MEMPHIS

1. Who the Hell Is Jeremy Hunt? The Memphis Tigers media guide had this important point to make before the Tigers' season started this year: "Of all the players on the squad, [Jeremy] Hunt may hold the key to the Tigers' success in 2005-2006." Say what? Hunt, a senior guard, ran into a few legal problems in the summer and was booted off the team before play began this year. Afterwards, Memphis set team records for most wins in a season, first-ever number 1 seed, first Sweet 16 in 11 years, and the list goes on. So much for insider knowledge.

2. Who the Hell Is Laurinburg Prep? Memphis starts two freshmen, and two others are usually the first ones off the bench. Those four and one more freshman on the team started last year on the Larinburg (N.C.) Prep team that went 40-0 and won the national prep title. These boys are young, but they expect to win big.

3. Who The Hell Is Kathy Bates? Let's face it: Anybody can beat anybody in the tourney, as we have already witnessed. So let's throw logic out the door and introduce the 7 Degrees of Memphis and California, home of the movie stars: Kathy Bates was in the movie "Misery" (remember when she took a sledge hammer to James Cain's ankle?); Kathy Bates used to live in Memphis; Misery was based on a Stephen King novel; Stephen King is best-buddies with John Grisham; John Grisham's novel-turned-movie "The Firm" was set and filmed in Memphis. Therefore, Memphis gets out of the Oakland region and into the Final Four. — John Harris

BRADLEY

1. Not So Much Of A Football School. Perhaps the most famous former Bradley Basketball player not named Hersey Hawkins is Detroit Lions tight end Marcus Pollard. Pollard played in Peoria from 1992-94. The bulky 6-foot-3 Pollard starred as an under-sized forward for the braves for two years, his final game coming in the third round of the 1994 NIT, when Bradley lost to basketball powerhouse Siena. Pollard did not play football for the Braves because Bradley has not fielded a football team in decades.

2. Like Sister, Like Brother. Candice Parker, who rattled the establishment last weekend by dunking twice in the same game (not too bad for a girl, I guess) is the sister of Bradley legend Anthony Parker. Anthony led the Braves to four postseason appearances during his time in Peoria, including the Braves last berth in the NCAA tournament in 1996. Selected 21st in the 1997 NBA draft by the Nets, Parker stayed in the league until 2000, when he moved to Israel to play for Maccabi Tel Aviv, who has won four Israeli National Championships since then. I have no idea who would win in a dunk contest between the Parker siblings, but I would assume Candice would since whenever a girl dunks it s the BIGGEST FREAKING STORY EVER!

3. Bradley Has Been "On The Map" Before. And they blew it. Losing both the 1950 NCAA and NIT title games to City College of New York wasn t really that bad (the NCAA finale was marred by a no-call which to this day is still debated about around Peoria) but in July of 1951, it was reported that five Bradley players took bribes to shave points in three games during the 49-50 season. Four of the players, including All-American point guard Squeaky Melchiorre, pled guilty to the charges. Melchiorre, who was 5-foot-8 but often played center, went on to be the No. 1 pick in the 1952 NBA draft, but never played a game in the league due to his tarnished reputation. If this happens to Patrick O Bryant, I m going to be seriously pissed. — Alex Fritz

Memphis Tigers: First Three Tiny Tidbits [Deadspin]
Bradley Braves: First Three Tiny Tidbits [Deadspin]

GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY
Location: Fairfax, Virginia.
Named For: George Mason (1725-1792).
What He Did: One of the founding fathers, known as the "Father of the Bill of Rights."
Not To be Confused With: George Mason, the character on the TV series 24, played by Xander Berkeley.
Why He Rocks: Although from a Virginia plantation family, was adamantly anti-slavery.

BRADLEY UNIVERSITY
Location: Peoria, Illinois.
Named For: Lydia Moss Bradley (1816-1908).
What She Did: American philanthropist, noted for founding and endowing the Bradley Polytechnic Institute, now called Bradley University. Established the first park system in Illinois.
Not To Be Confused With: Politician and former New York Knick Bill Bradley, whom she somewhat resembles.
Why She Rocks: First American woman to draft a prenuptial agreement to protect her assets.

Three Tidbits On Bradley [Deadspin]
Three Tidbits On George Mason [Deadspin]

KANSAS

1. Those Crazy Rush Brothers. Kansas star freshman Brandon Rush attended four high schools. His brothers, Jaron (most famous for drinking his way out of basketball) and the Charlotte Bobcats' Kareem, both attended Pembroke Hill, an small private high school. While in Kansas City, Brandon attended Westport, not exactly a school mentioned as one of the best in the KC area. That didn't prevent Brandon from not making his grades there, and was forced to go to Mount Zion to get his "degree." Apparently Mt. Zion did wonders for Rush, as Rush had over a 3.0 GPA in his first semester at Kansas.

