AT ALBUQUERQUE

Miami vs. Missouri--Once ranked No. 2 in the country, Missouri squeaked into the field as a No. 12-seeded team--the Tigers’ lowest seeding ever. “We weren’t [worthy of] No. 2,” Coach Quin Snyder said. “To hold us accountable is ludicrous.... We are a better club than our fall from grace would indicate.” Kareem Rush, the younger brother of former UCLA player JaRon Rush, is coming off a career-high, 33-point performance against Texas in the Big 12 tournament. The Tigers face a defensive challenge against Miami. Darius Rice, a 6-foot-10 sophomore forward and the nephew of NFL receiver Jerry Rice, is a problem because of his inside-outside ability, and point guard John Salmons--at 6-7--is another difficult matchup.

*

Ohio State vs. Davidson--Both teams have had success in the NCAA tournament. It’s just that Davidson last won a game in 1969, when the Wildcats beat St. John’s to advance to the East Regional final against North Carolina--falling a step short of the Final Four in a two-point loss. Davidson avenged that loss this season by beating North Carolina, 58-54. Ohio State last made the Final Four in 1999, and starting guards Brian Brown and Boban Savovic were part of that team. Brown acknowledged he didn’t know anything about Davidson when the pairings were announced--but said after last year’s first-round loss to Utah State, he has a lot more respect for lesser-known teams.

*

Gonzaga vs. Wyoming--There’s great anticipation of a potential Gonzaga-Arizona game, but the Bulldogs’ first-round game is no cinch. They’re facing a Wyoming team that plays its home games at 7,220 feet in a first-round game at the Pit, notorious for its mile-high altitude. Gonzaga is familiar with the Pit, however: The Zags won there in January, defeating New Mexico in overtime, 95-90. (Wyoming lost at New Mexico in February, 74-65.) Guard Dan Dickau seemed in a faint slump until the second half of the West Coast Conference final against Pepperdine, when he scored 27 of his 29 points and made four of nine three-point shots. Wyoming forward Marcus Bailey is coming off a big game too: He scored 31 against San Diego State in the Mountain West tournament semifinals, making four of four from three-point range.

*

Arizona vs. UC Santa Barbara--Arizona Coach Lute Olson expects the Gauchos to play a deliberate pace, but not as extreme as South Alabama played in a slow-down game against Arizona in 1997. Arizona trailed by 10 in the second half before winning. Like Olson, Santa Barbara’s Bob Williams has won a national title, guiding UC Davis to the 1998 NCAA Division II title. Forward Mark Hull, the Gauchos’ stalwart, will be playing with a broken nose he injured in the semifinals of the Big West tournament--and he won’t wear a mask. The Pit hasn’t been the kindest venue to Olson: He is 2-6 in the building as Arizona’s coach, and no favorite of New Mexico fans after he said following a 1999 loss that he’d never return to play New Mexico because he felt the operation of the clock had been unfair. He’s back--but it’s for the NCAA tournament. Olson’s opposition to the Pac-10 tournament hasn’t wavered, but he acknowledges winning it helped prepare his freshmen for the NCAA tournament, especially after Salim Stoudamire scored 29 points in the final.