Filling out the Field

Here are the other 45 schools that SI projects will get berths in the 65-team NCAA tournament, which includes 31 automatic bids and 34 at-large selections

TEAM | CONFERENCE | RETURNING STARTERS | SKINNY

21 ILLINOIS | Big Ten | 1 | Senior forward Brian Cook will display his all-court game, but Illini must rely on freshman guards Dee Brown and Deron Williams to run the show

22 MISSOURI | Big 12 | 3 | Kareem Rush and Clarence Gilbert are gone, but Tigers still sport fab front line with juniors Travon Bryant, Arthur Johnson and ready-to-explode Rickey Paulding

23 UCLA | Pac-10 | 2 | Senior forward Jason Kapono (16.0 points a game) will score plenty, but Bruins' fortunes hinge on improved play of sophomore point guard Cedric Bozeman

24 LOUISVILLE | Conference USA | 4 | Help is coming for star guard Reece Gaines (21.0 points a game) in the person of 6'10" Kentucky refugee Marvin Stone, who joins team in December

25 SYRACUSE | Big East | 3 | If 6'8" forward Carmelo Anthony -- nation's highest-rated incoming recruit -- is as good as advertised, callow Orangemen may surmount inexperience

26 WYOMING | Mountain West | 4 | Senior guard Marcus Bailey (14.6 points a game) is best of Cowboys' veterans back from last year's 22-9 squad that beat Gonzaga in the NCAAs

27 CINCINNATI | Conference USA | 1 | Bob Huggins -- just two months removed from a massive heart attack -- will count on senior guard Leonard Stokes and rising star Jason Maxiell

28 MARYLAND | ACC | 1 | Despite losing three NBA draft picks, Terps still have experienced point guard Steve Blake to feed ball to forwards Tahj Holden and juco All-America Jamar Smith

29 MISSISSIPPI STATE | SEC | 3 | Austin-Bowers combo -- forward Mario Austin (16.1 points, 7.6 boards a game) and guard Timmy Bowers (10.6 points) -- should be groovy for Bulldogs

30 SOUTHERN ILLINOIS | Missouri Valley | 3 | Salukis have solid foundation with Mr. Outside (senior guard Kent Williams) and Mr. Inside (senior forward Jermaine Dearman)

31 NOTRE DAME | Big East | 2 | Sharpshooting 6'8" swingman Danny Miller, a transfer from Maryland, teams with point guard Chris Thomas, last year's national freshman of the year

32 PENNSYLVANIA | Ivy | 5 | Senior forwards Koko Archibong (14.2 points a game) and Ivy player of the year Ugonna Onyekwe (17.5 points) have Quakers primed for title repeat

33 PEPPERDINE | West Coast | 4 | Waves have four players back (led by senior forward Jimmy Miggins, with 14.9 points a game) who averaged in double figures last season

34 WISCONSIN | Big Ten | 3 | Conference's best shooter, senior Kirk Penney (15.1 points a game), must mentor squad that will rely on six freshmen and four sophomores

35 MINNESOTA | Big Ten | 3 | Gophers hope guard Ben Johnson, a transfer from Northwestern, can loosen up defenses from outside so 6'11" forward Rick Rickert can flourish in post

36 GEORGETOWN | Big East | 4 | Green guards Ashanti Cook and Drew Hall must help if forward Mike Sweetney is to maintain double-double productivity (19.0 points, 10.0 boards a game)

37 INDIANA | Big Ten | 2 | No repeat run to Final Four looms, but Mike Davis could have dream backcourt if McDonald's All-American Bracey Wright meshes with gutty Tom Coverdale

38 MISSISSIPPI | SEC | 4 | Dubbed the Provine Posse, senior guard David Sanders and junior forwards Justin Reed and Aaron Harper started as teammates at Jackson's Provine High

39 USC | Pac-10 | 2 | Trojans hope juco transfer Brandon Brooks can run show and get ball to up-and-coming sophomore Errick Craven (11.8 points a game) and junior Desmon Farmer

40 OHIO STATE | Big Ten | 3 | Buckeyes are strongest up front, with juniors Zach Williams (9.6 points a game) and Velimir Radinovic and promising sophomore Terence Dials

41 LSU | SEC | 4 | Panamanian strongman Jaime Lloreda -- 6'9", 246-pound forward and last season's juco player of the year -- teams up front with senior Ronald Dupree (16.2 points a game)

42 OHIO | Mid-American | 3 | New Shaq of the MAC: 6'7", 265-pound forward Brandon Hunter (17.3 points, 9.1 boards a game) flirted with NBA before coming back for senior season

43 OKLAHOMA STATE | Big 12 | 3 | Eddie Sutton's teams are renowned for their D, but is there enough scoring after senior guard Victor Williams (13.1 points a game)?

