Stanford May Find Southern Hospitality to Liking

1. STANFORD (26-3)

* First-round opponent: South Carolina State.

* Season in brief: Terrific season marred by late-season losses to UCLA and Arizona. Broke fast with an overtime victory over Duke on Nov. 11, flourished early despite the loss of Mark Madsen because of injury, the held No. 1 spot twice before home defeats by Arizona on Jan. 8 and UCLA on March 4. Scored other key nonconference wins over Iowa, Auburn and Georgia Tech and crushed archrival California by 51 points.

* Player to watch: Casey Jacobsen. The 6-6 freshman from Glendora High led the team in scoring and gives the Cardinal an inside-out scoring threat.

* Tidbit: Guard Michael McDonald’s father, Glenn, played for Lute Olson at Long Beach State in 1973-74, was Boston’s first-round pick and, in 1976, played a key role in the Celtics’ famous triple overtime win against the Phoenix Suns in Game 5 of the 1976 NBA Finals.

* NCAA bio: School’s eighth NCAA appearance under Montgomery after not qualifying from 1942 through 1988. Won it all in 1942, advanced to the Final Four in 1998, ousted in the second round last year by Gonzaga.

2. CINCINNATI (28-3)

* First-round opponent: North Carolina Wilmington.

* Season in brief: Hopes devastated Thursday by season-ending injury to star center Kenyon Martin in Conference USA tournament. Bearcats were ranked No. 1 in most power rating polls, defeated Iowa State, Gonzaga and North Carolina. Lost the “city” championship Dec. 18 to Xavier, also lost a home-court thriller to Temple on Feb. 20.

* Player to watch: Kenny Satterfield. With Martin out, the 6-1 freshman point guard will have to play like a senior to prevent his team from an early-round exit.

* Tidbit: The nickname Bearcats? In a 1914 football game against Kentucky, a cheerleader touted the exploits of Cincinnati fullback Teddy Baehr with the cheer “They may be Wildcats, but we have Baehr-cat on our side.”

* NCAA bio: Bounced out in second round last year by nemesis Temple. Ninth appearance for Coach Bob Huggins, whose 1992 squad advanced to the Final Four. School won consecutive national titles in 1961 and ‘62, after legendary Oscar Robertson left the program.

3. OHIO STATE (22-6)

* First-round opponent: Appalachian State.

* Season in brief: Stumbled to 4-2 start after losses to Notre Dame and Kansas, regained Final Four form with impressive wins against Michigan State, St. John’s, Purdue and Indiana.

* Player to watch: Ken Johnson. The backcourt tandem of Scoonie Penn and Michael Redd hog most of the headlines, but the 6-11 senior center averaged 5.5 blocked shots to lead the nation.

* Tidbit: No Ohio State player will again wear No. 11 after the school retired Jerry Lucas’ jersey in November ceremonies. The former All-American led the Buckeyes to the national title in 1960.* NCAA bio: School’s 20 appearance. Advanced to Final Four last year before loss to Connecticut. Ohio State lost the national title game in 1939, ’61 and ‘62,

4. TENNESSEE (24-6)

* First-round opponent: Louisiana Lafayette.

* Season in brief: Started 11-0 before loss to Tulsa in Puerto Rico Classic, set school single-season record for wins, beat Florida twice in overtime but lost twice to Vanderbilt.

* Player to watch: Vincent Yarbrough. The 6-7 sophomore forward averages 15 points and seven rebounds, is a great leaper, and loves to crash the offensive boards.

* Tidbit: You know “Rocky Top,” the Tennesseee anthem? The song was written by two guys from Kentucky.

* NCAA bio: School’s 12th appearanance. Last year’s great season was derailed by shocking second-round loss to 12th-seeded Southwest Missouri State.

5. CONNECTICUT (24-9)

* First-round opponent: Utah State.

* Season in brief: The defending national champions graduated leading scorer Richard Hamilton and defensive stopper Ricky Moore. Season lowlights included an opening loss to Iowa, a 19-point loss to Michigan State on national television and getting swept by Notre Dame. The Huskies did beat Arizona, though.

* Player to watch: Khalid El-Amin. The 5-10 junior guard wasn’t as effective a playmaker without Hamilton as an offensive option, but still is one of the nation’s top point guards.

