WHAT TO LOOK FOR

* The draw: Yes, Stanford earned a No. 1 seeding, despite having lost to UCLA and Arizona down the stretch, but the Cardinal has some interesting company in the South. Cincinnati shouldn’t be dismissed just because Kenyon Martin is out, and Ohio State is a strong contender with return of guards Scoonie Penn and Michael Redd from the team that made the Final Four last year. Throw in defending NCAA champion Connecticut--even though the Huskies and guard Khalid El-Amin have been shaky--and this region is loaded with experience. Still, the combination of half-court defense, a physical inside game with Mark Madsen and the Collins twins, Jarron and Jason, and three-point shooting ability of Casey Jacobsen, David Moseley and Ryan Mendez ought to carry Stanford at least to the regional final. The opponent there--possibly the winner of an Ohio showdown between Cincinnati and Ohio State--could make it interesting.

* Best first-round game: No. 6 Miami vs. No. 11 Arkansas. Miami, with mercurial star Johnny Hemsley, finished strong in the regular season to gain a co-championship with Syracuse in the Big East. Arkansas is on an even bigger roll: The Razorbacks wouldn’t have made the tournament, but beat Kentucky, Louisiana State and Auburn in the Southeastern Conference tournament and are playing that familiar high-pressure defensive ball again under Nolan Richardson.

* Sleeper: If it’s possible that the once-dominant team in the country can be a sleeper, consider Cincinnati: Once considered too distraction-prone, the Bearcats will be focused now. Then there’s perennial sleeper Tulsa, which is tied with Iowa State for most victories in the nation, yet was No. 7 seeded. Tulsa has advanced past the first round in four of its last five tournament appearances, and was beaten in overtime the time it didn’t. This time around, the Golden Hurricane has the consummate team--five players average between 11 and 13.9 points, led by reserve David Shelton.

* Upset in the making: Will it even seem like an upset if Missouri beats North Carolina in the game between No. 8 and 9 seeded teams? The Tigers--coached by former Duke assistant Quin Snyder--are quick, athletic and shoot the three-pointer--all qualities that are troublesome to the slow, passive Tar Heels, who might be going home after one game for the second year in a row. North Carolina lost to Weber State of the Big Sky Conference last year.

* Impact coach: Cincinnati’s Bob Huggins faces the challenge of adjusting his team to compensate for Martin’s absence. But even in a field that includes two coacheswho have won the NCAA title--Richardson and Jim Calhoun of Connecticut--Stanford’s Mike Montgomery stands out.

* Impact player: Zero in on Cincinnati freshman DerMarr Johnson. If he can step up his game, it might not be as quick a goodbye for the Bearcats as some imagine.

* The pick: Stanford. The defense needs to stiffen again, but physical play and a versatile offensive game ought to spell tournament success.