An inside look at the Arena matchups

Spokane’s second inclusion in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship has a much more big-time feel than the inaugural version in 2003.

Easily recognizable to area sports fans are Notre Dame and Southern California, Kevin Durant and Aaron Brooks, Reggie Theus and Tim Floyd – a basketball feast for those holding tickets for first-round games at the Arena on Friday.

The same might not be said about Spokane by incoming teams.

“Where’s Spokane, Wash.?” Notre Dame senior Russell Carter said in a press conference. “I’m trying to figure out what’s near there.”

Spokane ended up with a three, four, five and six seed, which encompasses two Pac-10 teams, Notre Dame with its national following and Texas with sensation and Player of the Year candidate Kevin Durant.

The lineup has No. 3 Oregon (26-7) against No. 14 Miami, Ohio (18-14) and No. 6 Notre Dame (14-7) against No. 11 Winthrop (28-4) in the Midwest Regional; and No. 4 Texas (24-9) against No. 13 New Mexico State (25-8) and No. 5 USC (23-11) vs. No. 12 Arkansas (21-13) in the East Regional.

Back in 2003 the field included two four seeds, Stanford and Dayton, and two five seeds, Connecticut and Wisconsin, plus San Diego out of the West Coast Conference and Weber State from the Big Sky. The other two teams were BYU and Tulsa, which provided the only upset with a win over Dayton.

Not quite the panache of this field.

Notre Dame is the school every loves, or loves to hate, though the Irish are football-first in terms of recognition.

There has always seemed to be many Irish fans locally and Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said, “I have a feeling we’ll have a good Notre Dame contingent out there in Spokane.”

USC is also football dominant, although it was the Trojans who KO’d Washington State in the semifinals of the Pac-10 Tournament. The Trojans are coached by Floyd, a former Idaho and Chicago Bulls coach.

Even Texas is more known for its football, but Durant is changing that. The most heralded hoop recruit in UT history, the 6-foot-9 freshman averaged 25.6 points and 11.3 rebounds. Those numbers make him a leading candidate to become the first freshman to win the top individual awards. Widely expected to be a one-and-done collegian, those numbers confirm he is ready for the NBA.

Durant had 29 points and nine rebounds when the Longhorns lost 87-77 to Gonzaga in Phoenix on Dec. 2.

Oregon gives local fans, at least WSU fans, two teams to boo if they’re not cheering for the league to be successful. The Ducks were the only Pac-10 rival the Cougars didn’t beat.

UO is led by Aaron Brooks, a name well-known to local basketball fans before he began dressing in green. Brooks led Franklin to the Washington State 4A championship in 2003, scoring 37 points in a 67-55 win over Mead, which was led by Adam Morrison with 38.

Among the underdogs, Arkansas is the only big-name school and Reggie Theus is the only big-time name. Theus, the coach at New Mexico State, played for UNLV in the Runnin’ Rebel heydays of the mid-1970’s and went on to a 13-year NBA career.