Duke Gets Carrawell Quickly After Losses to NBA

1. DUKE (27-4)

* First-round opponent: Lamar.

* Season in brief: Had three underclassmen taken in the first round of the NBA draft, started with losses to Stanford and Connecticut, but rallied to win 18 in a row and a fourthconsecutive Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title. Won 20 or more games for the 34th time, but suffered rare home losses to Maryland and St. John’s.

* Player to watch: Chris Carrawell. The 6-6 forward made the transition from role player to probably ACC’s best player.* Tidbit: How much has Carrawell stepped up? He had multiple 20-point games at Duke this season but never scored more than 20 in a game in three previous years.

* NCAA bio: Last year’s remarkable run ended with title-game loss to Connecticut. School’s 24th appearance, the 16th for Coach Mike Krzyzewski, who has taken his team to the Final Four eight times, winning titles in 1991 and’92.

2. TEMPLE (26-5)

* First-round opponent: Lafayette.

* Season in brief: Stumbled to 5-3 early without injured guard Pepe Sanchez, dropped an Atlantic 10 game to St. Bonaventure, then scored an impressive three-game February sweep over Maryland, Dayton and Cincinnati. Continues to stifle opponents with matchup zone defense.

* Player to watch: Sanchez. The 6-4 senior point guard doesn’t look like much, but no player in the tournament has more impact on his team.

* Tidbit: Bill Mlkvy, known in lore as “The Owl without a vowel,” scored a school-record 73 points against Wilkes College in 1951, 54 in a row in one stretch.

* NCAA bio: Coach John Chaney’s 16th appearance since 1984; advanced to the regional finals in 1988, ‘91, ’93 and ’99. School’s 24th appearance, finished third in 1956 and ’58 under Coach Harry Litwack.

3. OKLAHOMA STATE (24-6)

* First-round opponent: Hofstra.

* Season in brief: Started 10-0 before a loss to Louisiana State, won 20 games for eighth time in Coach Eddie Sutton’s 10 seasons, scored 125 points against Langston, split with rival Oklahoma.

* Player to watch: Desmond Mason. The 6-5 senior forward averages 18 points and seven rebounds.

* Tidbit: Sutton is the only coach to have takenfour schools to the tournament--Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky and Oklahoma State.

* NCAA bio: School’s 17th appearance. Beat Syracuse in the first round last year before losing to Auburn . Has won two titles, in 1945 and ‘46, under legendary coach Henry Iba.

4. ILLINOIS (21-9)

* First-round opponent: Pennsylvania.

* Season in brief: A top-25 team the first 10 weeks that dropped out of poll for six weeks, returned after winning seven consecutive games, which included a win over Indiana. Was3-4 vs. ranked opponents, losing to Duke and Maryland after missing last-second shots.

* Player to watch: Cory Bradford. The 6-3 sophomore guard is the best three-point shooter in school history (38%) and averages 15 points.

* Tidbit: The authentic costume for Chief Illiniwek, the school’s controversial Native American mascot, was purchased in 1983 from Sioux Chief Frank Fools Crow, and is topped by a headdress of turkey feathers.

* NCAA bio: School’s 20th appearance. Illinois has finished third three times, the last time in 1989 for coach Lou Henson.

5. FLORIDA (24-7)

* First-round opponent: Butler.

* Season in brief: Posted consecutive 20-win seasons for first time since 1987-89, 11 freshmen or sophomores on roster, set school record with 131 points against New Hampshire, won nine in a row from Nov. 29 to Jan. 5, beat LSU by 25 in the Southeastern Conference regular season but lost to Tennessee twice in overtime.

* Player to watch: Donnell Harvey. The 6-8 freshman forward is a rebounding machine, hishigh point a 15-rebound effort against High Point on Dec. 19.

* Tidbit: Coach Billy Donovan, the former Providence star, led his team to a fourth consecutive championship in the school’s annual three-on-three tournament, open to all students.

* NCAA bio: Made the round of 16 last year before losing to Gonzaga. Seventh appearance overall, with Final Four appearance in 1994 under Coach Lon Kruger.

6. INDIANA (20-8)

* First-round opponent: Pepperdine.

