DON'T IGNORE THESE TEAMS.

Byline: SCOTT WOLF 

The real attraction of the NCAA Tournament is finding those teams that you can attach yourself to for a day, or weekend, or maybe even two weeks for an improbable run through the postseason.

Let's take a quick look at a few teams that could do that:

Georgia: If USC gets past Illinois, this is not who you want to face.

Bulldogs coach Tubby Smith has never lost to a lower-seeded team in the tournament and has reached the Sweet 16 two of the past three seasons.

He lost all five starters from last year, yet is one game away from the school record for victories in a season. They're about as anonymous as you can be for a No. 3 seed.

Princeton: California not only has the toughest first-round opponent of any Pac-10 school (despite being a No. 5 seed), it also has an emotional disadvantage against the Tigers.

Forward Sydney Johnson, the Ivy League Player of the Year, is the younger brother of former Cal player Stevie Johnson.

Stevie Johnson was kicked off the team in 1994 by then-coach Todd Bozeman.

Cal coach Ben Braun will be even less cooperative with reporters after this loss.

Long Island: It will be a short stay against first-round opponent Villanova, but very entertaining.

The Blackbirds lead the nation in scoring (91.6 points per game) and also have the country's top scorer in Charles Jones (29.9 points).

Jones has taken 713 shots, or nearly half as many as the entire UCLA team.

They also feature controversial guard Richie Parker, who has smoothly adjusted to college by averaging 15.9 points and 7.6 rebounds.

South Alabama: It's hard to say what favors their chances of pulling off a first-round upset more - the Jaguars' tenacious defense or the fact they get to play Arizona in the first round.

Either way, the chances are good for Bill Musselman, the coaching transient who has had stays in the NBA and CBA. His last tournament team was Minnesota, all the way back in 1972.

Opponents are scoring 15 points below their average against the Jaguars.

And if you're looking for a team likely to be given problems early, here's one good candidate:

Cincinnati: Team Turmoil is supposed to be a tough obstacle on UCLA's way to the Final Four?

Well, maybe, but what calamity will the Bearcats encounter before they meet the Bruins?

Five players have been suspended for rules violations this season, and point guard Charles Williams is the latest starter on the shelf.

UCLA coach Steve Lavin is an excellent politician.

Just before last month's USC-UCLA game, Lavin told a downtown luncheon that USC's Henry Bibby deserved to be national coach of the year. Last weekend, while in Seattle, the always-ready-to-fawn Lavin told reporters that Washington's Bob Bender was his choice for Pac-10 Coach of the Year.

Let's hope no one asks what he thinks of Charleston Southern coach Tom Conrad.

Lavin, Part II: At least the UCLA coach showed some courage this weekend, by donning a Nike hat for the plane ride home from Washington on Saturday night.

That should make Reebok, official supplier to UCLA, wince a little bit.

Last team in? According to a source close to the NCAA selection committee, USC was the last team selected to the 64-team field.

If that's true, it makes you wonder what would have happened if Texas Tech had not become ineligible last Saturday.

Who will they hire? Who cares? With UC Irvine and Loyola Marymount both searching for coaches for their dismal programs, just about every name possible has begun to pop up.

Former coach Paul Westhead is the latest name to surface over at Loyola, which desperately needs some personality to revive interest among boosters and students.

Among the other candidates is San Jose State assistant coach Stan Stewart, a former Loyola player. USC assistant coach Dave Miller wouldn't mind this job, either, but his recruiting skills would be wasted unless the school relaxes its entrance requirements.

Meanwhile, Northern Arizona coach Ben Howland, last seen getting drummed out of the Big Sky tournament by Cal State Northridge, is the leading candidate at Irvine.

Cal State Bakersfield's Pat Douglass also remains a candidate.

Greener pastures: Oregon's Jerry Green is still expected to take the LSU job as soon as the Ducks lose in the NIT.

Besides CSUN coach Bobby Braswell, another favorite for the position will be Pacific's Bob Thomason.

There's one problem for Thomason, however. He has more talent returning next season at Pacific than the Ducks and might be reluctant to leave his well-stocked program.

That's certainly a factor Braswell will not be worrying about.

Add coaches: With Wyoming searching for a coach, the story going around the WAC tournament last weekend was that Hawaii's Riley Wallace is coveted by the Cowboys.

But Wallace might be too hot for Wyoming, especially with more than 15 Division I openings already.

Back in the Pac-10, Washington State's Kevin Eastman continues to be hot for the Richmond job. Finishing eighth in the Pac-10 won't exactly wow the alumni back in Virginia.

Top 10

1. Kansas (32-1)

Clearest path to Final Four.

2. Kentucky (30-4)

Ready, willing and dangerous.

3. North Carolina (24-6)

El Deano going for hat trick.

4. Minnesota (27-3)

Time to prove doubters wrong.

5. South Carolina (24-7)

Ignore SEC Tournament stumble.

7. Utah (26-3)

Last-second victories in WAC valuable.

8. UCLA (21-7)

Did they draw up their bracket?

9. Duke (23-8)

Better watch out for Georgia.

10. New Mexico (24-7)

WAC might get two Final Four bids.

Five more to watch:

St. Joseph's (24-6), Clemson (21-9), College of Charleston (28-2), Cincinnati (25-7), Wake Forest (23-6), Xavier (22-5).

Player Watch

Thaddeous Delaney, College of Charleston:The most endearing part of the NCAA's is finding an underdog to latch onto and hope for a few upsets. College of Charleston could be that team, and Delaney is their top player.

The 6-8 center is averaging 16 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. First-round opponent Maryland will get to know him - fast.

Say What?

``I can't get my kids to run on the court, I'm going to get them to run through the airport? Besides, the last guy who ran through the airport got in a lot of trouble.''

St. Joseph's coach Phil Martelli, after having his original flight canceled, and rushing to make a second flight to the West Regional.

Best Bet

Indiana vs. Colorado

Those 8-9 seed games always produce the best matchups, and this East Regional game pairs two teams that spent most of the season in the Top 25.

Colorado point guard Chauncey Billups has gone from no-name to top-10 draft pick this season, and is tailor-made to become a tournament star, where guard play becomes even more important.

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Box: TOP 10 (see text)