Kansas Seeks Sweet Sixteen Satisfaction

No. 1 KANSAS (29-3)

First-round opponent: Holy Cross.

Season in brief: The Jayhawks finished the regular season ranked No. 1 after going undefeated in the Big 12, but lost to Oklahoma in the conference tournament final. They opened season in Maui, falling to Ball State on a last-second shot and lost by 10 on the road to UCLA.

Player to watch: Drew Gooden. The junior forward is one of the nation’s top players and one of the country’s leading rebounders despite being only 6-9.

Tidbit: Gooden’s parents met in Finland when his father was playing professional basketball, and Gooden often visits his Finnish relatives.

NCAA bio: Ten Final Fours and two national championships (1952 and ‘88), but Kansas hasn’t made it past the Sweet 16 since ’96.

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No. 2 OREGON (23-8)

First-round opponent: Montana.

Season in brief: The Ducks came out of nowhere to win their first regular-season Pac-10 title before losing to USC in the conference tournament semifinals. Oregon swept Arizona home and away and swept UCLA and USC in Los Angeles.

Player to watch: Frederick Jones. The 6-4 senior guard is a highlight-reel player whose athleticism might take the nation by surprise.

Tidbit: Oregon’s “Tall Firs” won the first NCAA championship in 1939 with one player over 6-4.

NCAA bio: Defeated Ohio State, 46-33, for 1939 title. Lost in first round of 2000 tournament in most recent appearance.

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No. 3 MISSISSIPPI STATE (26-7)

First-round opponent: McNeese State.

Season in brief: Started the season 11-0 before a 90-56 loss to Cincinnati. Stumbled during the middle of the season but won five of six down the stretch, including victories over Alabama in the regular-season finale and the SEC tournament final.

Player to watch: Mario Austin. The 6-9 sophomore forward shot 75% from the field in his final two regular-season games, including a 30-point, 13-rebound performance against Arkansas.

Tidbit: Coach Rick Stansbury’s father has cancer and has been sitting on the team’s bench whenever allowed.

NCAA bio: Made Final Four in 1996 with team that included Erick Dampier, but hadn’t made field again until this year.

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No. 4 ILLINOIS (24-8)

First-round opponent: San Diego State

Season in brief: The Illini won its final seven Big Ten regular-season games to earn a share of the conference title. Ranked as high as No. 2 early in the season, Illinois lost four of its first five Big Ten games.

Player to watch: Frank Williams. The 6-3 junior point guard can be an erratic shooter, but he’s at his best late in games.

Tidbit: Coach Bill Self is 7-3 in NCAA games and took Tulsa and Illinois to the Elite Eight in consecutive seasons.

NCAA bio: Stopped by Arizona one step shy of the Final Four last season in Self’s first year at Illinois. The Illini have made four trips to the Final Four, the most recent under Lou Henson in 1989.

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No. 5 FLORIDA (22-8)

First-round opponent: Creighton.

Season in brief: Lofty prospects were dealt a blow in the off-season when guard Teddy Dupay was dismissed for association with gamblers. An up-and-down season followed, with the Gators going only 3-4 against ranked teams.

Player to watch: Udonis Haslem. The nimble 6-9 senior center has remade his body since arriving Florida, losing more than 40 pounds to reach 246.

Tidbit: Billy Donovan is one of six men to play and coach in a Final Four, making it as a Providence player in 1987 and as Florida’s coach in 2000.

NCAA bio: Lost to Michigan State in the 2000 title game. Upset by Temple in second round last year.

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No. 6 TEXAS (20-11)

First-round opponent: Boston College.

Season in brief: The Longhorns recovered nicely after a season-ending knee injury to forward Chris Owens. They had key victories over Stanford, Oklahoma State, Missouri and Texas Tech (twice) and lost to Arizona and Gonzaga.

Player to watch: T.J. Ford. The 5-11 guard was poised to become the first freshman to lead the nation in assists, proving freshmen can make fine point guards after all.

Tidbit: Guard Royal Ivey is called “Poison” for his work on defense.

NCAA bio: First-round upset victim in two of the last three years, falling to Temple last season. Made Final Four twice in the 1940s.

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No. 7 WAKE FOREST (20-12)

First-round opponent: Pepperdine.

Season in brief: The Demon Deacons didn’t slip much after Skip Prosser took over when Dave Odom left for South Carolina. They tended to struggle against top teams such as Duke, Maryland, Kansas and Cincinnati, but beat Marquette.

Player to watch: Darius Songaila. The power forward played for the Lithuania team that almost upset the U.S. team of NBA all-stars in the Sydney Olympics.

Tidbit: CBS basketball analyst Billy Packer was on the 1962 team that remains the only Wake Forest team to reach the Final Four.

NCAA bio: Upset by 10th-seeded Butler in first round last season. Last strong showing was in 1996, when a Tim Duncan-led team reached the Midwest regional final.

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No. 8 STANFORD (19-9)

First-round opponent: Western Kentucky.

Season in brief: Reluctant Pac-10 tournament participants lost to USC by 25 in the quarterfinals--their third loss of the season to the Trojans. The Cardinal was ranked as high as No. 10 during the season, but Stanford had few marquee victories other than a road victory against Arizona.

Player to watch: Casey Jacobsen. The 6-6 junior forward scored more than 40 points twice.