* Season in brief: Raced to a 6-0 start before a humiliating Dec. 11 loss to Indiana State, defeated North Carolina, split with Michigan State and Purdue, suffered Big Ten losses at Minnesota and Illinois.

* Player to watch: A.J. Guyton. The 6-1 senior guard is a prime-time player, averaging 25.7 points in games against ranked opponents.

* Tidbit: Coach Bob Knight won 20 games for the 23rd time in 35 seasons, tying him for thirdall-time with Kentucky’s Adolph Rupp. North Carolina’s Dean Smith leads all coaches with 3020-win seasons, followed by Jerry Tarkanian with 27.

* NCAA bio: School’s 29th appearance. Branch McCracken coached Hoosiers to national titles in 1940 and ‘53, while Knight-led teams won championships in 1976, ’81 and ’87. Hoosiers were second-round losers last year to St. John’s.

7. OREGON (22-7)

* First-round opponent: Seton Hall.

* Season in brief: Coach Ernie Kent won more games in his first three years than any Oregon coach since Howard Hobson in the late 1930s. Team overcame nonconference loss to Cal State Northridge, defeated Gonzaga and Wake Forest in late December, scored key home victory overArizona on March 4.

* Player to watch: Bryan Bracey. The 6-7 juniorcollege transfer added versatility to an already deep roster, giving Ducks a big man who can play the perimeter or post.

* Tidbit: When Oregon won the first NCAA title played in 1939, the team’s nickname was theTall Firs.

* NCAA bio: This is Oregon’s sixth appearance, the first since 1995 and only second since 1961.

8. KANSAS (23-9)

* First-round opponent: DePaul.

* Season in brief: Not one of Roy Williams’ best teams. Played like a team that started three freshmen--Drew Gooden, Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich. Beat Ohio State in nonconference game, lost to Michigan State, Illinois, and got swept by Iowa State in the Big 12.

* Player to watch: Eric Chenowith. The 7-1 junior center has to play big for the Jayhawks to advance.

* Tidbit: Sure, they fill Allen Field House now, but the Jayhawks first home victory, 31-6 over the Topeka YMCA came Feb. 10, 1895, was witnessed by a crowd of 50.

* NCAA bio: Twenty-ninth appearance for the legendary program, with titles in 1952 under coach Phog Allen and 1988 under Larry Brown. This is Roy Williams’ 11th trip--his highest finish was second to Duke in 1991.

9. DEPAUL (21-11)

* First-round opponent: Kansas.

* Season in brief: Injury-plagued season for program with top-10 aspirations, suffered early losses to Texas, Duke and UCLA, defeated St. John’s, went 5-3 on the road in Conference USA, squandered a 17-point home lead to No. 2Cincinnati in a two-point loss March 2.

* Player to watch: Quentin Richardson. The 6-6 sophomore forward did not quite live up to player-of-the-year billing, but averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds. Listed at 6-6, he’s actually about 6-4.

* Tidbit: On Nov. 20, the Blue Demons played their 359th and final game at Alumni Hall, which is scheduled for demolition. DePaul posted a 288-71 record in the building and oncewon 54 consecutive games.

* NCAA bio: Coach Ray Meyer led DePaul to the Final Four in 1943 and ‘79, but never won the national title. Son Joey led the school to seven tournaments, the last in ’92.

10. SETON HALL (20-9)

* First-round opponent: Oregon.

* Season in brief: Arrived a season early under second-year Coach Tommy Amaker. Pirates made the polls at No. 23 in February, the school’s first top-25 ranking since finishing No.6 in 1992-93. Won six consecutive games from Dec. 11 to Jan. 4, then key reserve guard Gary Saunders was kicked off team in February.

* Player to watch: Shaheen Holloway. The 5-10 senior point guard finally lived up to lofty expectations and raised the bar for a program that is only going to get better.

* Tidbit: Seton Hall holds Big East record for most points in one overtime-- 23 against Miami in 1992.

* NCAA bio: Seventh appearance, first by a coach other than P.J. Carlesimo, who had a 12-6 record in the tournament and led the Pirates to the title game in 1989 and the field of eight in 1991.

11. PEPPERDINE (24-8)

* First-round opponent: Indiana.

* Season in brief: Won first West Coast Conference regular-season title since 1991-92 under first-year Coach Jan van Breda Kolff, started season with a two-point win over Cal State Long Beach, lost nonconference to Auburn, Kansas and UCLA in a controversial decision, finished 11-1 at Firestone Fieldhouse.

