COLLEGE BASKETBALL : The Plot Thickens as the Field Thins

Story lines for an NCAA tournament so cruel that Kansas Coach Roy Williams might still be dabbing away the tears caused by Sunday’s defeat by UTEP:

--In the West, New Mexico State and UCLA meet in the tournament for the first time since the 1970 Final Four in College Park, Md. The Bruins won, 93-77, and went on to beat Jacksonville for another NCAA title. This time it won’t be so easy.

And if UCLA defeats the Aggies, there is a strong possibility of a rematch with Indiana. In the season opener at the Tip-Off Classic in Springfield, Mass., the Bruins easily disposed of the Hoosiers, which surely has not been forgotten by Indiana Coach Bob Knight.

--In the East, Kentucky Coach Rick Pitino faces his alma mater, Massachusetts, coached by another young Turk, John Calipari. It was Pitino, while serving on the Massachusetts selection committee, who recommended Calipari for his first head coaching position.

Calipari, once an assistant on Larry Brown’s Kansas staff, has taken the Minutemen deeper into the tournament than any previous Massachusetts coach. Of course, Massachusetts has made only one other NCAA tournament appearance--in 1962. It lost in the first round.

As for Kentucky, this is the Wildcats’ first return since 1988. They were put on NCAA probation in 1989 and weren’t eligible for postseason play until this year.

The other East bracket gives us Duke vs. Seton Hall, which means a likely matchup between Blue Devil point guard Bobby Hurley and Pirate guard Danny Hurley, Bobby’s younger brother.

One other note: The two Hurleys, as well as Seton Hall’s Jerry Walker and Terry Dehere, played at St. Anthony’s High in Jersey City, N.J. The coach? Bob Hurley.

--In the Midwest, there is only the stunning news that the Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 5 seeded teams--Kansas, USC, Arkansas and Michigan State--are back home, mumbling in the dark as they try to figure out what happened. No. 6 Memphis State’s victories against Pepperdine and Arkansas weren’t totally unexpected, but Texas El Paso over Kansas? Williams had said the Big Eight Conference deserved six teams in the tournament. Williams got his six teams, but only one--Oklahoma State--is left after two rounds. So much for the powerful Big Eight.

--In the Southeast, the toughest regional of all, subplots abound:

Who is playing better basketball right now, Duke or Ohio State?

Will Oklahoma State Coach Eddie Sutton and his son Sean, who starts for the Cowboys, be booed or cheered when they return to Lexington, Ky., site of this week’s Southeast Regional games? It was during the elder Sutton’s term at Kentucky that NCAA violations were uncovered. His subsequent resignation was accepted with glee.

Can the all-freshman starting lineup of Michigan win two more and reach the Final Four? And has there ever been a younger starting five to reach the Sweet 16?

And how has North Carolina managed to get this far?

We thought New Mexico State would provide the tournament with an upset and then leave shortly thereafter. We didn’t figure on them playing a No. 13 seeded team, Southwestern Louisiana, during the second round.

But that’s what happened and guess what. The beleaguered Big West Conference, which suffered through the Nevada Las Vegas debacle and a sparsely attended league tournament, now has as many teams in the tournament as the Big Eight, the Big East, the SEC and the Pacific 10 do: one each.

“There’s some redemption there, I guess, and hopefully some acknowledgment that we have some other teams than UNLV,� Big West Commissioner Jim Haney said. “I don’t think theconference receives much respect nationally.�

The Big West, which took a financial hit when the recent UNLV-less conference tournament flopped, will reap some significant rewards from New Mexico State’s success in the tournament. According to Haney, the Aggies’ advancement to the Sweet 16 is worth $720,000 over the next six years--more if New Mexico State keeps winning.

And now, more reasons why there should always be room in the NCAA tournament for the “little shavers,� as Campbell University Coach Billy Lee calls them: Southwestern Louisiana 87, Oklahoma 83; East Tennessee State 87, Arizona 80; LaSalle point guard Randy Woods, who nearly beat Seton Hall all by himself; New Mexico State in the Sweet 16; the first half of the UCLA-Robert Morris game; the Campbell Camel mascot and the homespun humor of Lee; the near Miami of Ohio upset of North Carolina and the thought of having to endure another Big East team in the field of 64.

