SOUTHEAST REGIONAL

Capsules by Times staff writer Chris Dufresne.

1. CONNECTICUT (30-2)

* First-round opponent: Colgate.

* Season in brief: The Huskies have gone 49-5 in the Big East regular season the last three seasons. The only bumps on the road this season were losses to Iowa and Georgetown. Guard Ray Allen was the Big East player of the year, which is saying something in a league with Kerry Kittles, Allen Iverson and John Wallace.

* Player to watch: Travis Knight, senior center. He’s a gangly 7-footer who tends to get pushed around in the post, but showed more toughness in the Big East tournament.

* Did you know? Senior guard Doron Sheffer is not only one of the most experienced players in the tournament, he may be the oldest. Sheffer, who turns 24 on Tuesday, spent three years in the Israeli army before coming to Connecticut.

* Prospects: If not now, when? The Huskies have been a Sweet 16 team four times in the 1990s, but more is expected of this group. Last year’s tournament loss to UCLA might be forgiven, but anything short of the Final Four this year would be a disappointment.

2. CINCINNATI (25-4)

* First-round opponent: North Carolina Greensboro.

* Season in brief: Coming off a “disappointing� 22-victory season, Bob Huggins’ team has recovered to strut its Bearcat stuff. A two-point loss to Alabama Birmingham and a miracle last-second shot by Arizona’s Miles Simon stood in the way of an impressive regular season. Still, Cincinnati bullied its way through Conference USA in typical rough-and-tumble style.

* Player to watch: Danny Fortson, sophomore forward. Through hard work and weight lifting, he has emerged as perhaps the country’s best self-made player.

* Did you know? All-time great Bearcat Oscar Robertson played on neither of Cincinnati’s national championship teams in 1961 or ’62. The Big O’s last season was 1959-60.

* Prospects: The Bearcats can beat any team, anywhere, at any time, but also have shown lapses that should have Huggins concerned. Cincinnati’s physical, intimidating style will have opponents lining up at the whirlpool.

3. GEORGIA TECH (22-11)

* First-round opponent: Austin Peay.

* Season in brief: Snubbed by the NCAA committee last season for playing a weak nonconference schedule, the Yellow Jackets got the message and upgraded to the tune of Kentucky, Louisville and Massachusetts. With that kind of resume, not even a Dec. 18 loss to Mount St. Mary’s could deny Bobby Cremins’ team this time.

* Player to watch: Drew Barry, senior guard. Freshman point guard Stephon Marbury gets all the attention, but Barry, the third son of former NBA star Rick, has great passing and shooting skills.

* Did you know? Georgia Tech hasn’t made the NCAA tournament since 1993, when it was bounced in the first round by Southern.

* Prospects: Marbury showed flashes of brilliance, but had trouble grasping team concepts early. He improved greatly as the season wore on and should provide a few highlights, though the Yellow Jackets probably don’t have enough inside muscle to make much of a run.

4. UCLA (23-7)

* First-round opponent: Princeton.

* Season in brief: Hung over after winning the national championship, the Bruins recovered from a mugging at the Maui Invitational to defend their Pac-10 championship. The season was confounding at times--the home loss to Louisville, the struggle against war-torn USC, all those turnovers--but the Bruins also proved they can play with anyone.

* Player to watch: Kris Johnson, sophomore guard-forward. He’s leaner, meaner and can create his own shots in a half-court offense.

* Did you know? UCLA athletes have appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated 91 times, more than any school.

* Prospects: Before injured point guard Cameron Dollar returned to full strength to restore order, it was hard to imagine this team being consistent enough to make anyone shudder. The talent is there, but where is the leadership?

5. MISSISSIPPI STATE (22-7)

* First-round opponent: Virginia Commonwealth.

* Season in brief: The Bulldogs emerged from the long shadow of Arkansas in the SEC, but couldn’t steal much of the limelight from Kentucky--until Sunday. Still, it was another solid season for Coach Richard Williams, who guided the Bulldogs to Sweet 16 last year before losing to UCLA.

* Player to watch: Erick Dampier, junior center. He is the SEC’s top big man, averages 15 points and nine rebounds and broke his own team record this season for blocked shots.

* Did you know? Despite attempts by opponents to banish the mind-numbing ritual, students at Mississippi State still celebrate victories by ringing cowbells.

