2) Special Ed Because of injuries and suspensions, bench production has been a bit thin. The exception is skinny Ed Davis, a defensive presence and rebounding machine. Against LSU he had more minutes, points, rebounds, and blocks than starter Deon Thompson.

3) The guards smell blood In each of UNC's losses, the opposing backcourt went off and carried the team to victory. That drooling sound you hear? Guards dreaming of shooting down Hansbrough's last shot at a title and becoming the next great Carolina villain. — SPS

GONAZGA BULLDOGS

1) Rock Chalk, Ex-Jayhawk Gonzaga has been using 6' 9" wing/guard Micah Downs in the starting lineup lately, bringing former starter Steven Gray off the bench—this gives the Zags 3 starters (Downs, Daye, Heytvelt) over 6' 8"— opponents don't usually counter with that kind of size in the lineup, and it presents matchup problems, especially when Downs spots up behind the arc. Downs last played for Kansas under—small world—current Carolina coach Roy Williams.

2) It's like an entire team of Euros Gonzaga lives and dies by the three point shot—and seven guys on the team are legitimate long-range threats, including Daye and Heytvelt, the bigs. All five starters plus Gray have more than 20 3pt makes on the season; Bouldin leads the team in this category with 55 (through the regular season), and Heytvelt, Bouldin and Daye all shoot 40% or better from 3pt range. The guards are all >35% 3pt shooters, and each have over 120 3pt attempts. In the tournament, Pargo and Bouldin each made 3 triples against Western Kentucky. Tight perimeter defense tends to free up Daye and Heytvelt inside—witness their 60+ percent shooting against Akron.

3) Playing while maimed Gonzaga has been down at the half in each of its tournament games, by 3 to Akron, and by 2 to Western Kentucky. In each case, Gonzaga rallied in the second half to hold off their opponents, while coping with rectal tearing and straining from the half-time speech. Coach Mark Few lost his eyebrows at halftime against Akron, prompting a collection to be taken up in Spokane for restorative surgery. — Johninho

2) Case closed Michigan State is 5-0 all-time in NCAA Tournament games in Indianapolis and 7-0 as a No. 2 seed. It's like they don't even need to play the game. (Seriously, if Kansas wants to forfeit, that's cool with me.)

3) Half Right Like they did against Kansas in January, the Spartans have a habit of shutting down opposing offenses for long stretches of time. It's a trait that is reminiscent of the 2000 championship team, which was one of the best defensive and rebounding teams ever seen. However, State also has a less attractive habit of forgetting to score their own points during those stretches. For example: in their second-round game against USC, the Trojans tied the score at 67 with 4:36 left, yet scored no more field goals the rest of the game. Over the same period, Michigan State scored two and the game was still in doubt with under a minute to go. Yes, defense wins championships, but it helps to throw a few points in there too.

KANSAS JAYHAWKS

1) The Beast From Bloomington With 13 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 blocks, Cole Aldrich recorded the first official triple-double in Kansas Jayhawks history last Sunday against against the Dayton Flyers. Why the official disclaimer? The NCAA didn't record blocks or steals until 1986. I have no idea how the hell that's even possible, but when it comes to the NCAA there's nothing they can't screw up, even stats. If we ignore the official caveat, one must go back to 1957 for the last Kansas triple-double, which of course was posted by Wilt Chamberlain during Christmas Break '57 when he "acquainted himself with" 14 redheads, 12 blondes, and 11 brunettes in the course of a single Saturday night. Back then, of course, "acquainting oneself with" a young woman was a euphemism for anal sex.

2) This time it's personal It's only been a little over two months since KU met Michigan State in the regular season (the results of which shan't be discussed here), but it's been slightly longer since the two basketball powerhouses have met in the NCAA Tournament. In 1986, the Jayhawks met the Spartans in a Southeast Regional semifinal matchup at Kansas City's godforsaken Kemper Arena. Some shot clock irregularities gave the Jayhawks an extra 10-15 seconds of game time, which they used to complete their comeback from a second-half deficit and send the game into overtime, which they then of course won. Michigan State fans were livid about the supposed home cooking, and it's one of those minor footnotes in history that fans on the internet still get all CAPS LOCK-y about still today while conveniently ignoring the fact that Michigan State blew a few chances in the waning moments of the second half to seal a victory.

3) Your seats, show them to me. The greatest KU basketball story ever told isn't one you'll find in the pages of Inside Sports or the Twitter feed of Rick Rielly. No, the greatest KU basketball story ever told is the one that popped up last year on an anonymous, now-dormant blog. Both Kansas fans and opposing fans have latched onto it with glee, and retell it with relish. Is it true? Who knows? Who cares? Ladies and gentlemen, the AIN'T NO SEATS story:

Someone from my dorm last year had a class with Sherron Collins and a few other basketball players (Darrell Arthur, Brady Morningstar, maybe someone else) and they always sit next to each other and cheat on tests and such. Sherron enters class on a test day and immediately goes and sits right next to the other players, and of course you're supposed to have a seat between you and the closest person. The teacher tells Sherron to sit in the front of the class, where there are five or six completely empty rows. Sherron doesn't even look up and just yells 'AIN'T NO SEATS' and proceeds to continue in his studious ways and miraculously gets an A on the test while sitting next to the basketball players.