* Tidbit: Last season, Connecticut was the first team since Texas Western (now Texas El Paso) in 1966 to win a national championship in its first Final Four appearance.

* NCAA bio: Last season’s title ended years of frustration for Coach Jim Calhoun, whose teams were eliminated in the regional finals in 1990, ’95 and ’98. School’s 22nd appearance, and ninth under Calhoun.

6. MIAMI (FLA.) (21-10)

* First-round opponent: Arkansas.

* Season in brief: Had a string of ugly nonconference losses to Memphis, North Carolina Charlotte, Louisiana Lafayette and Illinois State, but got hot in Big East play, sweeping Notre Dame and winning at Connecticut. Led Big East in scoring defense and field goal percentage defense.

* Player to watch: Johnny Hemsley: The 6-5 senior guard is the team’s leading scorer, but was suspended for a game late in the season for disciplinary reasons.

* Tidbit: The team’s nickname is the Hurricanes, of course, but did you know the school mascot is a bird called the ibis?

* NCAA bio: Only the school’s fourth appearance. Was the No. 2-seeded team in the East regional last year but lost in the second round to Purdue.

7. TULSA (29-4)

* First-round opponent: Nevada Las Vegas.

* Season in brief: Raced to a school-record 19-1 start, tied with Iowa State for most wins in nation, had five starters average 10 or more points, had a huge win over Tennessee in Puerto Rico Classic, and got swept by Fresno State in the Western Athletic Conference.

* Player to watch: David Shelton. The 6-6 junior forward was a key pickup from Independence (Kan.) Community College. As the team’s sixth man, he led the Golden Hurricanes with a 13-point scoring average.

* Tidbit: Tulsa has become a steppingstone program for young coaches, launching the careers of Nolan Richardson (Arkansas), Tubby Smith (Kentucky) and Steve Robinson (Florida State). Bill Self, who has won more than 60 games in his three season, will likely become the next Tulsa coach to be plucked by a major program.

* NCAA bio: Lost in the second round last year to Duke. School’s 12 appearance. Despite the lineage of great coaches, has never advanced beyond the Sweet 16.

8. NORTH CAROLINA (18-13)

* First-round opponent: Missouri.

* Season in brief: Lost four consecutive games from Jan. 12 to Jan. 22-- Wake Forest, UCLA, Virginia and Florida State--fell out of the national polls for the first time in 172 weeks, rallied to post a .500 or better mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference for the 36th consecutive season.

* Player to watch: Joseph Forte. The 6-4 guard became the first North Carolina freshman to lead the team in scoring. (16.3 points a game). Prefers not to be called “Joe.”

* Tidbit: Former Coach Dean Smith won 20 or more games in his last 27 seasons.

* NCAA bio: Three national championships--1957, ‘82, and ’92. School’s 34th appearance. Duke fans won’t let North Carolina forget the Tar Heels were knocked out in the first round last year by No. 14 Weber State.

9. MISSOURI (18-12)

* First-round opponent: North Carolina.

* Season in brief: A leap year for program under rookie coach Quin Snyder, rebounded from successive losses to Kentucky, Winthrop and Iowa State to win seven consecutive Big 12 games.

* Player to watch: Kareem Rush. The younger brother of UCLA’s JaRon Rush was a key factor in the Tigers’ NCAA charge after returning from a nine-game NCAA suspension. He scored 31 points in February against Texas Tech.

* Tidbit: Snyder, the Tigers’ 33-year-old coach, is only the fifth basketball coach at Missouri since 1926.

* NCAA bio: School’s 18th appearance. A first-round loser last year to New Mexico. Advanced to regional final under Norm Stewart in 1976 and ’94.

10. NEVADA LAS VEGAS (23-7)

* First-round opponent: Tulsa.

* Season in brief: Started 5-0, won consecutive conference road games at Air Force, New Mexico and Colorado State, one of the highest scoring teams in the nation, got clobbered by 44 points at Utah.

* Player to watch: Kaspars Kambala. The 6-9 junior center bounced back from injury-plagued season to emerge as a dominant low-post threat, averaging 18 points and nine rebounds.

* Tidbit: Because some people resent the word “Rebels,” the school considered changing its nickname to Minutemen in the late 1970s.

