UNDERDOGS SAVOR SWEET SUCCESS.

Byline: BRIAN DOHN

The whirlwind weekend is over, and although Connecticut and Duke remain on a Final Four collision course, the real fun over the next two days involves the teams not expected to still be playing.

The biggest surprises are 10th-seeded Nevada and No. 9 Alabama-Birmingham in the St. Louis Regional.

But now comes the tough part for the coaches: Keeping their players focused amid their new-found celebrity status.

``It's like being a celebrity on campus, everyone coming up shaking our hands, saying congratulations,'' Nevada's Garry Hill-Thomas said.

Said UAB's Cardell ``Squeaky'' Johnson: ``I'm just trying to enjoy it while it lasts. I call home every day and tell my brothers all about it and how much fun it is, and how much I wish they could be out here to enjoy it with me.''

How quickly each school gets grounded in reality will impact the Sweet 16 matchups. Nevada, which has won nine in a row and is 25-8, gave everyone a glimpse of its ability early in the season when it beat Kansas in Reno, Nev. But it was a change in Nevada's defensive mentality during the Western Athletic Conference season that led to the Wolfpack's late-season surge that carried it to the conference tournament title.

After beating Michigan State and routing second-seed Gonzaga over the tournament's first weekend, a streaky Georgia Tech team won't be overlooking Nevada.

``We really matured as a group,'' Nevada coach Trent Johnson said. ``It's hard when you're picked to win a conference and then go out and actually do it. It shows what type of guys these are. Whatever happens on Friday, we're going to do what we've done all year, and that's work hard and we'll see what happens.''

UAB was underrated entering the tournament, but Sweet 16 opponent Kansas won't make that mistake after the Blazers beat top-seeded Kentucky in the second round.

UAB finished in a five-way tie atop Conference USA, arguably behind only the ACC as the country's toughest conference.

But what makes the Blazers so much fun is their street-ball mentality. Coach Mike Anderson, who was an assistant under Nolan Richardson's run-and-press teams at Arkansas, utilizes the same style that forces a frenetic pace.

In the first round, UAB wore down a Washington team that loves to run. In the second round, the Blazers pressed Kentucky into turnovers, poor shots and exhaustion before winning on a late jumper.

What makes UAB so strong is a deep bench. Anderson plays eight guys at least 10 minutes per game (none more than 25.5) and over the course of 40 minutes it takes a toll on the opposition.

``If you put any other five guys against our starting five guys, then we would probably get beat,'' Anderson said. ``But I think that the difference in our basketball team is our bench strength and our numbers. So we can't say that we're going to line up and beat anybody. I think that anybody can beat us and we can beat anybody else, and that's been proven throughout the year.''

--Tough loss: Expectations were high for Gonzaga before it was beaten in Seattle, on what was supposed to be a home court for the 'Zags. How bad was it for a team expecting to reach the Final Four?

``It feels as if someone took your life away almost,'' Bulldogs forward Adam Morrison said. ``This is all we've got, this is all I've got ... basketball. We can't play anymore. The year is taken away, especially for the senior guys, who've been here four or five years, who've put all that heart and effort into it and they don't get to play anymore.''

--Penders' place: Tom Penders, known for his slick persona and up-tempo style, is back in coaching after the University of Houston made him its latest choice to resurrect a once proud program. Penders is the fifth coach to be hired by the school since legendary Guy Lewis left after the 1986 season.

Since then, only Pat Foster, Lewis' replacement, had a winning record. He went 142-73 in seven years. Alvin Brooks, Clyde Drexler and Ray McCallum, who was reassigned after going 9-18 this season, combined to go 117-196.

--Familiar road: When the NCAA bracket is unveiled, one of the first things Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun likes to do is ignore the Huskies' seed and concentrate on the rest of the bracket and project matchups. And UConn's bracket, the Phoenix Regional, is a mess after North Carolina State and Stanford were upset.

Standing in second-seeded UConn's way to the Final Four is No. 6 seed Vanderbilt and then the winner of No. 5 Syracuse, the defending champion, or upstart Alabama. It could prove as easy a path as possible to San Antonio.

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