Remember — "Most of us are going pro in something other than sports."

2) Syracuse has just offered a scholarship to Randy Couture Blake Griffin's first two box scores of the tourney are getting a lot of talk, as well as Ameer Ali's judo-flip of him in round one. But neither thing is really anything new for Griffin this season. That's (at least) the fourth cheap shot Griffin has been hit by this year (crotch shot, leg sweep, punch in the back of the head, about 200 bloody noses) and he's had 13 games where he's put up at least 20 points and 15 boards. Right now he's averaging 30.5 ppg and 15 rpg during the tournament. And Syracuse has had trouble with quality big men this year (Cole Aldrich had 15 and 16 against them and DeJuan Blair 20 and 12). Kristof Ongenaet better start working on his Stone Cold Stunner.

3) Going downtown, like the Petula Clark song Coming in to the tournament, the Sooners had been in a bit of a slump and a lot of the reason for that was poor outside shooting. Teams were packing the paint to handle Griffin and the OU guards weren't hitting from three. But against Michigan, some of that sweet outside shooting that helped bump the Sooners to the top five for most of the year returned. Austin Johnson went 3-4 from downtown and Willie Warren went 3-6 as the team hit six moneyballs total. In OU's previous two losses, the Sooners hit a total of seven threes with Johnson going 2-9 from three and Warren 3-12. And as we all know, three-point shooting and guard play is going to kind of be a key for OU against Syracuse. No sign from Tony Crocker though who is 0-6 from three so far in the tournament. — Royce Young (Daily Thunder)

SYRACUSE ORANGE

1) Devolutionary War When he's not busy creating new strains of cancer and enslaving small African nations, Eric Devendrof plays basketball for Syracuse University. Okay, maybe he doesn't actually do those things but you'd never know it from the vitriolic reaction his name inspires. From The Big Lead to Slate to Sports Illustrated, Devendorf has been named the most hated player in college basketball. Aside from the alleged punching incident earlier this year (which, for what's it worth, he was cleared of actually doing), it's his trash-talking, cockiness and post-shot celebrations that usually set people off. Unfortunately for them, since he continues to hit big shots when it matters most, they're only going to get angrier.

2) Big 12 Champs The last time Syracuse played Oklahoma in the NCAA Tournament was 2003 when the Orange defeated the Sooners 63-47 in the Elite 8, en route to their first and only National Title. Oklahoma was just one of four Big 12 teams that Syracuse played in the tournament that year, including Oklahoma State in the 2nd round, Texas in the Final Four and Kansas in the Championship game. The Orange have yet to receive their 2003 Big 12 Champions banner.

3) Walking In Memphis...Again It might come as a surprise to some to know that the Orange actually left the state of New York in November and December this season. The big knock against SU is always their soft OOC schedule and that's what many pointed to the last couple years when the Orange were on the wrong side of the bubble. This year the Orange logged some decent frequent flyer miles before conference play, beating Florida and Kansas in "neutral" Kansas City. They also traveled to Memphis to take on, and beat, the Tigers. At the time the win meant a lot to the Orange's RPI. Little did they know the experience of playing in the FedEx Forum would come in handy as well. — Sean (Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician)

2) Defense Win Championships An overused cliche, but a perfect fit for Rick Pitino's team. Obviously making shots are a necessity in basketball, but when the Cards are hitting it allows them to throw on the most vicious, in-your-grill press in college hoops. Guards Andre McGee, Jerry Smith and Preston Knowles make life living hell for opposing guards causing frequent turnovers. They are like wild dogs—the kind Mike Vick would lay the heavy bread on. Pitino says getting 35 deflections on defense will get you the win 9/10 times. The turnovers caused by the ferocious press get the Cards easy buckets and harm the opposition's morale. The Cards have been known to go on 15-0 or 23-2 runs based solely off their press which completely cripple their opponents. If the Cards' shots are falling and the patented Pitino press is engaged the Cards will be extremely tough to beat.

The Mystery of Earl Clark Earl "E5" Clark might be the most talented player to come through Louisville in the last 25 years. How he uses that talent is a different story. Recently Clark has had a monster games and is a double-double machine. However, Earl has been known to make horrendous decisions at the most inopportune times (ie: walking, lazy passes). This is something that has to concern Pitino moving forward. Clark turned it up for the tourney last year by eating Blake Griffin's breakfast lunch and dinner then taking his girlfriend out for a steak dinner and never calling her back in the second round. That is the E5 that needs to show up for Louisville. When Clark is ready to play that way, he gets this Bruce Banner-like look in his eye and just starts grabbing board after board and dunking on people's heads. Yet you really never know when that's going to happen. His draft stock is at stake and so are the title hopes of the Fightin' Cardinals, so for the Cards' sake let's hope the good E5 shows up. — Rob Jones (The L Yes! Report)

[Ed: We didn't get a new capsule for Louisville and I'm too tired to write one. Sorry.]

