by Dave Wohlhueter

What is all this excitement in the air? Is it the coming of spring? With plenty of snow still on the ground, I think most of us are still thinking about indoor sports.

All kidding aside, the month of March annually is filled with exciting college basketball, beginning with the respective conference championships, selections for the postseason tournaments, exciting elimination play, with the culmination of all this hard work leading to the Final Four. This year's NCAA women's Final Four is being held at the Savvis Center in St. Louis March 30 and April 1.

The University of Connecticut (28-2) is the defending champion, so all roads to the national title go through the Huskies. They naturally have a No. 1 seed, as does Big East foe Notre Dame (28-2), SEC regular-season champion Tennessee (29-2) and Atlantic Coast Conference winner Duke (28-3). Any of these four teams could go all the way, with probably another half dozen schools, with a bit of luck and a lot of hard work, qualifying to be there too.

At this point, let's check out the regions to see who's hot:

East
A tough region headed by defending champion UConn, without it's two premier seniors, Svetlana Abrosimova and last year's NCAA Final Four MVP Shea Ralph. But, people have stepped in and the Huskies' sled has never stopped. UConn has not lost a game since Abrosimova's injury at Tennessee. The top scorer for Coach Geno Auriemma is junior forward Swin Cash (12.1 ppg.).

Georgia (26-5) is seeded No. 2 in the East, much to the Lady Dogs dismay, after winning the SEC tournament. Leading the way for Coach Andy Landers' troops are the Miller twins, Coco (15.9 ppg.) and Kelly (15.8 ppg.), a pair of senior guards. The regional finals could be quite a battle if UConn and Georgia remain on track-- both have Final Four experience.

But don't overlook No. 3 seed Louisiana Tech (28-4), because it, too, is no stranger to Final Four competition. Coach Leon Barmore's Lady Techsters, who captured their sixth consecutive Sun Belt Conference crown, take a 16-game winning streak into the NCAAs, and are paced by junior forward Ayana Walker (16.5 ppg.).

Mideast
Tennessee won the SEC regular-season championship by two games over Georgia and is this region's No. 1 seed. The Lady Vols have been in all 20 NCAA tournaments. Coach Pat Summitt lost senior forward Tamika Catchings, last year's Player of the Year, to a season-ending injury in mid-January, but many of the Vols picked it up, with losses only to UConn and Vanderbilt. One of those who grew into a prominent performer after Catchings' injury is the scoring leader junior center/forward Gwen Jackson (11.9 ppg).

Seeded No. 2 is Texas Tech (23-6), playing in its 12th straight NCAA tournament. Sophomore forward Plenette Pierson (14.5 ppg) leads Coach Marsha Sharp's Red Raiders.

No. 3 Purdue (26-6), currently coached by Kristy Curry, won the 1999 national championship and two key members of that team, senior guard/forward Katie Douglas (14.2 ppg.; at right) and senior center Camille Cooper (14.0 ppg.) know what winning is all about. The No. 4 seed, Xavier (28-2), won the Atlantic 10 tourney, and Coach Melanie Balcomb's Musketeeers are led by senior center Taru Tuukkanen (19.9 ppg.), a native of Finland.

The top seeds should advance to the regional finals, but don't overlook No. 8 Texas (20-12) with its legendary coach Jody Conradt, and No. 6 LSU (19-10), coached by Sue Gunter, who has beaten Tennessee five times in 32 meetings.

Midwest
It will be bombs away in this region, as all four of the top seeds can shoot the trey. And when not firing it up from the outside, they have outstanding inside people to go to.

No. 1 seed Notre Dame, co-winner of the Big East with UConn, is ranked No. 1 by Gballmag.com. Coach Muffet McGraw's Irish are led by Gballmag.com Player of the Year Ruth Riley, a 6-5 senior center (18.5 ppg., 7.5 rpg., 3.1 bpg.) up front. Notre Dame also boasts possibly the best backcourt in the country in senior Niele Ivey (12.3 ppg.) and sophomore Alicia Ratay (12.9 ppg.). Ivey converts the 3-pt. shot at 45.9 percent efficiency, while Ratay hits on 51.4 percent of her bombs from behind the arc.

No. 2 seed Iowa State (25-5), coached by Bill Fennelly, won the Big 12 Conference tournament and relies on four starters in double figures, led by junior center Angie Welle (18.1 ppg., 10.1 rpg.). Senior guard Megan Taylor (14.3 ppg.) is the school's all-time scorer.

No. 3 Vanderbilt (21-9) may be playing as well as anyone in the country entering the tournament. Coach Jim Foster's club beat Tennessee 77-74 in the SEC semis before losing at the buzzer to Georgia 62-60. Sophomore center Chantelle Anderson (21.1 ppg.) makes over 72 percent of her shots from the field on the country's best shooting team (55.0 percent).

No. 4 Iowa (20-9) surprised (although they were second during the regular season) everyone by winning the Big Ten tournament under new coach Lisa Bluder. They like an up-tempo game, led by junior guard Lindsey Meder (17.2 ppg.).

The Hawkeyes should be the host, but have to give in to the NCAA national wrestling championships being held in Iowa City. That will help No. 5 Utah (26-3) who ends up playing at home. Oregon (17-11) is a sleeping Duck, but be on the alert if internal unrest is kept at a minimum.

West
Duke won the ACC regular season and tournament to secure the No. 1 seed in the West. Coach Gail Goestenkors has a young, talented squad led by freshman guard Alana Beard (16.7 ppg.), everyone's Freshman of the Year throughout the country.

The Blue Devils have a very good shot at the Final Four for the second time in three years. But, for them to succeed, they must convert from the perimeter. Senior guard Georgia Schweitzer (14.0 ppg.) is the guiding light for the youngsters, in addition to having 44.7 percent success from behind the 3-pt. arc.

No. 2 Oklahoma (26-5), winner of the Big 12 regular season, may match up with Duke in the regional finals. Coach Sherri Coale turns to one of the best backcourts in the country in juniors LaNeishea Caufield (16.8 ppg.) and Stacey Dales (16.4 ppg.; pictured at right). This could be an "Annie Get Your Gun" affair.

No. 3 seeded Florida (23-5) also boasts of an excellent guard tandem in junior Brandi McCain (19.8 ppg.) and senior Tombi Bell (12.6 ppg.) for coach Carol Ross. No. 4 seed Rutgers is coached by C. Vivian Stringer--enough said. The Scarlet Knights win with defense led by senior guard Tasha Pointer (11.0 ppg.), who will be the first player, man or woman, in Big East history to have more than 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 800 assists and 250 steals. Senior center Tammy Sutton-Brown (12.0 ppg.) leads the offense.

An interesting battle could come in the second round when a Rutgers-SW Missouri State confrontation might happen. The No. 5 seeded Lady Bears boast the top scorer in Division I in senior guard Jackie Stiles (30.9 ppg.). Stiles is the NCAA all-time Division I scorer with 3,201 points.

The first and second round games will be held at the sites of the highest seeds except the Iowa-Utah switch in the Midwest. The East Regional will be held in Pittsburgh and the Mideast Regional in Birmingham, Ala. Denver is the host for the Midwest Regional, and the West participants will go to Spokane.

The Big 12 Conference produced the most participants with seven, followed by the SEC and ACC with six each. There are 10 first-time participants in this year's tournament.

Will there be upset? You can bet the mortgage on it. But this writer doesn't see any of the number ones bowing out. Look for a Final Four battle of UConn-Notre Dame, and Tennessee-Duke.