44 MANHATTAN | Metro Atlantic | 4 | Jaspers have dynamic scorer in guard Luis Flores (19.4 points a game) and add intriguing inside presence in 7-foot Romanian Mihai Enescu

45 BALL STATE | Mid-American | 3 | Seniors Theron Smith (19.6 points, 10.9 boards a game at forward) and Chris Williams (15.9 points at guard) give Cardinals strong one-two punch

46 TEXAS TECH | Big 12 | 4 | Bob Knight begins Year Two in Lubbock with proven guard in Andre Emmett (18.7 points a game) and promising hometown one in Josh Washington

47 GEORGIA TECH | ACC | 2 | Dangerous young team features '01-02 ACC rookie of the year in sophomore forward Ed Nelson and candidate to be his successor in 6'10" center Chris Bosh

48 CREIGHTON | Missouri Valley | 5 | Senior forward Kyle Korver (15.1 points a game), reigning conference player of the year, is back to lead Bluejays to fifth straight NCAA bid

49 UNLV | Mountain West | 2 | Georgetown transfer Demetrius Hunter joins guard Marcus Banks (15.8 points a game) and 6'10" Dalron Johnson (17.4) to get Rebels runnin' again

50 ILLINOIS STATE | Missouri Valley | 2 | Forward Baboucarr Bojang (13.2 points and 7.6 boards a game) and guard Trey Guidry, an N.C. State transfer, will have Redbirds fans chirping

51 EAST TENNESSEE STATE | Southern | 3 | Forwards Zakee Wadood (14.5 points a game) and Jerald Fields (13.5 points) head seasoned cast augmented by top-notch recruits

52 BUTLER | Horizon | 2 | Bulldogs finished No. 3 in nation in scoring defense (57.8 points a game), but others besides senior guard Brandon Miller (11.1 points) must score

53 UC SANTA BARBARA | Big West | 4 | Big gun is senior forward Mark Hull (15.2 points and 5.1 rebounds a game), who went for 32 points in loss to Arizona in NCAAs

54 UNC WILMINGTON | Colonial | 4 | All-conference (and all-name team) guard Brett Blizzard (17.9 points a game) leads experienced squad that shocked USC in last year's NCAAs

55 GEORGIA STATE | Atlantic Sun | 3 | Coach Lefty Driesell needs one win to become first coach with 100 W's at four schools; guard Lamont McIntosh will help him get it quickly

56 MURRAY STATE | Ohio Valley | 4 | Up-tempo squad can board with the best thanks to center James Singleton (10.1 rebounds a game) and swingman Cuthbert Victor (7.3)

57 ORAL ROBERTS | Mid-Continent | 3 | Coach Scott Sutton, son of Oklahoma State's Eddie, counts on money-in-the-bank forward Reggie Borges, a senior who shot 57.0% from field

58 EASTERN WASHINGTON | Big Sky | 3 | Eagles, losers of conference tournament final two years in a row, get over hump behind clutch guard Chris Hester (57.6% from field)

59 LAMAR | Southland | 5 | Two high-scoring seniors, forward Damany Hendrix (17.7 points a game) and guard Ron Austin (14.6), should lead experienced Cardinals to NCAAs

60 HAMPTON | Mid-Eastern | 4 | Going for third straight NCAA bid, Pirates lean on do-it-all swingman Isaac Jefferson (9.7 points, 9.4 rebounds and conference-best 4.2 assists a game)

61 WINTHROP | Big South | 3 | Forward Ty Walker (11.3 points a game) and point guard Pierre Wooten (9.3 points) will have mettle tested against brutal nonconference schedul

62 ALCORN STATE | SWAC | 3 | The home of these Braves -- E.E. Simmons Gymnasium -- ain't the land of the free: Alcorn is 43-2 on its own floor over past four seasons

63 BOSTON UNIVERSITY | America East | 5 | Top eight scorers are back, including junior Kevin Fitzgerald, who led conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.5 to 1)

64 WAGNER | Northeast | 2 | Dereck Whittenburg's Seahawks boast league's best scorer, forward Jermaine Hall (21.0 points a game), and top defender, guard Courtney Pritchard

65 HOLY CROSS | Patriot | 4 | In January 7'6" North Carolina transfer Neil Fingleton joins towering front line that features 6'8" senior Tim Szatko (13.6 points, 6.7 boards a game)

Issue date: November 25, 2002