ARIZONA WILDCATS

1) Defense? Defense! Arizona exclusively plays a 1-1-3 zone. If you like shooting wide open threes, this defense should not scare you. Entering the tournament, Arizona's opponents shot 35.5% from behind the arc, resulting in the 244th best 3-pt defense in the country. But in their two tourney wins, opponents Utah and Cleveland State shot just a combined 11-55 from three-land. If a team is patient against the Cats, they'll always be able to get an open look (especially on the baseline).

2) The Little Engine That Could Point guard Nic Wise is a microcosm of Arizona's season ... both amazing and frustrating, often at the same time. Wise has an uncanny knack for getting the ball to the rim. But he also plays with reckless abandon, knowing there isn't anyone on the bench to replace him. Plus, this is his seventh coach in the last seven seasons. Wise had a different coach every year in high school and three new ones in college. Next year in Tucson will make it eight for eight.

3) Coach Like Every Game Is Your Last This is particularly true for Russ Pennell. Even a Steve Fisher-esque run to the Final Four won't earn him the full-time job next season. But just being in the tournament made it a successful season for the Wildcats, and probably opened the door for a head coaching job at a smaller school for Pennell. For ‘Zona fans, being able to watch at least one more game helps kill the time until they find out who's really taking over for Midnight Lute. — Brad Burnes

2) Backyard Brawl, Sort of In addition to Zoubek, Duke has a few other players from the general Philadelphia area, giving this weekend's game an extra emotional dimension. As is typical with most Blue Devils, they have overcome hardscrabble backgrounds to succeed. Gerald Henderson, for example, fought his way up from the mean streets of Merion, Pennsylvania, while up the Jersey Turnpike Lance Thomas beat the odds in Scotch Plains. And don't even get me started about David McClure and Ridgefield, Connecticut. So let's hear it for these gritty, gutty underdogs.

3) You're Not Helping And it's not as if Duke will have the Boston crowd on its side. Granted, more than a few Duke families will clip more than a few coupons to buy tickets on Stubhub so their precious, precious children can attend the game, but everyone else will be rooting for Nova. Duke's status as the most hated team in college basketball is unlikely to change at this point, and this year's crop of tournament-oriented commercials is not making it any easier to be a Duke fan. Okay, at least Dick Vitale doesn't work for CBS and, okay, at least American Express isn't running those awful Coach K spots this year, but the Vitamin Water commercial with Christian Laettner and Rick Pitino… did we really need that? — Charles Dainoff

VILLANOVA WILDCATS

1) Flip of a Coin It's difficult to determine which Wildcat team will show up on Thursday vs Duke in Boston. The first round game against American highlighted some problems the Wildcats occasionally experience. American was able to exploit Villanova's weak perimeter defense and consistently force the Wildcats to scramble in transition. Villanova's lack of a true center forces their defense to over-compensate and stay close to the paint; teams with strong 3-point shooting are able to take advantage of this. However, as the UCLA game illustrated, Villanova is capable of running a fluid and fast-pace offense that is difficult to defend against. Nova's strong guard play from Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher overwhelmed UCLA. Villanova, as with many Big East teams, is very physical and Duke will be forced to keep up with Nova's style.

2) Balancing Act Villanova is one of the more balanced teams in the tournament. In the UCLA game, 6 players scored in double digits and 6 had at least 3 rebounds. It's difficult to completely shut down the Wildcats offense due to their ability to move the ball around and score from all areas of the floor. Corey Fisher, a sophomore guard and Big East 6th Man of the Year, has been a huge part of Villanova's recent success. His ability to bring the ball up the court and create plays on his own has allowed the Nova offense to spread out.

3) If You Aren't Already Convinced... Thursday's game will provide what many NCAA basketball fans have been waiting for: a major matchup between a Big East and an ACC team. Although the Big East has made quite the showing with 3 number 1's and 5 teams heading to the Sweet 16, the debate continues as to which conference is the toughest. Thursday's game pits two strong programs, both with styles representative of their conferences, against each other. Villanova will look to control the pace of the game while setting the tone with strong physical play. Duke will attempt to unravel the Wildcat defense with strong perimeter shooting. The game has the potential to be one of the more exciting games so far in the tournament. — CRyan (3:10 To Joba)

2) More than just flash Even though most fans associate the Tigers brand of basketball with a wide-open playground style, they actually play some defense. In fact, according to the statistical wizards over at KenPom.com, Memphis has the most efficient defensive team in the nation allowing just 81.2 points per 100 opponent possessions.

3) Stepping up under the bright lights Not only was Robert Sallie's 35 points against Cal State-Northridge a career-high (previous high: 13 points), it was also more points than he has scored in the previous month (33 points in 8 games). — Rush the Court

MISSOURI TIGERS

1) Don't call it a comeback Ok, do. If and when Missouri goes into the locker room at halftime trailing by double digits, most Missouri fans won't necessarily be worried—the Tigers are used to falling behind. Any lead of less than 15 points is not safe against Missouri's pressing defense and tendency to score in bunches. Missouri has come back to win from deficits of 14 vs. Kansas, 12 vs. Southern Cal, and 11 at Texas. In two close-but-no-cigar games, the Tigers whittled deficits of 26 down to 7 at Texas A&M and 18 down to 1 at Nebraska. During the A&M game, one commentator said that a lead of 25 against Missouri is like a lead of 15 against any other team. This is not true, as numbers carry the same value in Missouri as they do in other states, but MU certainly has the ability to climb back out of deep holes. On the flipside, the Tigers have squandered their share of big leads throughout the season. Coach Mike Anderson's teams tend to play the same frenetic style in a tie game as they do with a 20-point lead which means lots of trapping, lots of fouling, lots of broken full-court presses, lots of easy buckets for opposing teams and lots of business for cardiologists and shrinks throughout Missouri. In lucky-to-be-winning efforts, the Tigers fumbled away leads of 19 vs. Oklahoma State and 16 vs. Marquette. Murray State cut a 16-point second-half deficit to 4. A 5-point lead against Xavier with 3:00 left resulted in a loss. Regardless of which Tiger team jumps out in front the game should be close by the final buzzer.

