Guard Juan Dixon is a Maryland legend

But they should be primed to make a run deep into the tournament.

Maryland showed their power often in the regular season, with impressive wins over several of the country's top teams, including Duke, Connecticut and Illinois.

Senior guard Juan Dixon leads the Terrapins' well-balanced attack and has already established himself as a legend at Maryland.

He is the only player in NCAA Division One history with 2,000 points, 300 steals and 200 three-pointers.

Of all the number one seeds, Maryland have probably the easiest road to the final four.

The Terrapins should face little resistance until the fourth round, when a likely rematch with Connecticut Huskies awaits.

Midwest

In the Midwest Region, Kansas Jayhawks look to add a Final Four appearance to their list of regular season accomplishments in 2002.

After losing their first game, Kansas won 29 of its next 30 before a shocking loss to Oklahoma in the finals of the Big Twelve Conference tournament on Sunday.

While the Jayhawks are possibly the deepest team in the tournament and a Final Four appearance is expected, they will face several tough opponents on their way to Atlanta.

Western Kentucky, Illinois and Oregon have all enjoyed wonderful regular seasons and could stand in the Jayhawks' way.

South

Defending champions Duke Blue Devils are the side to beat in the South Region, and could be the class of the entire tournament field.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski is the best coach in college basketball, with a remarkable nine Final Four appearances to his credit.

Guard Jason Williams is the leading contender to win 2002 player of the year honours, with forward Mike Dunleavy and centre Carlos Boozer not far behind.

USC Trojans could give Duke a difficult third-round test, but should be no more than a bump on the Blue Devils' road to the Final Four.

West

The West is the most evenly balanced of the four regions, and the most difficult.

Luke Walton is Arizona's star man

Cincinnati Bearcats earned the number one seed by playing the best defence in the country on the way to a superb 30-3 record.

Opponents have had trouble scoring against Cincinnati all season, and guard Steve Logan has been a scoring machine on the offensive end for the Bearcats.

But Cincinnati will have their hands full in the West and could be ripe for an upset.

Arizona reached the championship game last season and, though they have lost all but one of the players from last year's starting line-up to the NBA, could be the most dangerous team in the West.

Forward Luke Walton, son of basketball legend Bill Walton, has Arizona playing their best basketball of the season as they set out to reach their second consecutive Final Four.

Final Four

In what could be the most powerful Final Four ever, look for the three top teams in the nation - Kansas, Duke, and Maryland - to all make their way to Atlanta, as well as upstart number three seed Arizona.

And in a championship game that should match Atlantic Coast Conference rivals Duke and Maryland, the Blue Devils will show why they are the best team in the land.