COLLEGE BASKETBALL : Here’s an Early Guess at NCAA’s Final 64

Only 51 shopping days until the NCAA tournament selection committee has to choose its field of 64 teams. With that in mind, we offer our friends at the NCAA these midseason recommendations:

From the Big East (7)--Pittsburgh, Connecticut, Georgetown, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Syracuse and Villanova.

From the Big Ten (5)--Indiana, Ohio State, Michigan State, Purdue and Iowa.

From the Atlantic Coast (5)--Duke, North Carolina, Virginia, North Carolina State and Georgia Tech.

From the Big Eight (5)--Oklahoma, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma State.

From the Pacific 10 (4)--Arizona, UCLA, Arizona State and Stanford.

From the Metro (3)--South Carolina, Memphis State and Southern Mississippi.

From the Southeastern (4)--Louisiana State, Georgia, Mississippi State and Alabama.

From the Southwest (3)--Arkansas, Houston and Texas.

From the Western Athletic (3)--Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico.

From the Big West (2)--Nevada Las Vegas and New Mexico State.

From the Sun Belt (2)--South Florida and Alabama Birmingham.

From the Missouri Valley (1)--Southwest Missouri State.

From the Ivy (1)--Princeton.

From the Colonial Athletic (1)--James Madison.

From the West Coast (1)--San Diego.

From the Southern (1)--East Tennessee State.

From the Midwestern (1)--Xavier.

From the ECAC North Atlantic (1)--Northeastern.

From the East Coast (1)--Towson State.

From the Trans America (1)--Texas San Antonio.

From the Ohio Valley (1)--Murray State.

From the Metro Atlantic (1)--Siena.

From the Atlantic 10 (1)--Temple.

From the Mid-American (1)--Bowling Green.

From the Mid-Continent (1)--Northern Illinois.

From the Big Sky (1)--Montana.

From the American South (1)--New Orleans.

From the Independents (1)--DePaul.

From the Patriot (1)--Fordham.

From the Southwestern (1)--Southern.

From the Northeast (1)--St. Francis.

From the Mid-Eastern (1)--Delaware State.

And now, our borderline teams: Cincinnati, Providence, USC, Texas Christian and Minnesota.

Finally, our Wish-You-Could-Be-There teams (but can’t because of NCAA violations): Kentucky, Robert Morris and Illinois.

How tough is the Big East this season? Good enough that seven teams should qualify for the NCAA tournament and the other two, Providence and Boston College, should receive National Invitation Tournament invitations.

“This is the best this conference has ever been,” said P.J. Carlesimo, Seton Hall coach. “There’s never been a year when we’ve had the depth we have top to bottom. This is truly the year when the seven, eight and nine teams can beat the one, two and three teams.”

Winner of this week’s Potty Mouth Award is shared by Oklahoma Coach Billy Tubbs and Missouri Coach Norm Stewart, who exchanged various expletives during and after Tuesday evening’s game at Columbia.

The first expletive, according to ear witnesses, came courtesy of Tubbs, who apparently was upset with the officiating. When Stewart made his way to the scorer’s table, where Tubbs and official Stanley Reynolds were conducting a discussion, the Oklahoma coach delivered a two-word greeting.

The second expletive came when Stewart and Tubbs shook hands after Missouri’s 80-72 victory against the 11th-ranked Sooners. The incident didn’t end until Missouri center Doug Smith intervened and shook Tubbs’ hand.

“Billy had directed some information my way during the ballgame,” Stewart explained carefully Wednesday. “I just took that in account and returned the pleasantry. I don’t know what he was ticked off about. Of course, I was called over and I had to listen to it.”

Tubbs told reporters the confrontation was Stewart’s fault.

“Ask (Stewart) what he said, his opening remark,” Tubbs said. “Can you use those words on TV or can you use those words in the newspaper?”

The two teams play again at Norman Feb. 2. Until then, Stewart can cherish a victory that was significant for several reasons:

--It marked Stewart’s 200th Big Eight victory. What better team to beat than one coached by his nemesis, Tubbs?

--The Tigers are 7-0 since the return of the talented but sometimes troubled guard Anthony Peeler. Peeler, ineligible because of academic problems, is averaging 21 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists since being inserted into the lineup Dec. 22.

--With Peeler available, Smith isn’t under so much pressure to carry this team. It shows, too.

“Doug Smith, he was over-trying the first two or three games,” Stewart said. “He was trying to do everything.”

Missouri (10-4 overall, 3-0 in the conference), is at Kansas Saturday.

Of the six Big East teams ranked in the top 25, few people expected Seton Hall (11-3, 4-2) to be one of them. Conference coaches chose the Pirates to finish seventh, which is actually a blessing of sorts.

Consider:

--The last time Seton Hall was picked seventh in the preseason poll, the Pirates advanced to the final game of the NCAA tournament.

--And when conference coaches predicted an eighth-place finish for Connecticut last year, the Huskies nearly advanced to the Final Four.

“We have no clue,” Carlesimo said of the Big East coaches’ annual attempts at choosing winners and losers. “Honestly, it’s a joke. When we heard we were picked seventh we said, ‘Good, we’re glad.’ ”

Still, beset by injuries at season’s beginning, Carlesimo worried about a repeat of last year’s struggle, when the Pirates won five conference games and went 12-16.

No need to fret. Sophomore guard Terry Dehere is averaging 20.4 points, center Anthony Avent is adding 19 points and 10 rebounds a game and freshmen foreign imports Arturas Karnishovas of Lithuania and Assaf Barnea of Israel are giving Carlesimo much needed roster depth. Gordon Winchester provides the defensive expertise.

In case you are wondering what’s wrong with Cal and Cal State Long Beach, the answer is simple: no point guards. . . . Only two seasons removed from a national championship, Michigan is 0-4 in conference play and 7-7 overall. That sort of thing happens when you lose five starters from a 23-8 team. Give Coach Steve Fisher two more years to rebuild. . . . No. 2-ranked Arkansas (16-1) is off to the best start of any Southwest Conference team since 1984, when Southern Methodist was 16-1. . . . Games to watch: Ohio State at Indiana, Monday; Pittsburgh at St. John’s, Saturday; North Carolina at Duke, Saturday.

Our top 10: 1) UNLV, 2) Arkansas, 3) Ohio State, 4) Indiana, 5) North Carolina, 6) Duke, 7) Syracuse, 8) Arizona, 9) Pittsburgh, 10) Kentucky.

Our waiting list: East Tennessee State, UCLA, Nebraska, LSU, Oklahoma and Virginia.