LOOKING TO RISE ABOVE MARCH MADNESS: EYES OF TEXAS ARE ON A HIGH SEED.

Byline: BRIAN DOHN College Basketball 

The Texas football team has already delivered a national championship, and with a strong finish in the regular season and Big 12 tournament, the men's basketball team could put itself in position to bring a national title back to Austin.

Yes, it seems far-fetched in a field that includes Duke and Connecticut and seemingly everyone else, but who would have thought Mack Brown would out-coach Pete Carroll in the Rose Bowl?

The Longhorns, who are ranked sixth, are in position for a No. 2 seed, at worst, when the NCAA Tournament bracket is announced next week, and Texas has the post presence, outside ability and quality scoring from several players to make it happen.

Upon viewing an NCAA bracket, almost any coach will tell you it's more about how the matchups break down rather than the seedings. And any coach that looks at Texas will see a multifaceted attack led by versatile forward P.J. Tucker and dominant big man LeMarcus Aldridge.

``This week is an important week for a lot of teams in the country,'' Texas coach Rick Barnes said. ``I don't want to speculate about a (No. 1 seed). It depends on what we do these next couple of games. With a week to go in the season, I think there's too many things. Not only for Texas, but for other teams.''

Texas looked good at the midway point of last season to make an NCAA run, but Tucker was declared ineligible the second half of last season and the Longhorns struggled the rest of the way.

``To me, the heart and soul of that team is P.J.,'' Kansas coach Bill Self said. ``He gives them a presence that few people in America have on their respective teams. He's so versatile.''

Although Tucker leads the Longhorns in scoring at 16.4 points per game and is pulling down 9.2 rebounds per game, he has plenty of help. Aldridge is averaging 16 points and 9.3 rebounds per game and point guard Daniel Gibson is scoring 13.8 points per game and handing out 3.1 assists.

However, Self said it is the play of forward Brad Buckman (19.7 ppg, 7 rpg) that completes the Longhorns.

``I didn't see this in Texas two months ago; I see their pieces fitting so much better because of Buckman,'' Self said. ``Buckman's emergence as a shooter in league play, and as a passer ... I don't know if people understand, he may be their best post passer, has really allowed P.J. to play in(side) and out.''

Texas may be poised to make a big run in the NCAA Tournament, but the Longhorns (24-5) are going down to the wire in the Big 12 race. Texas' last-second loss to Texas A&M on Wednesday dropped the Longhorns into a first-place tie with Kansas heading into their regular-season finale against Oklahoma on Sunday.

--Reason to worry: Upsets are what make the first few rounds of the NCAA Tournament such a hoot, but bubble teams like Air Force, Seton Hall, Colorado, Cincinnati, Texas-El Paso and Florida State have every reason to hope form holds true in the conference tournaments.

That's because some teams from mid-major conferences likely will get into the 65-team field even if they don't win their conference tournaments. That would mean two bids for some conferences where only one is expected.

Atop that list is Gonzaga. If the Bulldogs lose in the West Coast Conference tournament and another team grabs the league's automatic NCAA bid, it would be costly for a bubble team.

George Mason from the Colonial Athletic Association, Bucknell from the Patriot League and Nevada from the Western Athletic Conference also fit that profile. So does George Washington of the Atlantic 10, and that conference tournament got a bit more intriguing when Colonials center Pops Mensah-Bonsu, who is averaging 13.1 points and 7.1 rebounds, was ruled out of the tourney because of knee surgery.

Bubble teams should also be concerned if Memphis or Alabama-Birmingham do not gain Conference USA's automatic bid.

--Bennett's heart in Wazzu: It was expected for maybe a year, anticipated the last few months and became official Tuesday when Dick Bennett resigned as Washington State's coach and handed the program over to his son, Tony.

Bennett didn't turn things around with the Cougars, although he did lead WSU to some noteworthy accomplishments, like the win over Arizona that ended a 38-game losing streak to the Wildcats, and the Cougars' first win at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion. But Bennett did go 34-36 at Washington State, and played a plodding style of basketball that gave many recruits another reason not to go to Pullman, Wash.

But he also had respect throughout the coaching community for his willingness to take on great challenges and always give an honest effort. Colleagues gushed about Bennett, whose best moment came when he took Wisconsin to the Final Four in 1995.

``It was along the lines of Northwestern going to the Rose Bowl with Gary Barnett, as far as things I never thought I'd see,'' USC coach Tim Floyd said of the Badgers' '95 run.

CAPTION(S):

6 boxes

Box:

(1) Daily News/CBS 2/KCAL 9 SPORTS CENTRAL POWER RANKINGS

(2) THEY SAID IT

(3) PLANTING THE SEEDS

(4) RUMOR MILL

(5) NUMBERS GAME

(6) THIS WEEK'S BEST BET