* Player to watch: Brandon Armstrong. The 6-4sophomore guard scored in double figures in each of his team’s first seven games and ended up leading the team at 13 points a game.

* Tidbit: School has won seven team NCAA national titles in baseball, water polo, men’s golf and men’s volleyball (four).

* NCAA bio: School’s first appearance since 1994, when No. 14-seeded Waves took No. 3 Michigan to overtime before losing. Former coach Jim Harrick led school to the tournament in 1982, ‘83, ’85 and ’86.

12. BUTLER (23-7)

* First-round opponent: Florida.

* Season in brief: Defeated Detroit in Midwestern Collegiate tournament final to get automatic NCAA bid, enters tournament on a school-record 15-game winning streak, defeated Wright State (which defeated Michigan State), hasn’t lost a game since Jan. 15 at Detroit. Was among nation’s leaders in defense, allowing 56 points per game.

* Player to watch: Mike Marshall. The 6-4 senior forward was named the conference tournament’s most valuable player.

* Tidbit: Plays home games in legendary HinkelFieldhouse, used in the film “Hoosiers.”

* NCAA bio: Fourth appearance. Butler lost in first round to New Mexico in 1998.

13. PENNSYLVANIA (21-7)

* First-round opponent: Illinois.

* Season in brief: Rebounded from 1-4 start (with losses to Kent, Penn State, La Salle and Auburn), fell to 3-6 after a Jan. 9 loss to Villanova, rallied to win the Ivy League title.

* Player to watch: Michael Jordan. The 6-foot senior guard with the famous name averages 16 points and can beat almost any opponent off the dribble. Yes, he wears uniform No. 23.

* Tidbit: They should call Penn and Princeton the “Killer Ps.” The two schools have won 29 out of the last 31 Ivy League titles.

* NCAA bio: School’s 18th appearance. Coach Bob Weinhauer led the school’s most storied run, leading the Quakers to the Final Four in 1979 before losing by 44 points to Magic Johnson’s Michigan State.

14. HOFSTRA (24-6)

* First-round opponent: Oklahoma State.

* Season in brief: Defeated Delaware in the America East Conference tournament final to get the automatic NCAA bid, had third consecutive season with 19 or more wins, an RPI ranking in the 60s.

* Player to watch: Craig “Speedy” Claxton. The 5-11 senior guard is the team’s leader in scoring, assists, steals and minutes.

* Tidbit: Former Laker coach Butch van Breda Kolff led Hofstra to 23 consecutive wins in the 1960 and ’61 seasons.

* NCAA bio: School’s third appearance, first since consecutive berths in 1976 and ’77.

15. LAFAYETTE (24-6)

* First-round opponent: Temple.

* Season in brief: Defeated Navy, 87-61, to win the Patriot League tournament, had the 12th 20-win season in school’s 90-year history, lost to Villanova by four and to St. Joseph’s in overtime.

* Player to watch: Brian Ehlers. The 6-4 senior guard averages 17 points and five rebounds andis a two-time Patriot League player of the year.

* Tidbit: Lafayette and Navy finished tied for the conference title at 11-1, but had a higher RPI rating, 129 to 132, giving the Leopards the choice of playing a first-round game or hosting the tournament final. Lafayette opted for home-court advantage, and defeated Navy.

* NCAA bio: Third appearance. Lost in first round last year to Miami.

16. LAMAR (15-15)

* First-round opponent: Duke.

* Season in brief: Beat Northwestern State in the Southland Conference tournament final to get the automatic NCAA bid, beat Texas A&M;, lost by only four points at Oklahoma. Team is coached by Mike Deane, who went 100-55 in five seasons at Marquette before being forced out following a 14-15 record last season.

* Player to watch: Landon Rowe. The 6-8 seniorforward averages 15 points and seven rebounds.

* Tidbit: Deane led Siena to its first NCAA apperance in 1989, in which his team upset No. 3 Stanford, 80-78, in the first round of the East Regional.

* NCAA bio: School’s fifth appearance, first since 1983. Coach Billy Tubbs led team to tournamant in 1979 and ’80 before moving on to Oklahoma.