* Prospects: With Dampier and guard Darryl Wilson, the Bulldogs have a Sweet 16 look again.

6. INDIANA (19-11)

* First-round opponent: Boston College.

* Season in brief: Bob Knight posted his 25th consecutive winning season at Bloomington, moved swiftly in kicking Sherron Wilkerson off the team after he was charged in a domestic abuse matter, and proved to be his old, cantankerous self. But, frankly, his team is a step slow and not that good. How else to explain that Dec. 23 loss to DePaul?

* Player to watch: Brian Evans, senior forward. He became the first Knight-coached player at Indiana to lead the Big Ten in scoring.

* Did you know? Kevin Lemme, who started the year as Indiana team manager, earned a scholarship as a walk-on and made three-point shots against Arizona State and Northwestern.

* Prospects: Knight’s brilliance might be good for a tournament victory or two, but no more with this collection. There will be no banners to hang this time in Assembly Hall.

7. TEMPLE (19-12)

* First-round opponent: Oklahoma.

* Season in brief: John Chaney’s gang that couldn’t shoot straight once again made the NCAA tournament with a late-season charge. What put the Owls, who are shooting less than 40% from the field, over the top were nonconference victories over Kansas, Villanova, Duke and a late-season upset of Virginia Tech.

* Player to watch: Marc Jackson, sophomore center. One of the few Temple players with a shooting touch, he scored 31 points in a Dec. 22 victory over then top-ranked Kansas.

* Did you know? Before arriving at Temple 14 years ago, Chaney was the coach at Cheyney State.

* Prospects: The Owls are painful to watch, as anyone who saw them shoot 20% against Massachusetts can attest. But Temple can also confound teams with its matchup zone defense.

8. DUKE (18-12)

* First round opponent: Eastern Michigan.

* Season in brief: Coach K is back, and so are the Blue Devils, who return to the tournament after last year’s dismal 2-14 ACC record while Mike Krzyzewski recuperated from back surgery. A Feb. 25 home victory over UCLA likely clinched an NCAA berth.

* Player to watch: Greg Newton, junior center. Unproven entering the season, Newton has developed into a double-digit scorer in the post. He’s also the guy who dared to call Wake Forest center Tim Duncan “soft.�

* Did you know? Duke has the highest winning percentage in NCAA tournament history at .767, followed by UCLA at .755.

* Prospects: A return to the Final Four is not likely, but Krzyzewski has restored order in Durham, N.C., after the sky fell in 1994-95. If guard Chris Collins is healthy and making his outside shots, Duke could surprise a few teams.

9. EASTERN MICHIGAN (24-5)

* First-round opponent: Duke.

* Season in brief: Things were peachy early on, as the Eagles made national inroads with an early season victory over Texas Tech and a one-month stay in the Top 25. Consecutive Mid-American losses to Miami of Ohio and Kent in February knocked off a bit of the luster.

* Player to watch: Earl Boykins, sophomore guard. Boykins is 5 feet 5, weighs 125 pounds dripping wet and looks like he’s 12 years old. But he’s something special running the point.

* Did you know? George Gervin, who went on to to become a prolific NBA scorer, was suspended from Eastern Michigan during the 1971 college-division Final Four and didn’t return to school.

* Prospects: The Eagles made the Sweet 16 in 1990-91, but this season’s guard-dominated team stumbled down the stretch and would have to consider a first-round victory as a substantial upset.

10. OKLAHOMA (17-12)

* First-round opponent: Temple.

* Season in brief: The Sooners looked like also-rans after a Feb. 14 loss to Iowa State dropped them to 13-10, but they won four of their last five regular-season games, including the NCAA-berth clincher against Kansas on March 2.

* Player to watch: Ryan Minor, senior forward. He didn’t match his junior season, when he was named Big Eight player of the year, but remains a dynamic scorer.

* Did you know? Minor, a first baseman for the Oklahoma baseball team, was the New York Mets’ seventh-round draft pick last year. Minor did not sign because he wanted to concentrate on basketball.

* Prospects: The Sooners don’t match up well with anybody, but that doesn’t stop them from putting forth the kind of effort that can beat the likes of Kansas on a given day.

11. BOSTON COLLEGE (18-10)

* First-round opponent: Indiana.

* Season in brief: The Eagles dropped out of the Top 25 in late February, lost four of the their last six games, did not defeat any of the Big East’s best teams, but finished with a 10-8 record in the nation’s best conference. Boston College’s best moment came in a 14-point victory against Louisville in November.

