PREVIEW NCAA West Regional

Capsule look at teams in the NCAA West Regional (in order of seeding):
Stanford Cardinal
Coach: Mike Montgomery.
Record: 28-2.
NCAA Record: 13-8; 1942 title, Final Four 1998.
How Got In: Pac 10 champs.
Best Win: Duke.
Key Players: G Casey Jacobsen (18.0 ppg, 46.6 pct. on 3-pointers), C Jason Collins (14.0 ppg, 7.8 rebs), F Jarron Collins (13.0 ppg, 6.9 rebs).
Did You Know? Stanford went 47 years between NCAA tournament appearances between 1942 and 1989.
How They'll Do: Bundle up these Californians for Minneapolis.
Iowa State Cyclones
Coach: Larry Eustachy.
Record: 25-5.
NCAA Record: 11-11, Final Four 1944.
How Got In: At-large, Big 12.
Best Win: at Kansas.
Key Players: G Jamaal Tinsley (14.5 ppg, 6.0 assists, 2.5 steals, F Martin Rancik (13.3 ppg, 5.4 rebs), G Jake Sullivan (11.5 ppg, 44.7 pct. on 3-pointers).
Did You Know? Tinsley did not play basketball for his high school team in Brooklyn, N.Y.
How They'll Do: A Final Four appearance isn't out of the question, but only if they shake off late season slippage.
Maryland Terrapins
Coach: Gary Williams.
Record: 21-10.
NCAA Record: 22-17.
How Got In: At-large. First-Round Opponent: George Mason.
Best Win: at Duke.
Key Players: G Juan Dixon (18.4 ppg, 86.6 pct. on FTs), F Terence Morris (12.8 ppg, 7.7 rebs), C Lonny Baxter (15.5 ppg, 7.6 rebs), G Steve Blake.
Did You Know? Terps are one of two ACC teams to never have made Final Four.
How They'll Do: Talented but erratic Terps could make noise, or go out early.
Indiana Hoosiers
Coach: Mike Davis.
Record: 21-12.
NCAA Record: 52-24, won national titles in 1940, 1953, 1976, 1981, 1987, went to 7 Final Fours.
How Got In: At-large, Big Ten.
Best Win: Michigan State.
Key Players: F Kirk Haston (18.5 ppg, 8.6 rebs), F Jared Jeffries (13.8 ppg, 6.8 rebs), G Tom Coverdale (10.8 ppg, 5.0 assists).
Did You Know? Indiana is making its 16th straight tourney appearance, but hasn't won a second-round game since 1994.
How They'll Do: Kent State a very pesky first-round draw. Could be trouble.
Cincinnati Bearcats
Coach: Bob Huggins.
Record: 23-9.
NCAA Record: 35-18, won 1961-82 national titles, made 1963, 1992 Final Fours.
How Got In: At-large, Conference USA.
Best Win: Maryland.
Key Players: G Steve Logan (17.5 ppg), C Donald Little, G Kenny Satterfield (13.8 ppg, 5 assists).
Did You Know? Red-hot 'Cats have won nine of last 11.
How They'll Do: Should beat BYU, but don't expect them to go much farther.
Wisconsin Badgers
Coach: Brad Soderberg.
Record: 18-10.
NCAA Record: 9-5, won 1941 national title, made 2000 Final Four.
How Got In: At-large, Big Ten.
Best Win: Maryland.
Key Players: G Roy Boone (13.1 ppg, 4.1 rebs), G Kirk Penney (11.5 ppg), F Mark Vershaw (8.2 ppg, 4.1 rebs), G Mike Kelley (5.5 ppg, 2.0 steals).
Did You Know? Wisconsin is tied with Utah State as the No. 1 ranked defense in the nation, allowing just 56.8 ppg.
How They'll Do: "Hoosiers"-style basketball should frustrate an opponent or two.
Arkansas Razorbacks
Coach: Nolan Richardson.
Record: 20-10.
NCAA Record: 39-25, won national title in 1994, made Final Four in 1941, 1945, 1978, 1990, 1995.
How Got In: At-large, SEC.
Best Win: Kentucky.
Key Players: F Joe Johnson (14.2 ppg, 6.6 rebs, 45.5 pct on 3-pointers), G Brandon Dean, G Jannero Pargo (12.4 ppg), F Alonzo Lane.
Did You Know? Richardson's 26 NCAA wins rank 7th among active coaches.
How They'll Do: Richardson's teams are never to be overlooked in March.
Georgia Tech
Coach: Paul Hewitt.
Record: 17-12.
NCAA Record: 16-11, Final Four-1990.
How Got In: At large, Atlantic Coast. First-Round Opponent: St. Joseph's.
Best Win: Kentucky.