2) Assist-to-Turnover Purists Bow to Missouri This ultimately means that no one bows to Missouri, but basketball stat geeks will notice that the Tigers have been among the leaders in a few not-so-obscure statistical categories for most of the season. Among the remaining 16 tournament teams, Missouri ranks #2 in scoring offense, #5 in margin of victory, #5 in 3-point FG defense, #1 in assists/game, #1 in assist-to-turnover ratio, #1 in steals/game, #1 in turnovers/game (in the good way) and #1 in turnover margin. The Tigers are the best passing team in the tournament and a testament to their team play is the fact that no player is averaging over 3.6 assists/game. When Missouri is moving on offense and crisply passing the ball they're hard to stop. If Missouri depends on 1-on-1 play look for Memphis to win big.

3) Leo Lyons and Matt Lawrence did not see this coming Both players were recruited by former Missouri coach Quin Snyder and their introduction to Missouri basketball was probably less enjoyable than they had expected. Their freshman season entailed the firing of Snyder and a 12-16 finish—good for Missouri's lowest win total since 1973. If the end of Snyder's reign at Missouri was the dark ages, Lyons and Lawrence joined the team at right around the time of the plague. Enter Mike Anderson. Over the course of Lyons and Lawrence's sophomore and junior seasons the Tigers compiled a mediocre record of 34-28, enjoying brief flashes of on-the-court success and suffering through more off-the-court embarrassment. Some players transferred, some players quit, some players were arrested, some players were shot, some players were kicked off the team, but Lyons and Lawrence rode out the turbulence. As freshmen they played on one of the worst teams in the history of modern Missouri basketball. As seniors they play on one of the best. — Tyler Wells

2) Coach Feels Lousy? Good! UConn head coach Jim Calhoun fell mysteriously ill just before the Huskies' first-round win over the Chattanooga Mocs, leaving former Holy Cross head man George Blaney to run the team. You'd think this kind of thing would be a distraction for the team, but not so much. Turns out Calhoun had similar bouts of the 24-hour whoopsies in 1999 and 2004, both years in which UConn won championships. Looks like ol' Jim is leaving nothing to chance this season.

3) Wide Margins We can be forgiven for wondering if anyone plans to show up and take the floor against UConn in Glendale. Lord knows, the first two Husky opponents of the tournament were barely there. The Chattanooga Mocs fell 103-47 (a 56-point margin) and more robust opponent Texas A&M was able to keep the margin of crushing defeat to a respectable 26 points. Add a stiff shot of defense to your next Boilermaker—you're going to need it. — Eric Angevine (Storming The Floor)

PURDUE BOILERMAKERS

1) Big Shot Rob Robbie Hummel was pre-season Big Ten Player of the Year...and as he got healthy late in the regular season (hey, if you haven't heard, he has a stress fracture in his back and wears a plastic brace—CBS even has pictures to prove it!), it became obvious just how valuable he is for Matty Painter's squad. He was the Big Ten Tourney MVP because of his ability to always be near the ball and to make things happen on offense...but he's a dead-eye shooter and that's why he gets so much respect.  He even earned a spot on SI's regional cover prior to the Purdue v. UNI game (the same SI that, in their bracket, referred to "Keady-like defense" when talking about a team Keady hasn't coached in five years)...but Robbie's first two rounds were as quiet as IU's Memorial Stadium on a fall afternoon. (Hey-yo!) So we think he's long overdue. He's averaging 8 points and 9 boards per game in the tournament—he's usually a 12.4/7.

2) Miles to go before they sleep. Purdue's team decided to forego returning to West Lafayette for two days following their win over Washington in Portland, Oregon, and instead decided to go directly to Arizona to prepare for the round of 16 in Glendale. UConn, conversely, slept in their own beds until Tuesday when they headed west. We'll see if the time change/environmental change has any effect on the favored Huskies. The dry air in Arizona takes some getting used to. If UConn struggles with cramps while the Boilers don't on Thursday, Matty will look like even more of an evil genius...Hopefully this tactic doesn't prompt the Boilers to spend too many nights in Detroit if they should move on to the Final Four.

