Stanford Hopes to Revive Winner of ’42 Memories

1. STANFORD (28-2)

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

* Season in brief: Won its third consecutive Pac-10 title. Was the last undefeated Division I-A school until a Feb. 3 home loss to UCLA. Scored a last-minute December win over Duke in the Pete Newell Classic, and beat Arizona in Tucson, 85-76, on Jan. 6

* Player to watch: Casey Jacobsen. The 6-6 sophomore forward will try to make amends for last year, when he made only two of 12 shots in a second-round loss to North Carolina.

* Tidbit: Stanford boasts the only undefeated coach in NCAA tournament history in Everett Dean, who went 3-0 leading his team to the 1942 title in his only appearance.

* NCAA bio: 10th appearance, the ninth under Coach Mike Montgomery. Stanford’s 1989 trip was its first since 1942. Cardinal’s first-round win over UNC Charlotte in 1995 was its first in 53 years. Advanced to the Final Four in 1998.

2. IOWA STATE (25-5)

* First-round opponent: Hampton.

* Season in brief: Wasn’t this supposed to be a rebuilding year in Ames after the team said goodbye to Marcus Fizer? Beat Kansas twice in Big 12 play. Slipped a bit down the stretch, losing by 16 at Texas and ruining chance at No. 1 tournament seeding by losing to Baylor in the Big 12 tournament.

* Player to watch: Jamaal Tinsley. The 6-3 senior guard led the team in scoring, assists and steals and was the Big 12 player of the year. He had 14 steals in one three-game stretch against Missouri, Kansas and Kansas State.

* Tidbit: A few things you should know about Coach Larry Eustachy. He has such a fear of flying he drives to all road games less than 10 hours from Ames. He also coaches in mock turtleneck sweaters. He owns only one suit.

* NCAA bio: 12th appearance. Last year’s Fizer-led run included a steamroller victory over UCLA in the Midwest regional semifinals before a hard-fought loss to Michigan State, the eventual national champion.

3. MARYLAND (21-10)

* First-round opponent: George Mason.

* Season in brief: Up, down, and up again. Began No. 6 in the polls, but started 1-3 before reeling off 10 straight wins before a Jan. 10 loss to North Carolina. Started another mini-skid after blowing a 10-point lead with a minute left against Duke. Lost four of next five before a win at Wake Forest. Recorded 77th consecutive nonconference home win with victory over Oklahoma in late February and begins the tournament as one of those teams you’d least like to face.

* Player to watch: Juan Dixon. The 6-3 junior guard has scored 30 or more points five times in his career, a feat equaled in school history by Walt Williams, Joe Smith, Len Bias and John Lucas.

* Tidbit: Coach Gary Williams, a guard on the 1967 team, was voted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 1999.

* NCAA bio: 18th appearance. Lost in the second round last year to UCLA. Terrapins have never been to the Final Four.

4. INDIANA (21-12)

* First-round opponent: Kent State.

* Season in brief: Five losses before Christmas had first-year Coach Mike Davis thinking he was not going to be Bob Knight’s long-term successor. But the Hoosiers went 10-6 in the Big Ten and Davis ended up winning more games than any first-year coach in school history. Davis’ squad also swept Purdue, something Knight hadn’t done since 1992-93, and made a surprising run to the Big Ten tournament finals.

* Player to watch: Kirk Haston. The 6-10 junior center averaged 20 points a game to lead the Big Ten.

* Tidbit: When Davis was named interim successor to Knight, he became the first African American head coach in the history of IU athletics.

* NCAA bio: 30th appearance. A first-round loser to Pepperdine last year. Before Knight, Branch McCracken posted a 354-174 mark in 24 years at Indiana and won two national titles before retiring in 1965.

5. CINCINNATI (23-9)

* First-round opponent: BYU.

* Season in brief: The Bearcats’ streak of nine consecutive NCAA appearances appeared in jeopardy mid-season, but they rallied after a 14-7 start to merit a bid no matter what happened in the Conference USA tournament. Cincinnati won seven of its last eight regular season games to claim a share of its sixth consecutive conference title. That eased the pain of early-season losses to Notre Dame, Xavier, Toledo and Marquette.

