Cincinnati Comes a Long Way

No. 1 CINCINNATI (30-3)

First-round opponent: Boston University.

Season in brief: Climbed all the way to a top-five ranking after starting the season unranked and 0-1 after a loss at Oklahoma State. The Bearcats won 20 games in a row before a loss to Marquette that they later avenged (twice), also defeating the Golden Eagles in the Conference USA tournament title game. The only other loss was to Louisville.

Player to watch: Steve Logan. The 6-foot senior point guard had five 30-point games during the regular season and has turned himself into one of the nation’s top players, slimming down and moving from the point to shooting guard and back during his career.

Tidbit: Logan has scored in double figures for more than 50 games in a row.

NCAA bio: Cincinnati overcame a recent second-round jinx to reach the Sweet 16 last season. Most recent Final Four was in 1992. Won NCAA titles in 1961 and ’62.

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No. 2 OKLAHOMA (27-4)

First-round opponent: Illinois Chicago.

Season in brief: The Sooners were ranked No. 4 after the regular season and knocked off No. 1 Kansas in the Big 12 tournament title game. They notched an impressive 16-point victory over Maryland in December, then finished second to Kansas in conference.

Player to watch: Hollis Price. Guard overcame multiple surgeries on his right arm after a collision with an Indiana State player in first-round upset loss last year that left a tooth fragment in his elbow.

Tidbit: Guard Ebi Ere is a native of Tulsa, Okla. His father is Nigerian.

NCAA bio: Reached Sweet 16 under Kelvin Sampson in 1999, but Sooners were first-round losers in 1995, ‘96, ‘97, ’98 and 2001. Reached Final Four in 1988 under Billy Tubbs.

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No. 3 ARIZONA (22-9)

First-round opponent: UC Santa Barbara.

Season in brief: Disregarded after losing four starters from a Final Four team, the Wildcats bolted into the Top 25 with season-opening victories over Maryland and Florida. They finished the regular season with an 8-6 record against ranked teams and defeated USC in the Pacific 10 tournament final.

Player to watch: Luke Walton. Basketball purists can’t resist the game of the 6-8 junior who became the first forward to lead the Pac-10 in assists.

Tidbit: The tattoo on Walton’s right shoulder--four Grateful Dead skeleton-type figures spinning basketballs--represents him and his three basketball-playing brothers.

NCAA bio: Lost to Duke in NCAA title game last season. Four Final Four appearances, including 1997 when Wildcats won the national championship after finishing fifth in the Pac-10.

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No. 4 OHIO STATE (23-7)

First-round opponent: Davidson.

Season in brief: One of the four teams to share the Big Ten regular-season title and won the conference tournament championship. The Buckeyes got off to a 15-2 start--with big wins coming against Louisville and Pittsburgh.

Player to watch: Brian Brown. The 6-4 senior point guard was first-team all-conference.

Tidbit: Senior shooting guard Boban Savovic’s brother, Predrag Savovic, is a standout player for Hawaii, which also made the tournament.

NCAA bio: Nine Final Fours, most recently in 1999. Won title in 1960. Upset by Utah State in first round last season.

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No. 5 MIAMI (24-7)

First-round opponent: Missouri.

Season in brief: Started the season 14-0 against somewhat modest competition--although the Hurricanes did defeat Indiana--before losing consecutive games to Connecticut and St. John’s. Went 10-6 in Big East games during the regular season and lost to Pittsburgh in the conference tournament semifinals.

Player to watch: Darius Rice. The 6-10 sophomore forward can handle the ball and make the three-point shot as well as play inside.

Tidbit: Rice, from Jackson, Miss., is a nephew of NFL receiver Jerry Rice.

NCAA bio: Only fifth appearance overall, but the fourth in five years. Coach Perry Clark took Tulane to the tournament three times in the 1990s.

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No. 6 GONZAGA (29-3)

First-round opponent: Wyoming.

Season in brief: The Bulldogs dumped their old Cinderella tag by earning a No. 6 national ranking, but the selection committee wasn’t swayed. Gonzaga lost only to nonconference foes Illinois and Marquette before splitting with Pepperdine to tie for the West Coast Conference regular-season title. Gonzaga settled things with the Waves in the WCC tournament final with a 96-90 victory behind Dan Dickau’s 27-point second half.

