Cincinnati lost the likely player of the year and then a top seeding, Arizona and Stanford made Pac-10 history and Tark the Shark is swimming in the NCAA Tournament pool once again.

The annual unveiling of the 64 squads, seeds and imminent showdowns was full of the usual anticipation and drama Sunday, and the 10-member tournament selection committee made some history of its own by giving Michigan State (26-7) the top seed in the Midwest.

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The Spartans have the most losses of any No. 1 seed since the NCAA started using this selection process in 1979. Only three teams have earned top seedings with six defeats -- Georgetown (26-6) in 1982, and North Carolina in 1994 (27-6) and 1997 (24-6).

Moreover, Michigan State, Arizona (26-6), Stanford (26-3) and Duke (27-4) have more combined losses (20) than any other quartet of previous No. 1s. In 1990, Nevada-Las Vegas, Georgia Tech, Duke and Arkansas combined for the previous high-water mark for defeats with 19.

The stage is set for the most wide-open tournament since 1985, when the field was expanded to 64 teams and eighth-seeded Villanova mowed its way to the national championship.

The selection committee also created controversy. Chairman Craig Thompson, the commissioner of the Mountain West Conference, said that Michigan State had its No. 1 seeding before it played Illinois for the Big Ten tournament title on Sunday.

So the Spartans could have wound up as an eight-loss top seed. Temple (26-5), which won 17 of its last 18 games, would have been curious about that scenario. Not to mention Iowa State (29-4), which won 13 of its last 14 games.

The committee also used Cincinnati forward Kenyon Martin's season-ending ankle injury against the Bearcats, dropping them to the No. 2 seed in the South. But it seemed to overlook the fact that Arizona lost two games in Oregon the weekend before it grabbed a share of the conference crown against Stanford on Thursday.

Still, the Wildcats won nine of their last 11 games, and their strength of schedule rating of 13 was better than Temple's (31) or Iowa State's (67).

Temple coach John Chaney probably won't complain, however. The Owls were seeded second in the East sub-regional in Buffalo, where the stage could be set for a regional semifinal game against third-seeded Oklahoma State.

A day after receiving a 10-year contract extension, Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy has no reason to be bitter, either, toward the committee. The Cyclones had missed the last two NCAAs, but they'll open up against Central Connecticut State in the Midwest sub-regional in Minneapolis and might face a Chris Porter-less Auburn in the second round.

Also in Minneapolis, the surging UCLA Bruins rallied to garner the sixth seeding and could have a second-round matchup against third-seeded Maryland. An ensuing game for that victor against Iowa State should qualify that sub-regional as the toughest of the eight.

Of course, Jerry Tarkanian coached UNLV when the Rebels ran away with the 1990 title. A year later, UNLV lost a national semifinal game to Duke in Indianapolis, and then the Tark era in Vegas imploded under widespread scrutiny and allegations of wrongdoing.

The Shark landed in Fresno five years ago, but seasons of 22, 20, 21 and 21 victories were not enough to convince the selection committee of the Bulldogs' worthiness. Fresno State last made the field in 1984.

That streak ended Sunday, when a 24-9 record -- which included a high power rating, strong finish and three victories over fellow Western Athletic Conference power Tulsa -- earned Fresno State the ninth seed in the West.

In fact, a first-round game against eighth-seeded Wisconsin (18-12) in Salt Lake City will pit the two most contrasting styles -- sharks against turtles? -- of the tournament against each other.

The most fortunate program on Sunday was Indiana State, whose only previous appearance in the NCAAs took place when Larry Bird led it to the national championship game against Michigan State in 1979.

The Sycamores (22-9) earned their second berth by being the 63rd or 64th team of the field, squeezing ahead of teams like Virginia, Notre Dame, Southern Methodist, Vanderbilt and Xavier.

Bird's 12th-seeded alma mater gets Texas and center Chris Mihm in round one, and Stromile Swift and the rest of the fourth-seeded Louisiana State Tigers will likely be waiting for the Sycamores if they get by the Longhorns. Tall orders, indeed, especially without a Larry Bird Jr. around to help.

Indiana State and St. Bonaventure (21-9) were the final at-large teams selected, and the Bonnies open with always-dangerous and fifth-seeded Kentucky (22-9) in Cleveland. That winner will play the Syracuse-Samford victor, and Samford can rely on a win over St. John's this season for a confidence boost.

On the other side in Cleveland, Utah (22-8) limps into a game against upstart Saint Louis (19-13). Neither will be pleased about playing likely second-round foe Michigan State, which might have a Midwest semifinal against Kentucky.