Key Players: G Tony Akins (14.5 ppg), C Alvin Jones (13.6 ppg, 10.3 rebs, 3.4 blocks), G Shaun Fein (13.6 ppg)
Did You Know? This is Georgia Tech's first NCAA appearance since 1996?
How They'll Do: They'll be lucky to win more than one game.
St. Joseph's Hawks
Coach: Phil Martelli.
Record: 25-6.
NCAA Record: 14-19, made Final Four in 1962.
How Got In: At-large, A-10.
Best Win: Xavier.
Key Players: G Marvin O'Connor (21.6 ppg), G Jameer Nelson (12.4 ppg, 6.3 assists), F Bill Phillips.
Did You Know? Hawks were picked 6th in Atlantic 10 in preseason polls.
How They'll Do: Tough draw early.
Georgetown Hoyas
Coach: Craig Esherick.
Record: 23-7.
NCAA Record: 36-20, won 1984 national title, made Final Four in 1982, 1985.
How Got In: At-Large, Big East.
Best Win: at Notre Dame.
Key Players: C Ruben Boumtje Boumtje (9.5 ppg, 6.8 rebs), F Mike Sweetney (13.3 ppg, 7.3 rebs), G Kevin Braswell (11.3 ppg, 6.4 assists).
Did You Know? Hoyas are making first NCAA trip since 1997 and first under Esherick.
How They'll Do: Tough defense should mean one, maybe two wins.
Georgia State Panthers
Coach: Charles "Lefty" Driesell.
Record: 28-4.
NCAA Record: 0-1.
How Got In: TAAC champions.
Best Win: Troy State.
Key Players: G Shernard Long (18.1 ppg), F/C Thomas Terrell (16.6 ppg, 7.2 rebs).
Did You Know? Driesell and Eddie Sutton are the only two coaches to lead four different schools to the NCAA tournament.
How They'll Do: Much underrated, but need hot shooting to pull upset.
Brigham Young Cougars
Coach: Steve Cleveland.
Record: 24-8.
NCAA Record: 11-21.
How Got In: Mountain West champs.
Best Win: Utah.
Key Players: F Mekeli Wesley (16.9 ppg, 5.5 rebs), G Terrell Lyday (16.5 ppg), G Trent Whiting (14.3 ppg)
Did You Know? BYU has made tournament eight times since 1984, but hasn't won two games since Danny Ainge led them to the Elite Eight in 1981.
How They'll Do: Anything more than one win would require divine intervention.
Kent State Golden Flashes
Coach: Gary Waters.
Record: 23-9.
NCAA Record: 0-1.
How Got In: Mid-American champs.
Best Win: Central Michigan.
Key Players: G Trevor Huffman (16.8 ppg, 4.6 assists), G Kyreem Massey (12.9 ppg, 4.8 rebs), G Andrew Mitchell (12.4 ppg), G Demetric Shaw (10.2 ppg, 6.9 rebs).
Did You Know? Waters led Kent State to its first and only tournament appearance in 1999.
How They'll Do: Aggressive, disciplined defense good for an upset, that's it.
George Mason Patriots
Coach: Jim Larranaga.
Record: 18-11.
NCAA Record: 0-2.
How Got In: CAA champs.
Best Win: Richmond.
Key Players: F George Evans (18.8 ppg, 7.8 rebs), F Erik Herring (15.9 ppg), G Tremaine Price (4.7 assists).
Did You Know? The 30-year-old Evans served in the Army and saw combat during Operation Desert Storm in 1991.
How They'll Do: Pats scored only 35 points in CAA Final win over UNC-Wilmington. They won't cut it against Maryland.
Hampton Pirates
Coach: Steve Merfeld.
Record: 24-6.
NCAA Record: 0-0.
How Got In: Mid-Eastern Athletic champions.
Best Win: South Carolina State.
Key Players: Tarvis Williams (22.7 ppg), Lasean Howard (13 ppg), Marseilles Brown (12.3 ppg).
Did You Know? The Pirates are making their first tournament appearance since moving up to Division-I six years ago.
How They'll Do: No match for Iowa State.
North Carolina-Greensboro Spartans
Coach: Fran McCaffery.
Record: 19-11.
NCAA Record: 0-1.
How Got In: Southern Conference champions.
Best Win: Chattanooga.
Key Players: G Courtney Eldridge (14.7 ppg, 5.8 assists), F David Schuck (14.4 ppg, 8.7 rebs), G Jay Joseph (13.3 ppg, 5.0 rebs).
Did You Know? Surprising Spartans are making their second NCAA tournament trip in five years.
How They'll Do: It took a last-second miracle to get them in. That's all the miracles for this year.
-- Scripps Howard News Service