* Player to watch: Kenny Satterfield. The 6-2 sophomore guard might have become only the third freshman point guard to lead his team to a national title last year had Kenyon Martin not broken his leg in the conference tournament.

* Tidbit: Did you know Cincinnati has been eliminated from the tournament five times by the school that went on to win the championship?

* NCAA bio: 20th appearance. Won consecutive titles in 1961 and 1962.

6. WISCONSIN (18-10)

* First-round opponent: Georgia State.

* Season in brief: Top assistant Brad Soderberg took over for Dick Bennett, who retired in November. Soderberg became the first Wisconsin coach to win his first eight games since the 1911-12 season. Wisconsin suffered a shocking home loss to Butler on Jan. 30, and blew a lead at Illinois before losing, 68-67.

* Player to watch: 6-3 senior guard Mike Kelley. Kelley has the quickest hands in the country and his court sense and leadership were keys to Wisconsin’s improbable Final Four run last year.

* Tidbit: Sophomore guard Kirk Penney, a three-point shooter, was discovered in New Zealand by Dick Bennett’s son, Tony. Penney is one of 35 players to play in the Final Four and the Olympics in the same year.

* NCAA bio: Seventh appearance. Won the title in 1941 under Bud Foster. Last year, as the No. 8 seeded team in the West, Wisconsin defeated Fresno State, Arizona, Louisiana State and Purdue before losing to Michigan State in the national semifinals.

7. ARKANSAS (20-10)

* First-round opponent: Georgetown.

* Season in brief: The Razorbacks had no quality nonconference wins and started 0-3 in the SEC, only to make February charge that ended with a bid-clinching win at Alabama.

* Player to watch: Joe Johnson. The 6-8 sophomore guard/forward is a Wooden Award candidate.

* Tidbit: The Arkansas “Hog Call” has been around since the 1920s and officially goes like this: “Woooooooo, Pig, Sooie.” The team has four mascots: Big Red, Boss Hog, Sue E and Pork Chop.

* NCAA bio: 26th appearance. Nolan Richardson led school to consecutive national title appearances, defeating Duke in 1994 and losing to UCLA in 1995.

8. GEORGIA TECH (17-12)

* First-round opponent: St. Joseph’s.

* Season in brief: Big turnaround after going 13-17 last year. First-year Coach Paul Hewitt’s team defeated UCLA and Kentucky in nonconference and swept Virginia in ACC play.

* Player to watch: Alvin Jones. The 6-11 senior center averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds per game.

* Tidbit: As a golf school, Georgia Tech has all-time starting five of Bobby Jones, David Duval, Stewart Cink, Larry Mize and Matt Kuchar.

* NCAA bio: 12th appearance, first since 1996. Advanced to the Final Four in 1990 under Bobby Cremins.

9. ST. JOSEPH’S (25-6)

* First-round opponent: Georgia Tech.

* Season in brief: Rebounded from three straight losing seasons to become one of this year’s major surprises, clinching the Atlantic 10 Conference regular season title on Feb. 27. Overcame early losses to Vanderbilt, Villanova and DePaul by winning 10 straight games before a March 2 loss to La Salle.

* Player to watch: Jameer Nelson. The 6-foot freshman is already one of the top point guards in the country.

* Tidbit: St. Joe’s has produced seven men who went on to become NBA head coaches: Jim O’Brien, Jack Ramsay, Jim Lynam, Matt Guokas, Paul Westhead, Jack McKinney and George Senesky. Only one school, Indiana, with 10, has produced more.

* NCAA bio: 16th appearance, first since 1997. Ramsay led the team to a third-place finish in 1961.

10. GEORGETOWN (23-7)

* First-round opponent: Arkansas.

* Season in brief: Started 16-0 thanks in part to a weak nonconference schedule before suffering first loss on Jan. 20 to Pittsburgh. Swept Seton Hall in Big East play but lost to Providence by 24.

* Player to watch: Mike Sweetney. The 6-8 freshman forward led the team in scoring and rebounding most of the season.

