Conventional wisdom says one does not shave his head for just any basketball game, so it was really not surprising that five members of the Kansas Jayhawk band arrived in Tempe for the first and second rounds of the West Region of the NCAA Tournament sans hair. Casting physical appearance aside, these brave souls went so far as to decorate their domes so that when they stood in line and bowed their heads, they spelled GO KU !.

Yes, only in March would trumpet players have that much courage.

The band members weren't the only ones. Even the cheerleaders got into the act. In the second half of the Iowa-George Washington first-round game, Hawkeye forward Jess Settles plowed into the Colonials' cheer line after a loose ball, and as he tried to come back on the court, he was pushed by one of the male GW cheerleaders. Settles, who is physical to the point of being a little bit dirty on the court, would have none of that. He pushed back, but still had a slightly puzzled look, like he couldn't believe he was just attacked by a guy who wears white polyester slacks and Keds.

Tempe was one of eight centers of the college basketball universe this past weekend, and while it was the supernovas - Arizona and Kansas - that moved on to Denver, some of the best moments were provided by the Neptunes of Division I.

There was Valparaiso head coach Homer Drew doing his best "Hoosiers" imitation. When he was asked, in front of a slew of television cameras before the Crusaders' first-round game with Arizona, just where Valparaiso was located, his answer was pure Norman Dale (the coach Gene Hackman played in the movie).

"Valparaiso is 50 miles southeast of Chicago (in Indiana), and we hope to show we play pretty good basketball there," he said.

You almost have to wonder if he pulled out a tape measure just to show his kids the rims at Arizona State's University Activity Center were the same height as the ones back home.

Even after their 90-51 thrashing at the hands of the Wildcats, the Crusader coach, who for the last three years has been coach of the year in the Mid-Continent Conference, was all smiles and even managed to open his press conference with a statement that showed the hopes of all the teams in the Big Dance.

"We came out here looking to do a little two-stepping, but Arizona did a break dance on us," he said.

Any talk of the Tempe bracket would have to include Steve Nash, the splendid point guard for Santa Clara who blitzed Maryland for 28 points in the first round, but stood out more for his easygoing manner than for his skills on the court.

Always in control, and seemingly never without a smile, this was one player who really was just happy to be there. If he was not patting his teammates on the back, he was applauding the numerous Bronco fans who made the trip for the weekend.

One Bronco fan demands mention. A dreadlocked fellow, sitting directly behind press row, yelled encouragement, and occasional barbs, the entire game. Yes, I mean the entire game; no bathroom breaks, no time to stuff in a hot dog € he yelled the entire 40 minutes.

Sunday, that same fan was suffering right along with his Broncos, who were in the process of getting ripped by Kansas. The guy was so hoarse from Friday's outburst, he could barely be heard above the din of the reporters using their computers.

Like his team, he gave all he had at the NCAAs.

Patrick Klein is the sports editor of the Arizona Daily Wildcat