3) For our next trick, we'll make our offense disappear. If you've watched any Purdue basketball this year, you know a few things. First, Matty Painter is a handsome devil. Second, Purdue's offense has the Copperfield-like ability to disappear, without any warning, at any time. And finally, defense makes this team go. It's been said that a 10-point lead for Purdue is like a 20-point lead for many other teams. We saw just how important the defense was versus Washington as Purdue's JaJuan Johnson altered an estimated seven Huskies shots in the final three minutes and had two outright blocks in the closing seconds of Purdue's win last round. On an unrelated note, JaJuan doesn't like it when dogs stick their tongues out at him. — Boiled Sports

2) Solomon Alabi, From Nigeria to New York via destiny? After not playing much last season, Florida State center Solomon Alabi has quickly become one of the more dominating big men in the ACC. Considered the 24th best player in the nation when he came out of high school, Alabi didn't start playing organized hoops until leaving his home country of Nigeria as a teenager. So no, he has absolutely nothing in common with Saleh from the 1994 Kevin Bacon classic, "The Air Up There." As a matter of fact, Alabi might want to do whatever it takes to distance himself from the movie as Bacon's character was named "Jimmy Dolan", a name way too close to New York Knicks craptastic CEO James Dolan. To add insult to frequent injury, according to the official Florida State athletic site, Alabi is being compared to Knicks bust Antonio McDyess.

3) Many, many, moons ago in 1998 The Noles have not made an NCAA Tournament in over 10 years. Not since 1998. Yet even their dance in the Year of McGwire and Slammin' Sammy is ripe with coincidences. Way back in the ancient days of yester-century, the Noles engaged in battle with the mighty Crusaders from Valparaiso. Led by Bryce Drew, what they had there was a Crusader victory. But all was not lost for the team from Tallahassee. Even in defeat, they could find solace. After winning, Bryce Drew married Tara Thibedeaux, daughter of Keith Thibodeaux, better known as "Little Ricky" on the show "I Love Lucy." Also making an appearance on "I Love Lucy", albeit for one show, was actress Joan Crawford. In her epic disaster of a bio pic, "Mommie Dearest", Crawford was played by Hollywood starlet Faye Dunaway, who went to, among other colleges, Florida State.

Bonus plea to the Seminole gods: Back in 2000-2001, current FSU coach Leonard Hamilton presided over a disastrous Washington Wizards team that went 19-63. According to Basketball-Reference.com, however, the Wizards were supposed to have won 23. Those four wins destiny owes Leonard Hamilton could get the Noles to the Final Four. — Jordi Scrubbings (The Serious Tip/ScalpEm/Thunder Matt's Saloon)

WISCONSIN BADGERS

1) Livin' on the Edge The 12th-seeded Wisconsin Badgers have been up-and-down this year, to put it mildly—in conference, they had winning streaks of three and five games apiece, and a losing streak between the two that reached six—but thanks to a surprisingly strong not-completely-horrible better-than-the-SEC Big Ten, head coach Bo Ryan managed to smuggle the Badgers into the dance for the 11th straight season. Only Arizona, Kansas, Duke, and Michigan State have longer active streaks—pretty heady territory for the Badgers, considering they earned bids only twice between 1947 and 1997.

2) Defensive Struggles It may come as a surprise to anyone familiar with Ryan's coaching style, but statistically, the Badgers have struggled more on defense than offense this season. According to Ken Pomeroy's rankings, Wisconsin is the 24th best team in the country (and best in the Big Ten) in terms of offensive efficiency (points scored per 100 possessions), yet only ranks 60th in defensive efficiency. Neither of these stats is especially notable (especially for a team that went only 18-12 in the regular season), but they are interesting when compared with Coach Ryan's last few squads. Since 2004, only the 2006 team failed to finish in the top 10 in defensive efficiency, and none finished better than 26th on the offensive end. Combined with the Badgers' top 20 strength-of-schedule and mediocre record, the efficiency stats create an interesting situation in which the Badgers are actually ranked higher in Pomeroy's rankings than their first round opponent, fifth-seeded Florida State.

3) A Glimpse Into the Future The starter with the most potential on this year's squad, and probable frontcourt anchor in '10, is sophomore center/guard Jon Leuer. Center/guard might not be a real position, but if anybody plays there, it's Leuer. A guard his first two years in high school, Leuer grew 9 inches by the time he graduated. The result is a 6-10 power forward with perimeter skills (last year, in his first Big Ten game, he was 5 of 5 from distance) who can also put the ball on the floor and finish around the rim. Leuer started the year coming off the bench in support of fellow sophomore Keaton Nankivil, but his first start came against Illinois, and the Badgers subsequently went on a five-game tear that put them above .500 in conference play for good. He needs to bulk up and improve his defensive skills, but there's a good chance he will end up better than Brian Butch when all is said and done. — Sam Gardner

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2) Midwest is the best When Michigan State won its last title in 2000, they won the Midwest Regional Final in Detroit (Auburn Hills, if want to get technical about it) and then won the Final Four in Indianapolis. This year, the Midwest Regional is in Indianapolis (the same place they won their regional in 1979) and the Final Four is in ... Detroit. Did someone open a window because I just got a chill down my spine!!

