1. Kansas (23-5)
Coach: Roy Williams.
Tourney fact: Has already been to two Final Fours in the ’90s.
Key player: Jacque Vaughn. Terrific distributor. The perfect point guard for the Jayhawks’ unselfish offense.
Comment: Has depth, size, outside shooting, Vaughn and-in Williams-a coach with a history of tourney success. A good bet for another Final Four.
2. Arkansas (27-6)
Coach: Nolan Richardson.
Tourney fact: The defending champions’ greatest fear is that no one fears them. To wit: “Teams have not been afraid of us like the past,” guard Scotty Thurman said.
Key players: Corliss Williamson has to live up to his own favorite nickname for the Razorbacks-“The Bad Boys Of Basketball.” Point guard Corey Beck makes the offense go.
Comment: Only Duke (in 1992) has repeated in last 22 years.
3. Purdue (24-6)
Coach: Gene Keady.
Tourney fact: In the 15 years Keady has been their coach, the Boilermakers have been to the NCAAs 11 times.
Key player: Senior forward Cuonzo Martin, who averages 18.5 points and led Big 10 with 48.8-percent three-point shooting.
Comment: The Boilermakers repeated as Big 10 champs despite losing Player of the Year Glenn Robinson, a tribute to Keady’s coaching talent.
4. Virginia (22-8)
Coach: Jeff Jones.
Tourney fact: Cavs last reached Final Four in 1984.
Key players: Senior forward Junior Burrough led the team with 16.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game during the season.
Comment: The Cavaliers, who shared the ACC regular-season title with three other teams, play tough defense but are inconsistent with the ball.
5. Arizona (23-7)
Coach: Lute Olson.
Tourney fact: Eleventh straight appearance. Went to Final Four last year, but lost in first round three previous years.
Key player: Damon Stoudamire. The 5-foot-11-inch guard is a dangerous scorer, slasher and passer.
Comment: Stoudamire was declared ineligible last weekend and his status is in doubt. If he plays, Wildcats will make some noise.
6. Memphis (22-9)
Coach: Larry Finch.
Tourney fact: Fifth NCAA trip under Finch, a former Memphis star. Reached final eight in ’92.
Key players: David Vaughn, a 6-10 forward (and Finch’s nephew), and 6-11 freshman Lorenzen Wright can control the glass against anyone.
Comment: Regular-season Great Midwest champs have been up and down. When Vaughn and Wright get backcourt help, they can beat anybody.
7. Syracuse (19-9)
Coach: Jim Boeheim.
Tourney fact: In field for 12th time in 13 years, but have just one Final Four appearance (1987) in that time.
Key players: Lawrence Moten continues to average 20 points per game; 6-7 junior John Wallace pulls down eight rebounds per game to go with his 16-point average.
Comment: Orangemen are capable of big things, but more likely to disappoint. Played poorly down the stretch.
8. Western Kentucky (26-3)
Coach: Matt Kilcullen.
Tourney fact: Making third straight NCAA trip. In 1993, upset Seton Hall on the way to the Sweet 16.
Key player: Junior Chris Robinson, a 6-5 guard-forward, was the Sun Belt Conference’s player of the year.
Comment: Hilltoppers won 25 of their last 26 games.
9. Michigan (17-13)
Coach: Steve Fisher.
Tourney fact: Fisher won the NCAA title as interim coach in 1989 and his ’92 and ’93 teams were runners-up.
Key players: Forward Ray Jackson (15 points per game) and guard Jimmy King (14.7), who were among the Fab Five freshmen starters on the 1992 team, now are seniors.
Comment: Jackson and King want to go out in style. Fisher has three talented freshmen to help them-6-9 Maurice Taylor, 6-9 Maceo Baston and 6-5 Travis Conlan.
10. Southern Illinois (23-8)
Coach: Rich Herrin.
Tourney fact: Salukis won automatic bid for third year in a row by winning Missouri Valley tournament.
Top players: Chris Carr, a 6-6 forward, was the Missouri Valley regular-season and tournament MVP. Forward Marcus Timmons passes well and plays tough post defense.
Comment: Carr, who led the MVC in scoring at 21.9 points per game, makes big plays.
11. Louisville (19-13)
Coach: Denny Crum.
Tourney fact: This is Louisville’s 19th NCAA appearance under Crum in his 25 years at the school.
