies’ first NCAA tournament since 1986, when they concluded a streak of three consecutive NCAA tournaments. They made the Final Four in 1953 and made the NIT the last two years.

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12. NEVADA LAS VEGAS (20-12)

* First-round opponent: Princeton.

* Season in brief: The surprise winners of the Western Athletic Conference tournament, the Rebels beat New Mexico in the final at Thomas & Mack Center after defeating former coach Jerry Tarkanian’s Fresno State team in a semifinal. The Rebels finished their season on a roll, despite losing potential NBA first-round pick Keon Clark, who left the team after being suspended.

* Players to watch: Guard Brian Keefe and forward Kevin Simmons are transfers from UC Irvine.

* Tidbit: This is UNLV’s first trip to the NCAA tournament under any coach other than Tarkanian.

* NCAA bio: The first trip to the tournament since 1991, when the Rebels reached the Final Four for the second year in a row after winning 1990 NCAA title.

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13. EASTERN MICHIGAN (20-9)

* First-round opponent: Michigan State.

* Season in brief: It won the Mid-American tournament over Miami of Ohio after eliminating Ball State and its star, Bonzi Wells, in overtime in a semifinal game. Eastern Michigan upset Michigan early in the season in overtime, 89-83, at Ann Arbor.

* Player to watch: At only 5 feet 5, high-scoring guard Earl Boykins was one of the best players on the U.S. 22-and-under team last summer and had a big game in the Michigan upset.

* Tidbit: Coach Milton Barnes, a former Minnesota assistant, replaced Ben Braun when California hired him away from Eastern Michigan in 1996.

* NCAA bio: This first-round upset threat has done it before, making a splash by beating Duke in 1996 before losing to Connecticut. Eastern Michiganis making its fourth appearance.

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14. RICHMOND (22-7)

* First-round opponent: South Carolina.

* Season in brief: First-year Coach John Beilein--who guided Canisius to the NCAA tournament in 1996--helped turn a 13-15 team into a winner. The Spiders beat North Carolina Wilmington in the Colonial Athletic Assn. tournament final to earn their bid. Gauge against the big boys: an 84-65 loss to North Carolina.

* Player to watch: Jarod Stevenson, a 6-7 forward, averages 19 points.

* Tidbit: This private school in Richmond, Va., upset Virginia in the season opener.

* NCAA bio: This might not be the year, but Richmond’s upset-strewn tournament history includes stunning victories over Indiana and Georgia Tech in 1988 before a loss to top-seeded Temple and a 1991 upset of second-seeded Syracuse.

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15. FAIR.- DICKINSON (23-6)

* First-round opponent: Connecticut.

* Season in brief: The Knights stunned Long Island in the Northeast Conference tournament final, knocking Charles Jones, the nation’s leading scorer the past two seasons, out of an NCAA tournament appearance.

* Player to watch: Senior forward Rahshon Turner scored 37 points against Long Island.

* Tidbit: School is located in Teaneck, N.J.

* NCAA bio: Fairleigh Dickinson made the field for the first time in 10 years.

16. NAVY (19-10)

* First-round opponent: North Carolina.

* Season in brief: The Middies won the Patriot League tournament final against Lafayette to earn their automatic bid. They are returning to the tournament for the third time in five years under Coach Don DeVoe.

* Player to watch: Senior forward Hassan Booker.

* Tidbit: David Robinson, who earned his nickname “The Admiral” in college, is the leading scorer and rebounder in Navy history.

* NCAA bio: Navy lost to Utah in the first round last season, 75-61. The Middies made the final eight in 1986.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

EAST REGIONAL

FIRST-ROUND GAMES, THURSDAY

1. North Carolina (30-3)

16. Navy (19-10)

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8. North Carolina Char. (19-10)

9. Illinois Chicago (22-5)

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4. Michigan State (20-7)

13. Eastern Michigan (20-9)

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5. Princeton (26-1)

12. UNLV (20-12)

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2. Connecticut (29-4)

15. Farleigh Dickinson (23-6)

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7. Indiana (19-11)

10. Oklahoma (22-10)

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3. South Carolina (23-7)

14. Richmond (22-7)

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6. Xavier (22-7)

11. Washington (18-9)

FAST FACTS

1. 11th-seeded Washington had been the only Pac-10 team not to make the tournament in the 90s.

2. Bob Bender, coach of Washington, is the only person to play for two schools in the championship game. Bender played for Indiana’s 1976 championship team, and for Duke in 1978, when it lost to Kentucky.

3. Bill Gutridge, coach of top-seeded North Carolina, could become only the seventh first-year coach to reach the Final Four.