ShareThisSome NCAA Tournament items, with selections coming Sunday and the first games next Tuesday:
NBA PREVIEWS?
Some underexposed, potential first-round picks whom you might see for the first time in the NCAAs:
Kenneth Faried, Morehead State -- The 6-8 forward leads the nation in rebounding at 14.6 a game.
Travis Leslie/Trey Thompkins, Georgia -- Leslie, a 6-4 guard, and Thompkins, a 6-10 forward, need to lead the Bulldogs to a few wins in the SEC Tournament.
Keith Benson, Oakland (Mich.) -- This 6-11 center averages 3.7 blocks, second in the country.
Alec Burks, Colorado -- You'll see this 6-6 sophomore if the Buffaloes sneak into the NCAA field with a solid showing in the Big 12 Tournament. If he sticks around as a junior -- which is unlikely -- you'll see him in the new Pac-12 next season.
Kyrie Irving, Duke -- The likely No. 1 pick this year, Irving is a freshman point guard who played just eight games before injuring a toe. If Duke goes far enough, his return to the court is not out of the question. Imagine the hoopla if Duke gets him back for the Final Four.
Nate Cole, Cleveland State -- The 6-1 guard had 41 points in one game, eight three-pointers in another, 20 rebounds in another and 11 assists in another, but the Vikings (26-8) are a long shot to make the field after losing in the Horizon League semifinals.
PAC-10 POSITION
Arizona and UCLA are locks to get into the tournament, and Washington is almost assured a berth. If the Huskies lose to Washington State in the first round of the Pac-10 tournament, though, it would be their third loss to the Cougars, and Washington could get left out.
If USC beats Cal and Arizona, then loses to Washington State in the final -- a possibility with the Cougars expected to have Klay Thompson and Reggie Moore back for the conference tournament -- there remains an outside possibility that Arizona, UCLA, Washington, Washington State and USC could make the 68-team bracket.
The only way Cal can make it is by winning the Pac-10 tournament. But the only Pac-10 team Cal is incapable of beating is Washington, and Cal would not face the Huskies until the championship game Saturday.
THE BYU QUESTION
BYU is 1-1 in the eyes of the selection committee.
The Cougars' seeding in the NCAA Tournament will be determined by how they do in the Mountain West Conference tournament, particularly in their first game, against Wyoming or TCU, and their second game, against Colorado State or New Mexico. Although BYU is 28-3, it is 1-1 without Brandon Davies, suspended for the rest of the season. The committee is evaluating BYU based on the squad that will play in the NCAAs. A No. 1 seed is out of the question.
HOW ABOUT A GAME?
Weber State's game at St. Mary's on Friday gets more intriguing by the moment.
Weber approached St. Mary's about playing this game more than a month ago because it wanted to facilitate a redshirt season for Damian Lillard, the Big Sky Player of the Year last season as a sophomore and a pro prospect.
Lillard played nine games this season before breaking a foot. To be eligible for a hardship redshirt season, a player cannot play in more than 30 percent of a team's games. To ensure that his nine games would not exceed the 30 percent limit, Weber arranged the game against St. Mary's.
Meanwhile, the Gaels look to be safely into the NCAA Tournament at the moment, but a loss Friday could put that in jeopardy. Weber, at 18-12, is no pushover.
BEST IN THE WEST
1. San Diego State (29-2) -- Despite two losses to BYU, the Aztecs' lineup is intact, and they may get a third shot at the Cougars this week.
2. BYU (28-3) -- Was that 18-point home loss to New Mexico a fluke, or is it indicative of what the Cougars are now?
3. Utah State (28-3) -- Aggies will probably get into NCAA Tournament even if they lose in WAC tournament.
4. Arizona (25-6) -- Regular-season champs far from unbeatable in Pac-10 tournament.
5. UCLA (22-9) -- One of six teams with a decent shot at Pac-10 tourney title.
(Jake Curtis is a freelance writer. His website is JakesTakeonSports.com. E-mail him at sportinggreen(at)sfchronicle.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
columnMust credit the San Francisco Chronicle