2. They Retired Their Broadcaster's Number. Mad props to Kansas radio broadcaster Max Falkenstein. Depending on another Bucknell-like choke job, Falkenstein could be calling his last Jayhawk basketball game this week. Max spent 60 years on the job at Kansas, calling the team's football and basketball games. The team recently raised the number 60 to the rafters in honor of Falkenstein, who will be remembered by millions of KU fans as the voice of Kansas athletics.

3. They Were Kind of Co-Champs, Not Really. Memo to Bill Self: You lost to Texas. Badly. After drubbing Oklahoma on their homecourt on March 5, the Longhorns were presented with the regular season Big 12 trophy. Yes, the Longhorns did in fact tie the Jayhawks in the conference standings with a 13-3 record, but Texas drubbed the 'Hawks 80-55 in Austin, giving them the tiebreaker over KU. But apparently Bill Self didn't get that and was peeved when the team was not presented a trophy when they beat Kansas State on March 4 to clinch a share of the title. After hearing Self's complaints, the Big 12 chalked it up to a miscommunication and promised that it will never happen again. — Nick Bromberg

BRADLEY

1. They Have Eddy Curry's Old Sidekick. Patrick O'Bryant is Tyson Chandler if Tyson Chandler would have gone to a mid-major college instead of straight to The Association after high school. He's the Missouri Valley's Defensive Player of the Year, and the 7-foot, 260-pound sophomore is long, athletic and improving on his offensive game seemingly every day. After being forced to sit out the Braves first eight games of the season (Hey! Who the heck are you to judge!?! Like you ve never taken extra money from an employer!), O Bryant went on to snag eight boards a game and score 13.2 ppg.

2. How Will It Play In Peoria? Braves' coach Jim Les is turning Bradley into Peoria U. For years, Peoria's finest High School players have made a bee-line east down I-74 to play for the University of Illinois, and the city's second-tier prep stars went wherever they could fit in. When Les was hired four years ago, he promised that would change and made recruiting Peoria s prep players a priority. This year's Braves squad sports five players from the Peoria area. While the Illini continue to get some of the best prep players that Peoria has to offer, Les is beginning to finally reap the rewards of maintaining the city s local talent. In fact, rumors around campus are indicating that former Wisconsin Badger and native-Peorian DeAaron Williams may be a Brave next year.

3. Inexplicable Nickname Central. Senior super-sub Lawrence Wright is known around town as "Boogie." I don t know why, and, honestly, I don't want to know why. All I really need to know is that there s a guy on the team named "Boogie." Just saying "Boogie" puts a bounce in my step and makes my day a little happier. "Boogie." Try it yourself. Go ahead say it out loud: "Boogie." Now, don t you feel better? — Alex Fritz

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NCAA Tournament First Round Schedule [Deadspin]
Complete Deadspin First Round Matchup Previews [Deadspin]

(UPDATE: It has been pointed out that Nick Bromberg, the writer of the Kansas preview, is a Missouri fan. This has caused much consternation among the Kansas crowd. We didn't know Bromberg was a Mizzou guy when we assigned this to him, but, frankly, we don't think it's that big of a deal. It's not THAT mean. But we still apologize. If Kansas fans are upset, just sit back, relax and think, "Quin Snyder." It'll do wonders.

2. How Will It Play In Peoria? Braves' coach Jim Les is turning Bradley into Peoria U. For years, Peoria's finest High School players have made a bee-line east down I-74 to play for the University of Illinois, and the city's second-tier prep stars went wherever they could fit in. When Les was hired four years ago, he promised that would change and made recruiting Peoria s prep players a priority. This year's Braves squad sports five players from the Peoria area. While the Illini continue to get some of the best prep players that Peoria has to offer, Les is beginning to finally reap the rewards of maintaining the city s local talent. In fact, rumors around campus are indicating that former Wisconsin Badger and native-Peorian DeAaron Williams may be a Brave next year.

3. Inexplicable Nickname Central. Senior super-sub Lawrence Wright is known around town as "Boogie." I don t know why, and, honestly, I don't want to know why. All I really need to know is that there s a guy on the team named "Boogie." Just saying "Boogie" puts a bounce in my step and makes my day a little happier. "Boogie." Try it yourself. Go ahead say it out loud: "Boogie." Now, don t you feel better? — Alex Fritz