West Regional
The favorites:
Connecticut (27-4) " The Huskies spent four weeks atop the Associated Press poll, were 9-4 against ranked teams, and lost one road game " to Pittsburgh " all season. But UConn is 4-3 since guard Jerome Dyson has been out with a knee injury, including consecutive losses in their last two games.
The Huskies have also lost their last five NCAA Tournament games. But if they needed a mo-jo boost, they may have received one in their tournament placement: UConn's 1999 and 2004 national championship teams each used a regional in Phoenix as a launching pad to the Final Four.
Memphis (31-3) " The Tigers don't play in a power conference. True. The Tigers played four ranked opponents outside of conference and went 1-3. Also true. What does that mean against Cal State Northridge? Not much. But it might in the second round against California or Maryland.
Cinderella search:
Utah State (30-4) " All Coach Stew Morrill does is win. In his 11 seasons at Utah State, the Aggies are 267-90 with 10 consecutive 20-win seasons and 10 postseason appearances, including six NCAAs.
Must see games:
No. 4 Washington (25-8) vs. No. 13 Mississippi State (23-12) " The Southeastern Conference produced only three tournament teams, with the Bulldogs making it by winning the conference tournament to extend their winning streak to six. Jarvis Varnado, an athletic 6-9 junior, gives Mississippi State an inside presence to match Washington's Jon Brockman. The difference-makers could be Washington little guards " 5-8 freshman Isaiah Thomas (15.4 ppg) and 5-11 senior Justin Dentmon (15.0 ppg).
Rim shots:
That "AL" on the front of Marquette's uniform is in honor of the late Al McGuire, who coached the Golden Eagles to the 1977 national championship, beating North Carolina in the final. McGuire died of leukemia in 2001.
South Regional
The favorites:
North Carolina (28-4) " No one in Chapel Hill is going to chant "We're No. 3!" after the Tar Heels earned the third No. 1 seeding behind Louisville and Pittsburgh. Expectations were so high some people thought Roy Williams' team might go undefeated this year. That notion ended when, after a 13-0 start, the Tar Heels lost their first two conference games. Carolina rallied to win the ACC regular season title before falling to Florida State in a tournament semifinal.
Oklahoma (27-5) " The Sooners probably botched their chance of a No. 1 seeding by losing to arch-rival Oklahoma State in the Big 12 tournament. The team started 25-1 but is 4-6 since a Feb. 21 loss at Texas in which Sooners' star Blake Griffin was knocked out with a concussion. Griffin returned two games later, but the team's magic has not.
Cinderella search:
Morgan State (23-11) " The Bears are coached by Todd Bozeman, who is getting a second chance to rebuild a career he may have thought was finished more than a decade ago when he was chased from the sport after getting California put on probation. Last year, Morgan State won the MEAC regular season crown in Bozeman's first year, and this year he has the Bears dancing. The Cinderella chance? Earlier this season, Morgan State upset Maryland ... at Maryland.
Must see games:
No. 5 Illinois (24-9) vs. No. 12 Western Kentucky (24-8) " This has upset potential as Illinois has had trouble scoring this year, while Western Kentucky is making its 21st NCAA appearance Last year, Ty Rogers' last-second three pointer lifted the Hilltoppers to a first-round shocker against Drake.
Rim shots:
What have you done lately? No. 7 Clemson, which faces No. 10 Michigan in an interesting first-round match, is 7-8 after getting off to a 16-0 start.
East Regional
The favorites:
Pittsburgh (28-3) " The Panthers had an excellent season, winning every home game and knocking off some tough opponents on the road. They're capable of a down night, though, as they showed Thursday in losing to West Virginia in a semifinal of the Big East Conference tournament. In that game, Pitt went seven minutes without a field goal.
Duke (28-6) " The Blue Devils on Sunday won their eighth Atlantic Coast Conference title in 11 years. So does that mean they're on their way to bigger and better things? Not necessarily. The last four times Duke won its conference crown, it was knocked out in the Sweet 16. The school has struggled on the road at times this season, going 6-5 away from home.
Cinderella search:
Virginia Commonwealth (24-9) " The Rams, who play UCLA and are led by guard Eric Maynor, have some experience when it comes to upsets. Two years ago, Maynor hit a 17-foot jumper with less than two seconds remaining to shock Duke in the first round. In the next round, VCU nearly knocked off Pittsburgh before losing by five in overtime.
^Must see games
No. 6 UCLA (25-8) vs. No. 11 Virginia Commonwealth " With three consecutive Final Four appearances, UCLA is rich in experience. But the Bruins need to rekindle the defensive intensity that has been the hallmark of Ben Howland's success. UCLA needs its senior leaders"Darren Collison, Alfred Aboya and Josh Shipp " to step up in a big way.
Rim shots
"After East Tennessee State's Courtney Pigram was held to two points in consecutive games, fans organized an e-mail campaign to lift his spirits. It worked: the senior guard scored 16, 38, 15 and 30 points in his next four games.
Midwest Regional
The favorite
Louisville (28-5) " The Cardinals earned the overall top seeding in the tournament by winning both the regular-season and tournament championships in the Big East, which is widely considered the nation's most competitive basketball conference.
^Cinderella search
USC (21-12) " The Trojans showed in winning the Pacific 10 Conference tournament title that they are plenty good when it comes to single-elimination situations. Forward Taj Gibson gives USC a gritty and athletic inside presence, and Daniel Hackett is a stopper on defense. The key: freshman DeMar DeRozan.
Must see games
No. 8 Ohio State (22-10) vs. No. 9 Siena (26-7) " The Buckeyes get a tougher-than-you-might think draw here. Siena, champion of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, won a tournament game last season and gets good guard play from junior Ronald Moore (6.3 apg), Kenny Hasbrouck (14.8 ppg) and swingman Edwin Ubiles (14.6 ppg).
Rim shots
"North Dakota State is the first team since 1972 going to the tournament in its first season of eligibility. Woodside sent the Bison dancing with a top-of-the-key jumper with three seconds remaining to beat Oakland (Mich.), 66-64, in the Summit League tournament championship game. Coach Saul Phillips decided against taking a timeout on the last possession, instead putting the season in the hands of his star guard. "It turned out that the best job of coaching I've done in my career was just sitting there," Phillips said.