Key players: Sophomore guard DeJuan Wheat (16-point average), is a great ballhandler. Freshman Samaki Walker, a 6-9 center, averages 15 points and seven rebounds.
Comment: Tough schedule included a two-point win over Kentucky. Cards won Metro Conference tournament.
12. Miami of Ohio (22-6)
Coach: Herb Sendek.
Tourney fact: First appearance since 1992.
Key players: Sophomore forward Devin Davis, at 6-7, averages 17 points. Defense is keyed by senior guard Derrick Cross.
Comment: Redskins went 14-2 to win the Mid-American title. Made field despite loss in MAC tourney.
13. Nicholls State (24-5)
Coach: Rickey Broussard.
Tourney fact: Making first appearance.
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Key players: Gerard King averages 22.2 points a game with 7.8 rebounds, while Reggie Jackson averages 22.1 and his 11 rebounds per game rates 12th in the nation.
Comment: Colonels are longshot but are experienced, with five senior starters.
14. Wisconsin-Green Bay (22-7)
Coach: Dick Bennett.
Tourney fact: Phoenix are making third NCAA appearance. Shocked California, with Jason Kidd and Lamond Murray, in first round last year before falling to Syracuse.
Key player: Jeff Nordgaard, a 6-6 center, scored 28 points in leading Wisconsin-Green Bay to Midwestern Collegiate tourney title victory over Wright State.
Comment: Bennett’s slowdown style and coaching genius make the Phoenix one of the teams NCAA rivals most dread.
15. Texas Southern (22-6)
Coach: Robert Moreland.
Tourney fact: SWAC regular-season and tourney champs are in for second year in a row. Lost to Duke in first round last year.
Key players: Guards Kevin Granger (20.4) and Kevin Adams (13) lead the Tigers in scoring.
Comment: Should be first-round fodder once again.
16. Colgate (17-12)
Coach: Jack Bruen.
Tourney fact: Making first appearance.
Key players: Senior guard Tucker Neale scored 23 points per game. Super freshman Adonal Foyle, at center, had 17 points per game and 12.3 rebounds for Patriot League champs.
Comment: The Red Raiders started out at 1-8, with losses to Stanford, Syracuse, Mississippi State, Texas Southern, Maryland and Pennsylvania, but finished up 16-4.
WEST
1. UCLA (25-2)
Coach: Jim Harrick.
Tourney fact: Enter tourney as No. 1 in nation for first time since 1975-the year of the Bruins’ last national title.
Key player: Ed O’Bannon. The 6-foot-8-inch forward is the Bruins’ heart, soul and spine.
Comment: After responding to countless challenges during the season, looked poised to make a good run.
2. Connecticut (25-4)
Coach: Jim Calhoun.
Tourney fact: This is Huskies’ fifth NCAA tourney appearance since Calhoun’s arrival in 1986.
Key players: Ray Allen, the 6-foot-5-inch sophomore, is averaging 20 points per game. Donny Marshall plays bigger than 6-6 and is averaging 15 points per game.
Comment: Huskies have dominated Big East regular season the last two years (32-4), but haven’t come up big in tournament play.
3. Maryland (24-7)
Coach: Gary Williams.
Tourney fact: Before last year’s Sweet 16 run, Maryland had not been to the NCAA tournament since 1986.
Key players: Sophomore sensation Joe Smith led the ACC in regular-season scoring with 20.9 points per game.
Comment: Williams is a question mark for the tournament, having just been released from the hospital after a bout with pneumonia.
4. Utah (27-5)
Coach: Rick Majerus.
Tourney fact: Majerus took Runnin’ Utes to the Sweet 16 in ’91 before losing to UNLV.
Key players: Keith Van Horn, a 6-9 sophomore forward averaging 21 points and 9.2 rebounds, and 6-5 junior-college transfer Brandon Jessie, who is averaging 15.5 points.
Comment: WAC regular-season and tourney champs have a chance to reach second weekend.
5. Mississippi State (20-7)
Coach: Richard Williams.
Tourney fact: “That’s a team who could go a ways in any tournament,” predicted Tennessee coach Kevin O’Neill.
Key player: Erick Dampier is sixth nationally in field-goal percentage at 63.2 percent.