Player to watch: Dickau. Point guard led the WCC in scoring (20.8) while shooting almost 50% from three-point range. He and teammate Blake Stepp routinely let it fly from 25 feet.

Tidbit: Dickau wears No. 21 to honor John Stockton’s unofficially retired No. 12.

NCAA bio: One of three teams to reach the Sweet 16 each of last three seasons. Duke and Michigan State are others.

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No. 7 XAVIER (25-5)

First-round opponent: Hawaii.

Season in brief: The Musketeers reached the Top 25 late in the season with a record that didn’t include many marquee victories. They lost two games after mid-December and won the Atlantic 10 tournament after opening with an overtime victory over Massachusetts in which they shot less than 30%.

Player to watch: David West. The 6-8 junior center who considered turning pro after last season is one of 20 finalists for the Wooden Award.

Tidbit: First-year coach Thad Matta took Butler to the second round last season, losing to Arizona after an upset of Wake Forest.

NCAA bio: Fourteenth appearance overall. Lost to Mississippi in first round last season. Five of six victories in 19 NCAA games came under Pete Gillen, now at Virginia.

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No. 8 UCLA (19-11)

First-round opponent: Mississippi.

Season in brief: Another season of wild swings was marked by losses to Ball State, Pepperdine, Villanova and Arizona State--and victories over No. 1 Kansas as well as Alabama, USC, Arizona and Stanford. The Bruins were in the Pac-10 race until the final week, but finished sixth and lost to Cal in the quarterfinals of the Pac-10 tournament. A big March question mark is whether either Cedric Bozeman or Ryan Walcott can handle the job at point guard.

Player to watch: Jason Kapono. Others such as Matt Barnes and Dan Gadzuric take their turn, but the 6-8 junior forward needs to be involved and on his game for the Bruins to thrive.

Tidbit: Gadzuric has never fouled out of an NCAA tournament game.

NCAA bio: Under Steve Lavin, UCLA is 9-5 in tournament games with one first-round loss, three Sweet 16s and one trip to the Elite Eight. UCLA owns an NCAA record with 11 titles.

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No. 9 MISSISSIPPI (20-10)

First-round opponent: UCLA.

Season in brief: The Rebels beat SEC champion Alabama and Florida--both ranked in the top 10--at home in the final weeks of the season, but have lost six of nine entering the tournament. They also held their own in the conference after early-season losses to Bowling Green and George Mason.

Player to watch: Justin Reed. The 6-8 sophomore forward led Ole Miss in scoring (14.6) and rebounding (7.6).

Tidbit: Reed’s free-throw shooting improvement--from 54.9% last season to 78.1% this season--was the biggest turnaround by any player in the country.

NCAA bio: Made Sweet 16 last season before losing to Arizona. Fifth appearance in six years, with Rod Barnes taking over where Rob Evans left off after he went to Arizona State.

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No. 10 HAWAII (27-5)

First-round opponent: Xavier.

Season in brief: This Rainbow Coalition of a team includes players from Yugoslavia, Canada, Guam, Israel, Lithuania, South Africa, France and Nigeria--as well as one Hawaiian. Notable results this season include victories over Wisconsin and Georgia.

Player to watch: Predrag Savovic. The 6-6 senior guard averages close to 19 points a game.

Tidbit: Savovic is the older brother of Ohio State player Boban Savovic, also competing in the tournament.

NCAA bio: Fourth appearance and second in a row for Hawaii, which has never won an NCAA tournament game.

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No. 11 WYOMING (21-8)

First-round opponent: Gonzaga.

Season in brief: The Cowboys were upset by San Diego State in the Mountain West Conference tournament semifinals, but made the field as an at-large team after winning the regular-season title. (A sweep of Utah was the key.) Opened the season with a 13-point loss to USC in the Preseason NIT.

Player to watch: Marcus Bailey. The 6-5 junior forward is the leading scorer in a balanced attack that includes standout senior forward Josh Davis.