Tidbit: Jacobsen’s 49-point game against Arizona State threatened the oldest mark in school history--Hank Luisetti’s 50-point performance against Duquesne in 1938.

NCAA bio: After its 1998 trip to the Final Four, Stanford was upset in the second round two years in a row before reaching the regional finals last season and falling to Maryland. Won title in 1942.

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No. 9 WESTERN KENTUCKY (28-3)

First-round opponent: Stanford.

Season in brief: The Hilltoppers won the Sun Belt tournament with a come-from-behind effort against Louisiana Lafayette, but likely would have made the field anyway. They started strong with an road upset of Kentucky, but lost 7-footer Chris Marcus for 17 games because of a stress fracture in his foot.

Player to watch: Marcus. Projected as a high NBA pick before his injury, he is trying to play his way back into shape.

Tidbit: The Hilltoppers’ Dennis Felton is a rising star among coaches.

NCAA bio: Lost to Florida in first round in 2001, but this will be the 18th appearance for a school that reached the 1971 Final Four.

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No. 10 PEPPERDINE (22-8)

First-round opponent: Wake Forest.

Season in brief: Former NBA coach Paul Westphal took over last spring, and the Waves made a splash as unofficial L.A. city champions with victories over UCLA and USC. They split with Gonzaga in finishing in a tie for the West Coast Conference regular-season title but lost to the Bulldogs in the WCC tournament final.

Player to watch: Jimmy Miggins. Swingman might be the most consistent player on a team built on depth and balance.

Tidbit: Westphal won an NAIA national championship as coach at Grand Canyon College in 1988.

NCAA bio: Twelve appearances overall, including upset of Indiana in first round in 2000 in Bob Knight’s final game as coach at the school.

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No. 11 BOSTON COLLEGE (20-11)

First-round opponent: Texas.

Season in brief: This once highly regarded team’s stock plummeted during the season. The Eagles didn’t win more than two games in a row after Dec. 31 and had a 15% shooting half in the Big East tournament against Rutgers. They lost to Pittsburgh in the quarterfinals.

Player to watch: Troy Bell. The junior guard averaged 21 points but proved erratic during the season.

Tidbit: The Eagles were probably saved by their season sweep of Miami. They lost to Duke, 88-78.

NCAA bio: Lost to USC in second round last season. Reached 1994 Elite Eight under Jim O’Brien.

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No. 12 CREIGHTON (22-8)

First-round opponent: Florida.

Season in brief: After getting swept by Southern Illinois during the regular season, the Bluejays finally defeated the top-seeded Salukis in the Missouri Valley final. They played Western Kentucky twice in nonconference games, winning in double-overtime the first time and losing by 34 the next.

Player to watch: Kyle Korver. The 6-7 junior forward was the conference player of the year.

Tidbit: Creighton is the official host for the College World Series in Omaha every year.

NCAA bio: Upset Louisville in 1999 first-round. Fourth consecutive appearance and 13th overall.

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No. 13 SAN DIEGO STATE (21-11)

First-round opponent: Illinois.

Season in brief: The Aztecs upset Wyoming on a late shot and then defeated Nevada Las Vegas on the Rebels’ own court to win the Mountain West Conference’s automatic bid--beating a team they had lost to twice in overtime.

Player to watch: Randy Holcomb. The 6-9 senior forward and leading scorer and rebounder played at L.A. City College two seasons ago.

Tidbit: Chris Walton--one of Bill’s four sons and the brother of Arizona’s Luke Walton--is a 6-9 sophomore forward who plays about 14 minutes a game.

NCAA bio: First appearance since 1985, and fourth overall. Aztecs seeking their first tournament win.

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No. 14 McNEESE STATE (21-8)

First-round opponent: Mississippi State.

Season in brief: The Cowboys added the Southland tournament title to their regular-season championship by defeating Louisiana Monroe easily. Notable results include a 29-point loss to Alabama.

Player to watch: Fred Gentry. The powerful 6-6 forward had 18 points and 14 rebounds in the Southland title game.

Tidbit: Distinguished alumni include basketball player Joe Dumars, author Andre Dubus and Texas A&M; football Coach R.C. Slocum.

NCAA bio: Only previous appearance was 1989, when 16th-seeded McNeese State put a scare into No. 1 Illinois before losing, 77-71.

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No. 15 MONTANA (16-14)

First-round opponent: Oregon.

Season in brief: Seeded fifth in the Big Sky tournament, the Grizzlies upset top-seeded Montana State in the semifinals by two points and beat second-seeded Eastern Washington by four in the final.

Player to watch: David Bell. The junior guard is a three-point threat who made eight of 11 in a game against Portland State.

Tidbit: Michael Ray Richardson shares the school scoring record for his 40-point performance against Montana State in 1976.

NCAA bio: Fifth appearance and first since 1997. Only victory in six NCAA games came when Jud Heathcote was coach in 1975.

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No. 16 HOLY CROSS (18-14)

First-round opponent: Kansas.

Season in brief: The Crusaders earned the Patriot League bid by defeating top-seeded American on American’s home court in a title game that went down to the final minute.

Player to watch: Tim Szatko. The 6-8 junior forward is a solid inside-outside player who is capable of making the three-pointer.

Tidbit: Hall of Famer Bob Cousy played for Holy Cross from 1946-50.

NCAA bio: Won the 1947 NCAA title and finished third in 1948. Tenth appearance overall.