3) These are not coincidences, people Michigan State has never played Robert Morris and the schools had no common opponents this season. However, Robert Morris almost sounds like Raymar Morgan (just go with it) who is second on the Spartans in both points and rebounds. State is 19-2 when Morgan plays more than 20 minutes, but a bout of mononucleosis kept that from happening for almost a month this season. The leading scorer and rebounder for the Colonials is Jeremy Chappell. The sixth-leading scorer on the 2000 championship team was ... Duke transfer Mike Chappell! Somebody hold me, because this is getting scary!!! — Dashiell

ROBERT MORRIS COLONIALS

1) Who Is Robert Morris? The original Robert Morris was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. Robert Morris was also one of the main financiers of the American Revolution, supplying cash, ships, and various other essentials to Washington's army. As far as the educational institution goes, Robert Morris University is located in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, just outside of Pittsburgh. There's an NAIA school called Robert Morris College in Illinois, but there's no connection between the two other than their shared namesake. The nickname for the Robert Morris that's going dancing is the Colonials, and they evolved from a simple dome logo to an oversize version of the Sam Adams logo.

2) What It Took To Get Here. Mike Rice, Jr. took over the head coaching job last year from Mark Schmidt, who left for St. Bonaventure. The son of current Portland Trail Blazers broadcaster and former Duquesne/Youngstown State head coach Mike Rice, Sr., the younger Rice has led the Colonials to 50 wins in just two seasons. The 26-win season (highlighted by an upset win over Boston College and Tony Lee's back-to-back triple doubles) last year was mired by a loss to eventual Northeast Conference champion Mount St. Mary's in the conference tournament semifinal and ended with a near upset of Syracuse in the NIT. Minus two 1,000 point scorers in AJ Jackson and Tony Lee, the Colonials were picked to finish third in the NEC this year. They struggled through the first half of the year before going 9-0 in January and 17-3 in 2009. The final? A rematch versus Mount St. Mary's (also, by the way, their hated rival; think of it like a mini version of Pitt and WVU), that was a 48-46 defensive slugfest capped by Dallas Green's bizarro world game winning shot.

3) The Chappell Show: Dallas Green will be the one immortalized in every March Madness highlight clip because of his winning shot, but Jeremy Chappell is driving force behind the goodship Colonial. A four year starter, Chappell was lightly recruited out of Cincinnati but made himself into the NEC Rookie of the Year as a freshman under Mark Schmidt. Tony Lee earned himself national recognition with his back-to-back triple doubles last year, but Chappell is more athletic and will likely go down as the best player in Robert Morris history. In fact, he is the only player in Northeast Conference history with 1,500 points, 500 rebounds, 250 assists, 250 steals, and 200 three-pointers. Yes, fans chant "Chappell Show" after significant plays. No, he looks nothing like Crazy Dave. Yes, the Colonials now have two "television" shows in their starting lineup: The Chappell Show and Rob "Swiss Family" Robinson. Yeah...the last one needs work. But if the Colonials were to shock the world and upset Michigan State, Robinson and Chappell would be the ones to do it. — Andrew Chiappazzi (Colonial's Corner)

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2) One and ... done? The latest of superstar rookies was supposed to be B.J. Mullens, a 7-foot center who most expected to be making nothing more than a cameo appearance in college before going in the first round of the NBA Draft. Of course, that brief appearance is probably already too long for his tastes. Mullen has been relegated to utility player, showing brief flashes of brilliance (12 points in 15 minutes in an upset of Michigan St.) followed by moments of frustrating incompetence (3 points and 2 rebounds against Purdue a day later.) His diagnosis? He needs more playing time. (Because all great players need six or seven minutes of game time before they can do anything useful.) Incredibly, folks are still talking about an early exit and Mullens did win the conference's Sixth Man Award, but I'm not sure how an NBA team justifies using a first rounder on a guy who can't crack the starting five of his college team. (Oh wait, the right GM can justify anything.)

3) Oh, the other guy OSU's best freshmen this year has actually been William Buford, a big 6'5" guard who developed into a nice compliment to leading scorer Evan Turner. Buford struggled at times down the stretch of the conference season, but had an impressive Big Ten tournament, helping the Buckeyes reach the final game. If he can keep the hot hand and prevent teams from handcuffing Turner, maybe those two guys can share a cab right out of town come April. — Dashiell

SIENA SAINTS

1) Cinderella man Siena senior and co-captain Josh Duell must be the magic ingredient for mid-majors. In addition to last season's upset over Vanderbilt, he was part of the Vermont team that upset Syracuse as a 13 seed in 2005-2006. Duell, who has battled numerous injuries this year that have relegated him to bench duty, is known as the goofball on Siena. He's a local boy and a fan favorite at all the home games. Who knew that the real Cinderella is 6'7", 253 pounds?

2) Family matters No, we're not talking about Steve Urkel and Co., although at times Siena forward Ryan Rossiter can look as goofy as the former television geek. The sophomore was Siena's most improved player this season, thanks to bulking up in the offseason. He has nine double-doubles this year, including a 16 point, 14 rebound performance in the MAAC Championship game. Rossiter will be the reason that Siena goes farther in this year's tournament, as he solidified the weakest link in their lineup, adding muscle to a team that averages 77.7 points per game. His brother, Steve, is a senior forward at Davidson, last year's tournament darling. Ryan would love to one up big brother with a Final Four bid.