A year ago in a memorable Midwest final in St. Louis, the top-seeded Spartans advanced to the Final Four with a 73-66 victory over the third-seeded Wildcats.

Arizona claimed its third No. 1 seed in 12 years, and a second-round showdown against Tarkanian in Salt Lake City could be a chance for Wildcats coach Lute Olson to exact some revenge on the Shark. In 1989, Tark's Rebels defeated Olson's 'Cats 68-67 in a West semifinal in Denver.

In Tucson, Gonzaga, the favorite underdog of last season's tournament by virtue of its stunning run to the Elite Eight, gets to play out West for a second consecutive year. Louisville (19-11), the Bulldogs' first-round foe, hasn't fared well on the road this season, and the selection committee did Big East tournament champ St. John's (24-7) no favors by pitting Gonzaga as a potential second-round foe for the Red Storm.

In fact, southern Arizona might have the most sweat and blood spilled on its court of any of the sub-regionals. Remember the Oklahoma-Michigan State bruising Midwest semifinal in St. Louis a year ago? Third-seeded Oklahoma (26-6) and sixth-seeded Purdue (21-9) are on a similar collision course in the second round in Tucson.

In the South, North Carolina (18-13) averted disaster by getting named to its record 26th consecutive NCAA Tournament. Exclusion would have handed the current record over to Arizona, which made the NCAAs for the 16th time in a row. Indiana (15) and UCLA (12) are next on the list.

However, inclusion came with a caveat for the Tar Heels, who will battle against a coach who is quite familiar with them. New Missouri coach Quin Snyder played at Duke and helped coach Mike Krzyzewski on the Blue Devils' staff, and Snyder has plenty of time to prep his ninth-seeded Tigers for the eighth-seeded Heels.

Whoever wins that one will truly be challenged, with only a day to prepare for the top-seeded Stanford Cardinal in Birmingham, Ala. And defending national champion and fifth-seeded Connecticut was dealt a difficult hand in the first round, as 12th-seeded Utah State (28-5) owns the nation's longest winning streak at 19 games.

Mateen Cleaves' Spartans have the most losses ever for a No. 1 seed. (AP)

Then fourth-seeded Tennessee (24-6), which failed to meet lofty expectations in the SEC Tournament, looms in the second round.

In Nashville at the bottom of the South bracket, UNLV (23-7) and Tulsa (29-4) might stage one of the most electric first-round games. Both run and thrive on excitement and adrenaline, which the winner will need plenty of in the second round against second-seeded Cincinnati (28-3).

According to Minnesota coach Dan Monson, who took Gonzaga on its fabulous run last year, the scariest team of the tournament might be 14th-seeded Appalachian State (23-8). That isn't good news for third-seeded Ohio State, which drew the Mountaineers in the first round.

And sixth-seeded Miami (21-10) can't be ecstatic about playing 11th-seeded Arkansas, which played itself into the NCAAs by winning the SEC Tournament on Sunday. Razorbacks coach Nolan Richardson calls his players "a bunch of puppy dogs," and he called Sunday's victory over Auburn the greatest win of his career.

Finally, Duke lurks in the East with its third consecutive No. 1 seed. Krzyzewski said this field is wide open, and that, as usual, it all depends on matchups. That's why Coach K probably sat down to dinner Sunday night with a wide smile.

The Blue Devils will meet the winner of eight-seeded Kansas and ninth-seeded DePaul, who can salvage mediocre seasons with a few more victories in March.

And even though the Blue Demons are making their first NCAA appearance in eight years, anyone who watched Cincinnati erase that 10-point deficit in the final minutes two weeks ago at Rosemont must question DePaul's focus.

The most entertaining second-round game might take shape in Winston-Salem, N.C., too, as fifth-seeded Florida (24-7) and fourth-seeded Illinois (21-9) would turn Memorial Coliseum into a track meet. Illini coach Lon Kruger, who took the Gators to the Final Four in 1994, better pick the correct orange-clad bench.

The other half of the East will be played out in Buffalo, the perfect Arctic setting for Chaney to rally his Owls against the world. Or, at least, the Blue Devils. Duke crushed Temple by 21 points in the East Regional final a year ago in East Rutherford, N.J., and they could meet again in the East Regional final in Syracuse.

Krzyzewski might think the NCAA Tournament is as wide-open as it's ever been, and most might agree. But after a season full of suspensions and unfortunate injuries, the start of the real season is more than welcomed. Let the mayhem begin.