Tidbit: Broadcaster Curt Gowdy played for Wyoming from 1940-42, graduating the year before the Cowboys won the NCAA title.

NCAA bio: Upset UCLA in second round of 1987 tournament with a team led by Fennis Dembo and Eric Leckner, but the Cowboys haven’t been back since 1988. Won NCAA title in 1943.

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No. 12 MISSOURI (21-11)

First-round opponent: Miami.

Season in brief: A significant disappointment this season, the Tigers were ranked as high as No. 2 before sliding to a sixth-place finish in the Big 12 at 9-7. Best victory was over Alabama, and among the losses was a three-point decision against Kansas.

Player to watch: Kareem Rush. The 6-6 junior forward, brother of former UCLA player JaRon Rush, was the Tigers’ leading scorer at 19.7 points a game.

Tidbit: Coach Quin Snyder is a former Clipper assistant.

NCAA bio: The Tigers have never made a Final Four. They lost to Duke in the second round last season in their second appearance under Snyder.

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No. 13 DAVIDSON (21-9)

First-round opponent: Ohio State.

Season in brief: Not that it’s an exclusive club, but this is one of the teams that beat North Carolina. The Wildcats, however, lost to Duke, 106-71. They earned a trip to the tournament by defeating Furman in the Southern Conference final.

Player to watch: Emeka Erege. The 6-5 forward leads the team in scoring at 13.6 points a game.

Tidbit: Davidson, located near Charlotte, N.C., has players from Ireland, Finland, Nigeria, England, Africa, the Czech Republic and Rome--Rome, Georgia, that is.

NCAA bio: Six appearances, most recently in 1998. The last victories were under Lefty Driesell, who took Wildcats to regional finals in 1968 and ’69.

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No. 14 UC SANTA BARBARA (20-10)

First-round opponent: Arizona.

Season in brief: It feels like a return to the heyday of former coach Jerry Pimm. The Gauchos are back in the tournament for the first time since 1990 after upsetting Utah State in the Big West final, 60-56. They defeated UC Irvine in the semifinals, knocking off the top two seeded teams. A victory over Pepperdine early in season was long considered a knock on the Waves’ resume that no longer looks so bad.

Player to watch: Mark Hull. The 6-7 junior forward from Glendale Hoover High is the team’s leading scorer.

Tidbit: Coach Bob Williams guided UC Davis to the NCAA Division II championship in 1998.

NCAA bio: Santa Barbara made the field in 1988 and ’90 with such players as Brian Shaw and Eric McArthur. One victory--a mild first-round upset of Houston in 1990.

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No. 15 ILLINOIS CHICAGO (20-13)

First-round opponent: Oklahoma.

Season in brief: It was brother against brother in the Horizon League final, but Martell Bailey’s Illinois Chicago team outlasted David Bailey’s Loyola Chicago team in overtime to claim the automatic bid. The Flames were only 8-8 in conference, finishing sixth.

Player to watch: Cedrick Banks. The 6-3 sophomore guard was a much-acclaimed Chicago prep player who stayed at home. He made the game-winning shot with four seconds left in the conference final.

Tidbit: The Flames won the tournament title after favorite Butler was upset by Wisconsin Green Bay.

NCAA bio: Second appearance. Lost to Charlotte in a first-round No. 8 vs. No. 9 game in 1998.

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No. 16 BOSTON UNIVERSITY (22-9)

First-round opponent: Cincinnati.

Season in brief: The Terriers won the America East Conference’s automatic bid by blowing out Maine in a game played on BU’s home court. They needed Stijn Dhondt’s three-pointer with 0.1 of a second left against Hartford to reach the title game. Notable results include a 29-point loss to Iowa and a 17-point loss to Boston College.

Player to watch: Billy Collins. The oft-injured junior forward is playing despite a broken right wrist, an injury he suffered Feb. 21.

Tidbit: Mike Eruzione, the hero of the 1980 Olympic hockey team, works at BU as director of development for the athletic department.

NCAA bio: Sixth appearance for school that has been to tournament under Rick Pitino and Mike Jarvis, among others. However, last BU victory was in 1959, when Terriers reached the final eight.