* Player to watch: Danya Abrams, junior forward. He gets overshadowed in a conference replete with stars, but Abrams was an all-league performer who led the Big East in rebounding.

* Did you know? Although Abrams is 6 feet 7, 265 pounds, and one of the conference’s premier power forwards, he almost never dunks the ball.

* Prospects: The Eagles are a scrappy bunch that will give most teams fits, but they turn the ball over too much to be a tournament factor.

12. VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH (24-8)

* First-round opponent: Mississippi State.

* Season in brief: Not sure what to make of an exhibition victory over a team called “Court Authority,� but the Rams did upgrade their schedule and won their first regular-season Colonial Athletic title since 1985. Coach Sonny Smith uses a four-man rotation at the guard positions. The point position yields 14 points and six assists while the shooting-guard spot averages 13 points and five rebounds.

* Player to watch: Bernard Hopkins, senior forward. He became the first player in a league season to have at least 400 points, 300 rebounds, 50 assists and shoot better than 50%.

* Did you know? It’s a commuter school that attracts students young and old. The average age of an incoming freshman at Virginia Commonwealth is 27.

* Prospects: Don’t expect much. The Rams lost some clout when they moved from the old Metro Conference to the weaker Colonial Athletic, but reaped from the big-fish syndrome.

13. PRINCETON (21-6)

* First-round opponent: UCLA.

* Season in brief: For the 30th time in the last 33 seasons, the Ivy League crown was won by either Princeton or Penn. Princeton led the nation in scoring defense (50.9 average) for the seventh consecutive season.

* Player to watch: Steve Goodrich, sophomore center. He led the Ivy League in shooting percentage (.640) and is the team’s leader in scoring and blocked shots.

* Did you know? Princeton is one of four teams (Georgia Tech, UNLV and Vanderbilt are the others) that has made at least one three-point shot in every game since the rule was enacted in 1986-87.

* Prospects: Coach Pete Carril has never had a losing Ivy League season in 29 years, and is taking his 11th Princeton team to the tournament. His NCAA record, though, is 3-10. And Bill Bradley doesn’t have any more eligibility.

14. AUSTIN PEAY (19-10)

* First-round opponent: Georgia Tech.

* Season in brief: The Governors secured their first NCAA berth since 1987 by beating Ohio Valley regular-season champion Murray State in the conference tournament.

* Player to watch: Bubba Wells, junior forward. Wells is the nation’s second-leading scorer with a 26.7 average, and scored 35 points in the OVC tournament victory over Murray State.

* Did you know? In 1987, Austin Peay, a No. 14 seed, upset No. 3-seeded Illinois in the first round and took Rick Pitino’s Providence team to overtime before losing in the second round.

* Prospects: Austin Peay knows what it means to be giant killers, and has a big-time scorer in Wells, but can NCAA lightening strike twice in nine years? Probably not.

15. UNC GREENSBORO (20-9)

* First-round opponent: Cincinnati.

* Season in brief: The Spartans earned their first NCAA berth by avenging a regular-season loss to Liberty in the Big South tournament. North Carolina Greensboro did not have a victory over a “name� opponent.

* Player to watch: Scott Hartzell, senior guard. He is the school’s all-time leading scoring and one of two players in conference history to record 1,500 points and 500 assists.

* Did you know? North Carolina Greensboro is 75-65 since upgrading to Division I in the 1991-92 season.

* Prospects: Slim/none. Expect the Spartans to be scared stiff in their maiden tournament voyage. The team is at its best when it works for good shots in a half-court offense.

16. COLGATE (15-14)

* First-round opponent: Connecticut.

* Season in brief: The Red Raiders, winners of the Patriot League tournament, had one of the nation’s 10-toughest nonconference schedules with games against Georgetown, Syracuse, Mississippi, Iowa and Providence. Colgate hasn’t lost since it rallied from 17 points down at Bucknell to win on Feb. 17.

* Player to watch: Adonal Foyle, sophomore center. He led the conference in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots and field-goal percentage. Became only the 24th player in Division I to block 300 shots.

* Did you know? Did you ever wonder if anyone famous ever graduated from Colgate? How about CBS’ Andy Rooney, class of ‘42?

* Prospects: Foyle is a dominant force, but not enough to get Colgate beyond the first round.