Connecticut followers worked themselves into a lather when the NCAA men’s basketball committee suspended Huskie starter Rod Sellers for the first-round game against Nebraska. Sellers was the guy who tried to dribble Christian Laettner’s head during a nasty on-court incident in last year’s tournament. The game officials missed the flagrant foul, but the committee didn’t. Thus, the wholly appropriate suspension, effective this postseason. Well, Connecticut whipped the Cornhuskers and with Sellers back in the lineup, Big East fans excitedly predicted another victory, this time against Ohio State. Sorry. Sellers played well against the Buckeyes--12 points (he made five of his six shots) and 13 rebounds--but the Huskies still lost by 23.

The Southwest Conference certainly made a fine showing. In no time at all, Houston lost to Georgia Tech and Texas lost to Iowa. Houston Coach Pat Foster apparently is under fire among some Cougar supporters--and that’s after a 25-6 season. The Longhorns, who have talent but no defense, could have done without Coach Tom Penders’ proclamation that opposing SWC teams “cut down the nets when they beat Texas.� Of course, after scoring 98 points against the Longhorns in its first-round romp, the Hawkeyes were too exhausted to snip away.

Memo to Arizona Wildcats: And we thought UCLA lacked heart. . . . Seton Hall forward Arturas Karnishovas said he plans to return to his native Lithuania in June to prepare for an Olympic qualifying tournament. Karnishovas, who said he expects to be on the Lithuanian national team, hasn’t been home in nearly 2 1/2 years. “That’s when Lithuania was still in the Soviet Union,� he said. Karnishovas, a sophomore, thought about visiting his family and friends last year, but the political turmoil in the country persuaded him not to. “I was afraid not to come back to America,� he said.

And if the Lithuanian team qualifies for the Olympics and plays the United States, what will he do if asked to guard Michael Jordan? “Let’s not talk about it,� he said, smiling.

Not only is Duke’s Laettner one of the best players in the country, he is also one of the most honest. He said last week that he thought of himself “first as a basketball player and (then) as a student.� Duke academic types might blanch, but that is the reality of Laettner’s situation. . . . Laettner is scheduled to appear in the May issue of GQ magazine. Best part about it, said teammate Brian Davis: “(Laettner) gets to keep the clothes.�

Presenting our all-star starting five: Louisiana State’s Shaquille O’Neal, center; Georgetown’s Alonzo Mourning, forward; Duke’s Christian Laettner, forward; USC’s Harold Miner, guard; Ohio State’s Jim Jackson, guard. (Our selection committee didn’t exactly pull an all-nighter to make those choices.)

The five reserves: Stanford’s Adam Keefe, center; Arkansas’ Todd Day, forward; St. John’s Malik Sealy, forward; Maryland’s Walt Williams, guard; Duke’s Bobby Hurley, guard. UCLA’s Tracy Murray and Don MacLean were this close, as was Florida State guard Sam Cassell, Kentucky forward-center Jamaal Mashburn and Missouri’s Anthony Peeler.

Right now, player of the year is an absolute tie between Laettner and Jackson, both of whom play with such intensity, toughness and confidence. They share a common bond: When the game is in doubt, they want to take control. The difference between them and others with similar desires, is that Jackson and Laettner deliver.

This Duke hero-worship thing is getting a little out of hand. At a Blue Devil practice at the Greensboro Coliseum last week, young women swooned and screamed in delight at the sight of Laettner, Hurley and assorted other Duke players. And a few weeks ago, a Clemson fan asked Blue Devil swingman Grant Hill if she could touch his ears. “She said I had some cute ears,� Hill said. Rather than simply touch Hill’s ears, though, the girl kissed them.

Top 10

As selected by staff writer Gene Wojciechowski

No. Team Record 1. Duke 30-2 2. Indiana 25-6 3. Ohio State 25-5 4. Florida State 22-9 5. UCLA 27-4 6. Michigan 22-8 7. Kentucky 28-6 8. Massachusetts 30-4 9. Cincinnati 27-4 10. Oklahoma State 28-7

Waiting list: North Carolina (23-9), Seton Hall (23-8), Memphis State (22-10), Texas El Paso (27-6), Kansas (27-5).