3) An all-conference marriage Watch out for Coach Fran McCaffery's wife Margaret, who's well known for going at referees in the past. In 2006, she was ejected from a game against Hofstra after going off on a profanity-laced tirade to an official, joining her husband, who was ejected earlier in the game. After a loss to Loyola last season, Margaret said to reporters, "Here's your headline: 'We got hosed.' Will Bush is a horrendous official." Hubby even cut her off ("Marg, that's enough!") when she started asking him questions about the officiating at his postgame press conference. Don't write her off though, she can play; she ranks 12th on Notre Dame's all time scoring list and sixth on their career rebounding list. Fran (known as "White Magic" in his playing days) and Margaret went on one of their first dates to a NBA exhibition game. — Mark Cooper

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2) I'm coming home again Jeff Teague played in the shadow of Indiana prep star Eric Gordon in high school and has had a chip on his shoulder ever since. He chose the number zero at Wake Forest for the same reason Gilbert Arenas did—he felt he didn't get any respect coming out of high school. In a heartbeat though, Teague entered the national conversation during the Deacs' meteoric rise to number one. But in their Icarus-like fall, Teague faded just as fast. Teague shot 52 percent from the floor and an absurd 56.5 percent from beyond the arc in Wake's first six January games, including wins at BYU, at BC, at Clemson and at home against UNC and Duke, but has shot just 42 percent since and just 35 percent on three-pointers. If the Deacs want to make it to Teague's Sweet Sixteen homecoming date in Indianapolis—possibly against one-seeded Louisville, coached by Rick Pitino (who coached Teague's dad at Boston University)—Teague is going to need to get back to what he was doing best, taking over games and throwing it down.

3.) A new king in town During every Wake Forest broadcast an announcer will mention that freshman Al-Farouq Aminu's name translates to "The Chief Has Arrived" and that he is a descendant of Nigerian Kings. What is less well known is just how competitive Aminu's family really is. Aminu played an endless amount of games in high school against his brother Alade, a senior at Georgia Tech. Every game though, Alade would never let up and Farouq would always lose. He eventually came out from under his brother's shadow and made a name for himself as one of the best prospects in the country. He stayed committed to Wake Forest after the death of Coach Skip Prosser (as did blue chip prospects Ty Walker and Tony Woods) and had a sparkling freshman season, averaging 12.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. The Chief is a big part of the reason why the Deacs went from NIT snub to a four seed in a year. — Martin Rickman

CLEVELAND STATE VIKINGS

1) The team with the odd name is back to the dance for the first time in quite a while This is the first appearance in the NCAA Tourney since 1986 for Cleveland State, when they made one of the first memorable Cinderella
runs in the newly-expanded field of 64. The great Mouse McFadden led the first ever #14 seed to make the Sweet 16, knocking off Indiana and St. Joseph's before falling to David Robinson's Navy squad.

2) This is sweet redemption for their coach, Gary Waters Waters built the foundation of a great men's program at Kent State in the late 1990s/early 2000s (two tourney appearances, and recruiting the core of the team that would make the Elite 8 for Coach Stan Heath in 2002). After the 2001 tourney, Waters took a higher profile job at Rutgers. Five disappointing seasons with no NCAA appearances led to his resignation in 2006. Luckily for Cleveland State, Waters returned home to the Midwest, where his recruiting knowledge has been put to good use. He has turned around a team that went 10-21 just two seasons ago, making them a 25-10 powerhouse that rivals Butler as the best in the Horizon League.

3) J-Nation! Cleveland State's player to watch is J'Nathan Bullock. The Senior forward has led the team in scoring for all 4 years and is effective both down on the block or shooting from the outside. — John "Juancho" Skvasik

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2) Who let my little brother on the court? Look out for Brad Redford, a freshman who looks like he's 12 years old. Of his 54 baskets, 94% are from 3-point range. Redford was Mr. Basketball in Michigan, hitting 102 consecutive free throws his senior year.

3) Learning is good, you know Unlike all some programs, the players graduate. Who do they have to thank, a tough disciplinarian? Actually it's a nun; Sister Rose Ann Fleming took over as academic advisor for student athletes in 1985, and since then every senior basketball player has graduated. So whether they are ballin' in Moldova or patrolling your local mall, their diploma is in tow. — Rob Sarasua

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS

1) You Can Practically Smell the Patchouli From Here Portland State is one of our nation's "greener" institutions of higher learning; some of the classroom buildings are designed to be "environmentally sustainable;" the Princeton Review calls it a "college with a conscience;" and it has won much acclaim—including being called a Salmon Safe University—for a campus-wide initiative that treats storm water runoff before that dirty, dastardly, stinking bilge reaches the local watershed. They even list their school colors as Forest Green and White. Evidently purple used to be one of the school colors too, but it was eradicated. It isn't known why. But I bet I know why—I bet it just wasn't green enough.

2) Someone Fact-Check This Unbelievable Nugget While perusing the list of notable alumni (Neil Lomax, anyone?) at the obvious place to GET such information—that is, Wikipedia...you may have heard of it—I came across one name attached to a piece of information that just blew me away. "Courtney Love—actress and rock musician" and THEN the parenthetical note: did not graduate. I know. I couldn't believe it, and I still haven't recovered.