* Tidbit: What’s a Hoya? Years ago, courses in Greek and Latin were required of students. The team nickname then was The Stonewalls. The Greek-Latin cheer of “Hoya Saxa” meant “What rocks.”

* NCAA bio: 22nd trip, first since 1997. Hoyas won the national title in 1984 under John Thompson and finished second in 1943 under Elmer Ripley.

11. GEORGIA STATE (28-4)

* First-round opponent: Wisconsin.

* Season in brief: Won the Trans America Athletic Conference’s automatic bid by defeating Troy State in the title game. Georgia State announced its intentions early with an opening-game win at Georgia.

* Player to watch: Shernard Long. The 6-4 senior guard was the TAAC player of the year.

* Tidbit: Coach Lefty Driesell is taking his fourth team to the NCAA tournament, having led Davidson, Maryland and James Madison to berths.

* NCAA bio: Second appearance, first since 1991.

12. BRIGHAM YOUNG (24-8)

* First-round opponent: Cincinnati.

* Season in brief: Defeated New Mexico in the Mountain West Conference tournament finals to earn its first bid since 1994. Begins the NCAA tournament having won 11 of its last 13 games.

* Player to watch: Mekeli Wesley. The 6-9 senior forward became the first BYU player since Michael Smith in 1987-88 to win conference player of the year honors.

* Tidbit: BYU is not likely to lose an NCAA game at the free-throw line. The Cougars rank second nationally at 77% and set a school record by making 26 straight against Weber State.

* NCAA bio: 18th appearance. Advanced to Elite Eight in 1981 before losing to Virginia.

13. KENT STATE (23-9)

* First-round opponent: Indiana.

* Season in brief: Won the Mid-American Conference automatic bid with a win over Miami of Ohio in the tournament title game. Team posted its third straight 20-win season under Coach Gary Waters.

* Player to watch: Trevor Huffman. The 6-1 junior guard was the MAC tournament MVP, scoring 27 points in the title-game win.

* Tidbit: The Golden Flashes have lost consecutive games only one time since losing five in a row midway through the 1997-98 season.

* NCAA bio: Second appearance. Waters led school to first tournament in 1999, losing to Temple in first round.

14. GEORGE MASON (18-11)

* First-round opponent: Maryland.

* Season in brief: Held off North Carolina Wilmington in the tournament finals, 35-33, to win the Colonial Athletic Assn. bid.

* Player to watch: George Evans. The 6-7 senior forward won his third CAA player of the year award, which put him in pretty good company. The only other CAA player to win three times was Navy’s David Robinson.

* Tidbit: Evans is 30 years old! He served eight years in the Army, spending six months in the Gulf War. He played against Alonzo Mourning in high school.

* NCAA bio: Third appearance. Jim Larranaga’s team was a one-and-out loser in 1999 to Cincinnati

15. HAMPTON (24-6)

* First-round opponent: Iowa State.

* Season in brief: Most picked the Pirates to win the Mideastern Athletic Conference title after last year’s 17-12 record. Hampton came through by defeating South Carolina State in the tournament finals.

* Player to watch: Travis Williams. The 6-9 senior center had 18 points, seven blocks, five rebounds and two assists in his team’s bid-clinching victory against South Carolina State.

* Tidbit: As a Prop 48 student, Williams had his eligibility expired last year but earned an additional season from the NCAA because he was on course to graduate in four years.

* NCAA bio: First appearance.

16. N.C. GREENSBORO (19-11)

* First-round opponent: Stanford.

* Season in brief: David Schuck’s shot with four-tenths of a second remaining lifted the team to a 67-66 win over Chattanooga in the Southern Conference title game. Coach Fran McCafferey’s team wasn’t afraid of competition this year, losing in nonconference to Minnesota, West Virginia and North Carolina State.

* Player to watch: Courtney Eldridge. The 5-10 junior guard was a first-team all-conference player.

* Tidbit: The school is more known as a soccer powerhouse, winning five Division III titles in the 1980s.

* NCAA bio: Second appearance. Randy Peele’s squad gave second-seeded Cincinnati a scare in opening round of 1996 before losing, 66-61.