Comment: Bulldogs won at Kentucky, and may escape the shadow of better-known SEC teams.
6. Oregon (19-8)
Coach: Jerry Green.
Tourney fact: First appearance since 1961.
Key player: Point guard Kenya Wilkins and backcourt mate Orlando Williams run the show for the Ducks.
Comment: Green was once Roy Williams’ top assistant at Kansas. Did he pick up any of his old boss’ tourney savvy?
7. Cincinnati (21-11)
Coach: Bob Huggins.
Tourney fact: Bearcats made the Final Four in 1992.
Top players: Guard LaZelle Durden (17.6 points per game) and 6-9 freshman Danny Fortson (15.2) ranked 3-4 in Great Midwest scoring.
Comment: Huggins’ teams always play hard and usually peak in the NCAA’s.
8. Missouri (19-8)
Coach: Norm Stewart.
Tourney fact: Tigers an annual tourney disappointment that shed that label last year with run to West Regional final.
Key players: Paul O’Liney, Sammie and Simeon Haley. O’Liney, a 6-2 guard, is the scoring spark. Haley twins, both 7 feet, inside question marks.
Comment: The Haleys are hugely unpolished and about to experience their first NCAA tourney.
9. Indiana (19-11)
Coach: Bob Knight.
Tourney fact: Knight has taken the Hoosiers to the tournament 20 times and his 1976, 1981 and 1987 teams went all the way.
Key players: Senior forwards Alan Henderson and Brian Evans. Henderson is averaging 23.8 points and 9.9 rebounds; Evans led the Big 10 in three-point shooting.
Comment: Heralded freshmen Charlie Miller, Michael Hermon, Andrae Patterson and Neil Reed may make things interesting.
10. Temple (19-10)
Coach: John Chaney.
Tourney fact: Owls are going to the NCAA for 11th time in Chaney’s 13 seasons.
Key player: Senior guard Rick Brunson led the team in scoring (16.8 points), rebounds, assists and steals.
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Comment: Before losing to UMass in the Atlantic 10 tourney final, Temple had won 10 of its last 12 games.
11. Texas (22-6)
Coach: Tom Penders.
Tourney fact: Penders has led the Longhorns to five 20-victory seasons in the last six years.
Key players: Guards Rodrick Anderson (20.9 points per game) and Terrence Rencher (20.7) are a 1-2 punch with almost identical figures.
Comment: If guards are hot, Longhorns are dangerous.
12. Santa Clara (21-6)
Coach: Dick Davey.
Tourney fact: Beat second-seeded Arizona 64-61 in 1993.
Key players: Junior guard Steve Nash, West Coast Conference player of the year, averaged 20.9 points and 6.6 assists.
Comment: The Broncos, who lost their last two games, are explosive on three-point shots.
13. Long Beach State (20-9)
Coach: Seth Greenberg.
Tourney fact: Since 1977, the 49ers have made it to the NCAA just once-in 1993.
Key players: Joe McNaull, a 6-10 senior transfer, and 6-7 senior forward Mike Atkinson lead Big West tourney champs.
Comment: The 49ers are strong on the inside.
14. Gonzaga (21-8)
Coach: Dan Fitzgerald.
Tourney fact: Making first appearance.
Key players: Senior guard John Rillie averaged 32 points in three West Coast tourney games, on 27-of-42 shooting from the field and 20-of-28 shooting from beyond the arc.
Comment: The Bulldogs won 10 of their last 11 games.
15. Tenn.-Chattanooga (19-10)
Coach: Mack McCarthy.
Tourney fact: Making third straight NCAA appearance, but Moccasins have lost four in a row in the NCAAs.
Key players: Forwards Brandon Born and Maurio Hanson, both seniors, averaged 32.2 points and 12 rebounds per game.
Comment: Southern Conference champs stingy on defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 41.5 percent from the field.
16. Florida International (11-18)
Coach: Bob Weltlich.
Tourney fact: Making first appearance. After winning the Trans-America tournament for an automatic bid after finishing eighth, FIU brings the worst record to the NCAA tournament since George Washington’s 9-16 mark in 1961.
Key players: Forward James Mazyck was the conference tournament’s MVP. Weltlich says guard Mark Dozier has been the “heart of the team” as a playmaker and defender.
Comment: Weltlich learned the game as an assistant under Bob Knight at Army.