* NCAA bio: Team’s second appearance under Coach Bill Bayno. Jerry Tarkanian led the team to Final Four appearances in 1977, ‘87, 90 and ‘91, winning the title in 1990.

11. ARKANSAS (19-14)

* First-round opponent: Miami.

* Season in brief: After a ho-hum regular season, defeated Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana State and Auburn to win its first-ever Southeastern Conference tournament title, and becoming the second SEC school to win four games in four days (Auburn did it in 1985).

* Player to watch: Joe Johnson. The 6-8 forward is a fast-rising freshman who had 21 points in the Razorbacks’ SEC semifinal win over Louisiana State.

* Tidbit: Nolan Richardson is the only coach to lead his team to an NCAA title (Arkansas in 1994), an National Invitation Tournament title (with Tulsa in 1981) and a national junior college title (Western Texas in 1980).

* NCAA bio: Along with the 1994 title, finished second to UCLA in ‘95, reached the Final Four in ‘90, the Elite Eight in ’91 and the Sweet 16 in ’93 and ’96.

12. UTAH STATE (28-5)

* First-round opponent: Connecticut.

* Season in brief: Has nation’s longest active win streak at 19 games, won 20 games faster than any Utah State team in history, defeated USC in nonconference game, lost to Florida by two points. Lowlights include a 35-point defeat at Utah.

* Player to watch: Shawn Daniels: The 6-6 forward was a key pickup from Bakersfield Community College, averaging 12 points and eight rebounds and led the conference in blocked shots.

* Tidbit: Utah State was picked to finish fifth in its division and the respected “Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook” tabbed the program as “on the way down.”

* NCAA bio: School’s 13th appearance. Aggies lost to UCLA in 1970 West Regional final.

13. LOUISIANA LAFAYETTE (25-8)

* First-round opponent: Tennessee.

* Season in brief: Lonnie Thomas’ bank shot with 3.5 seconds remaining lifted the Rajin’ Cajuns to a 51-50 win over South Alabama in the Sun Belt Conference tournament final and an automatic NCAA bid. Team recovered from a 34-point loss in season opener at Texas. School used to be known as Southwestern Louisiana.

* Player to watch: Orlando Butler. The 6-2 junior guard became the team’s leading scorer at 13 points per game after averaging only four last season.

* Tidbit: Coach Jessie Evans was an assistant coach under Lute Olson at Arizona when the Wildcats won the national title in 1997.

* NCAA bio: Seventh appearance, first since 1994, when team lost in first round to Marquette.

14. APPALACHIAN STATE (23-6)

* First-round opponent: Ohio State.

* Season in brief: Won the Southern Conference tournament final against College of Charleston and absorbed nonconference defeats to Oklahoma State, Oral Roberts and Marquette

* Player to watch: Tyson Patterson. The 5-7 senior point guard was the conference player of the year and set school records for most assists and steals in a game, season and career.

* Tidbit: Coach Buzz Peterson’s first name is actually Robert, but his sister nicknamed him “Buzz” at age 2 after her favorite cartoon character, “Brother Buzz.”

* NCAA bio: Second appearance, first since Bobby Cremins led team to tournament in 1979.

15. UNC WILMINGTON (18-12)

* First-round opponent: Cincinnati.

* Season in brief: Defeated Richmond, 57-47, in the Colonial Athletic Assn. Conference tournament final to get automatic NCAA bid. Team ranks sixth nationally in scoring defense (57 points a game).

* Player to watch: Brett Blizzard. The 6-3 freshman guard averaged 20 points a game in the conference tournament.

* Tidbit: The popular television show “Dawson’s Creek” is filmed at the school, the UNC Wilmington campus providing the backdrop for the fictional “Capeside High.”

* NCAA bio: First appearance.

16. SOUTH CAROLINA ST. (20-13)

* First-round opponent: Stanford.

* Season in brief: Won automatic NCAA bid with a win over Coppin State in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament final.

* Player to watch: Mike Wiatre: The 6-foot senior guard was named most valuable player in the MEAC Tournament, but did not make the regular season all-conference team.

* Tidbit: The Bulldogs have never finished lower than fourth place in the MEAC in Coach Cy Alexander’s 12 seasons.

* NCAA bio: School’s fourth appearance, the last in 1998.