From the ground level, because the court is elevated four feet, you cannot see the feet of the players. "We'll have to let the officials call traveling," quipped one sports writer.

No, the vast Astrodome is not a perfect place to watch a basketball game. The national television audience probably will have a better view of the semifinals of the N C A A basketball tournament tonight than many in the expected crowd of 35,000.

The guys who'll be playing though, had few if any complaints about the setting after workouts Wednesday.

They'd wondered after reading UCLA coach Johnny Wooden's comments, where he pointed out that every one of is players shot below his average two year ago against Houston. "the dept perception is different and that might affect the shooting a little," Wooden said.

"It's all right," said Kansas coach Ted Owens after KU's workout. "We shot pretty well, I thought. We won't have any excuses because of that."

"There's a little problem with the glare from the light," said Jayhawker Dave Roblach, "but if you look at the rim that won't bother you too much."

"It felt pretty nice," said KU's Pierre Russell of the court, but he indicated he didn't know if he could be so reckless at going after loose balls at the end of the court -- with that four-foot drop off. "It's kind of far to fall."

Owens, though, no doubt had Pierre in mind when asked about the elevated court. "It won't bother us," he said, "but it might bother the people in the first row seats."

"It's a little different because of the amount of space behind the backboards," commented Kansas' Bud Stallworth, "but once I got used to it, it was okay."

Players from other teams echoed similar comments.

"Kansas' court is similar to this, but not this high," said Villanova star Howard Porter. "The corners are really tough because of the lights. When you can see the backboards, it's not as bad. You have a background."

"There's no problem," said Western Kentucky ace Jim McDaniels. "I like it. It's a lot better than I thought it would be. There is one spot under the basket where it's going to be tough to rebound because of the light."

It's not surprising that the players adjusted to the strange surroundings after a few minutes. Most of them have played the game on all kinds of surfaces in all kinds of conditions.

"We played on outdoor courts all the time, even on dirt, on a trip last summer," said McDaniels. "We even got rained out once in Rumania."

KU's Robisch was on the same junket.

Villanova and UCLA, not rain, will be McDaniels' and Robisch's problem respectively, tonight.

Villanova, although the only unranked team here, has been established a 2 1/2-point favorite over Western Kentucky in the 6:40 p.m. opener.

"I'm not going to say it's to our advantage not to be ranked," said Porter, "but it makes you feel good to be unranked and be here. We're just a unknown that came out of the garden soil and just sprouted up."

UCLA, going for its fifth straight championship, is an 8-point choice over Kansas in the 8:40 finale.

"They undoubtedly have the greatest talent in the country," said Owens of the Bruins. "But I think it's easier to have an upset in basketball than in football. So much of the game is tied up in shooting percentages."

Both games will be carried on television in Topeka by KTSB (channel 27).

Tonight's winners advance to the title game at 3:10 Saturday when a crowd of 40,000 is expected in the 52,000-seat Astrodome.