What To Look For

* The draw: The South is the region with the athleticism. And the bad timing. Auburn was made the top-seeded team despite having lost to Kentucky in the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament. No. 2 Maryland fell in the Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals. No. 3 St. John’s was routed by Connecticut in the Big East final, No. 4 Ohio State was upset by Illinois in the Big Ten semifinals. No. 5 UCLA got beat up by Arizona on Saturday. On and on. You have to go all the way to 10th-seeded Creighton, coming off its victory in Missouri Valley final, to find a team that starts the tournament on a winning note. Such unpredictability is only one reason excitement should be at the forefront in the South. The other is teams such as Auburn, Maryland, St. John’s and UCLA love to play in the fast lane.

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Best first-round game: Syracuse versus Oklahoma State at Indianapolis. It doesn’t take much to make the No. 8-No. 9 matchup the best game, but this one comes with the intrigue of two teams that have spent much of the season straddling surviving and striving. Oklahoma State, for example, lost to Florida Atlantic at home and four days later shot 40% and committed 25 turnovers against UCLA, then most recently beat Texas, No. 7 in the East, in the Big 12 semifinals. Which team shows Thursday?

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Sleeper: “It’s probably Detroit,” UCLA Coach Steve Lavin said. He might not just be going for diplomacy. The 12th-seeded Detroit Mercy Titans face UCLA in the first round on a seven-game winning streak and with the confidence of having beaten St. John’s in the 1998 tournament opener.

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Upset in the making: No. 11 George Washington over No. 6 Indiana at New Orleans. The Hoosiers have spent much of the season on the edge, playing seven overtime games and winning four. Who would think they could get pushed over for good by a 5-foot-4 guy, George Washington guard Shawnta Rogers? The Colonials and first-year Coach Tom Penders are 20-8, but two of the losses were to Stanford, the second-seeded team in the West, and North Carolina Charlotte, No. 5 in the Midwest.

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Impact coach: Jim O’Brien of Ohio State, though Cliff Ellis of Auburn could be considered too. But O’Brien’s impact has been so profound that it has been felt by two programs. The Buckeyes went from 8-22 in O’Brien’s first season after coming from Boston College to 23-8, the best turnaround in Division I. Star guard Scoonie Penn transferred from Boston College to stay with O’Brien. Boston College went from 22-9 in the final season for O’Brien and Penn to 6-21 this season.

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Impact player: Junior college transfer Steve Francis emerged as a star for Maryland and may be the first point guard taken in the NBA draft. But no one has had the impact of Baron Davis, who has carried UCLA through the second half while surrounded by teammates who were injured or simply playing as if they were. And no one is having a greater impact now: a Davis greatly hampered by the toe injury means the Bruins are vulnerable from the start.

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The pick: Maryland.