FOR COLLEGE GAME, PROS ARE A CON.

Byline: STEVE DILBECK

Bored, bored out of my little mind. It's college basketball. Wake me when it's tournament time because right now I'd rather read the dictionary.

It's become homogenized to the point of tedium. Parity to the extreme. It's devolved into a faceless game.

I know this is near sacrilege. That many view college hoops as the mecca of sports. Kids playing hard, actually listening to their coaches, acting like they care in packed, hyperventilating arenas throughout the country.

Sorry, I've become a nonbeliever. A heathen to all who worship at the feet of Dick Vitale.

There are just too many teams and players that all blur together. College basketball no longer has any identity.

Exciting young players either put in one season before heading to the NBA, or just skip the college game altogether.

There are no longer great players to follow through a college career. Star quality players are gone after a season or two. If you're a senior and still playing for Hometown U., people assume you're not any good.

That's why a senior such as Shane Battier actually being taken in the lottery is such a rarity these days. The exceptional talent leaves early. Battier is a nice player, who is currently the Memphis Grizzlies' eighth-leading scorer. And this surprises ... who?

This massive influx to the NBA has been going on for years, but it's at a fever pitch now and has finally worn down the college game.

Just when you're finally figuring out who Carmelo Anthony is, he's gone. Thanks for stopping by. USC's Henry Bibby has said if he gets one season out of 7-foot center Robert Swift, an incoming freshman, he'll be thrilled.

Some estimate there could be as many as 10 current high school players who could be taken in the first round of the NBA Draft in June - four potential lottery picks.

Leaving college basketball devoid of its own cream. How many people actually can name five current college players unattached to local conferences?

The days of epic Magic Johnson-Larry Bird and Elvin Hayes-Kareem Abdul-Jabbar matchups have gone the way of the dodo.

The regular season just drones on. Hope I'm not snoring, but spare me another night of Southern Illinois-Northern Iowa or Memphis-TCU.

Ratings aren't exactly on the upswing, either. When CBS started broadcasting regular-season college games in 1981-82, it got a 5.5 rating. It's been headed the wrong way ever since. This season currently is at a 22-year low with a 1.7 rating.

Some try to sell what a great season it is because Stanford and St. Joseph's could enter the tournament undefeated!

Are you actually listening to yourselves? How did Egghead U. become the No. 1 team in the nation?

And St. Joseph's? Isn't that the fifth-best team in Philadelphia? St. Joseph's has 3,800 students. It should be playing Cal Lutheran.

This is what it's come to. How many right-thinking people truly believe St. Joseph's is the second-best team in the nation? Would you give better odds on the Hawks making it to the championship game or being eliminated by the second round?

I'd admit part of this is regional. For two consecutive seasons, both UCLA and USC have been horrid. And we've had to watch.

They're reduced to a frantic finish this season to avoid being one of two teams without an invite to the Pacific-10 Conference tourney. You know, that tournament held in Los Angeles.

Too many of college basketball's traditional top programs are down. UCLA and Indiana are off the charts. Kansas and Arizona are second tier. Duke has four losses and North Carolina eight.

Much of college basketball is a regional experience that doesn't always translate nationally. Duke-North Carolina still is an attractive game Saturday, but even that matchup has lost luster.

The NCAA Tournament is all that matters, and since it invites 65 teams, it's rendered most regular-season games insignificant.

Even with all those bids, USA Today estimates there are only about 10 that aren't already committed, either through league titles or current ranking.

Where's the suspense? There isn't any. All the regular season has served to do is sedate us, and eliminate every team in the Pac-10,save Egghead U.