3) Get Back And Play Some D Portland State is actually in the top 100 of Division I schools in terms of shooting the basketball, putting up 45.4% from the field overall and 38% from three (88th and 32nd in the nation, respectively). Unfortunately they need a little help on the other end, as opponents shoot 45.5% from the field and 34.5% from beyond the arc (270th, and 179th, respectively). One thing they have going for them in the first round is that the game is played in Boise, which is significantly better for the Vikings than it is for opponent Xavier. If Xavier can lose at Charlotte (which happened on 2/19), then there's no reason to count out Portland State for a first-round upset over the
Musketeers — Rush The Court

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2) Flexing The BC hoops program blossomed (read: stopped being irrelevant after a few woeful seasons) during head coach Al Skinner's fourth year at the helm. The resurrection began while the school was still a member of the Big East. Back in the days of yore, when men were men and bruises were held in equal esteem to banners, Skinner instituted a deliberate "flex" offense that packs players around the painted area. It's all elbows, knees, hips, shoulders and bounce passes. Skinner brought this offense with him to the prim and proper environs of the ACC. It's physical and intricate (critics say "predictable") and creates a lot of contact amongst opposing players. The offense is predicated on a continuous sequence of precise screens and cuts. Every player needs to be able to execute a bounce pass in a tight spot and players needs to be able to score in the paint when one of the screens frees them up. It requires constant motion and can be maddening to defend as the shot clock wears on. Skinner's variation on this scheme condenses the court as much as possible (unlike Terps coach Gary Williams who uses a more expansive flex that focuses more on the deep shot) and aims for easy buckets. The success of the offense is predicated on timing and five players using one mind. And that mind belongs to Skinner. When the meticulous passing in tight quarters is supplemented by timely three-point shooting it is very difficult to stop. The Eagles can shorten games and limit the possessions of more explosive opponents. On the flip side, the deliberate pace of their game makes them very vulnerable to teams with a high degree of "spurtability." This is not an offense built for quick comebacks (although Tyrese Rice has the freedom to freelance in those instances). Rather it relentlessly chips away, wearing down the will of weaker teams and keeping BC within striking distance of better ones.

3) Diamonds in the Rough If Al Skinner had been running the local AAU squad in Agrabah back in the day then he surely would have scouted Aladdin before Jafar ever caught his scent. The sort of agility that he showed in the marketplace during that early musical number would have surely helped Skinner unearth this diamond in the rough. Skinner's ability to find the underscouted high school hoopsters and to convince them to travel to Chestnut Hill has enabled a school with high academic standards and little cache amongst the ABCD set to compete with the blue bloods. The refurbishing of the BC basketball program began with Troy Bell. He was a lithe and lightly recruited guard from Minnesota. Upon graduating from high school in 1999, he was neglected by the University of Minnesota even though he had been a finalist for the North Star State's Mr. Basketball honor. He was offered a scholarship by Xavier and by Tennessee (although the UT coach opted not to even be on campus for his visit) but the only coach pushing hard for him was Skinner. The rest, as they say, is history. Bell averaged 18.8 points per game as a freshman. And never looked back. He was named Big East Player of Year two times (joining Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin, Troy Murphy and Richard Hamilton as the only players to accomplish this feat). Bell posted careers numbers of 21.6 points per, 4.0 boards per and set a Big East record his senior season by averaging 27 points per game in conference play. After finding Bell in the wilds of Minneapolis, Skinner lighted out to the West Coast, where he found unheralded players Craig Smith (who he got into a prep school in Worcester, M.A. to get his grades up and his weight down) and Jared Dudley (who had heard only from Creighton during his senior year in high school before a Vegas showcase got him some more attention). Both players, who couldn't get the time of day from Pac-10 schools, are currently in the NBA after decorated collegiate careers. The current BC squad is stocked with such undervalued overachievers, from gunner-turned-superstar Tyrese Rice to sophomores Biko Paris, Corey Raji and Rakim Sanders, transfer (from Vermont) Joe Trapani and standout freshman Reggie Jackson. — Hermes Vandeweghe (What Would Oakley Do?)

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TROJANS

1) Hold The Mayo Last year, everyone in Los Angeles was talking about the two one-and-done freshman phenoms, Kevin Love of UCLA and, more to the point, OJ Mayo of the USC Trojans. You had to be deaf, dumb and blind not to know that Mayo was destined for the NBA after his one year in NCAA purgatory. Fast-forward a year later and flying under the radar is highly-touted five-star recruit DeMar DeRozan. DeRozan (who came in a package recruiting deal with Percy "Lil Romeo" Miller) started off his freshman campaign somewhat slowly and did not come close to the prolific numbers Mayo put up as a freshman. For the season DeRozan averaged 13.6 ppg and 5.7 rpg, while shooting 52.5 percent from the field. As of late DeRozan has started to peak at the proverbial "right time" and stands poised to help the Trojans make noise at the "big dance." It's been a wild week for DeRozan, who just before the Pac-10 Tournament was named to the All-Pac-10 Freshman Team. Call the Pac-10 Tournament "the awakening" for DeRozan; he mowed down the competition by shooting at a high percentage (57.5 percent) and averaging 21 ppg, an astounding 9 rpg, as well as 2.3 apg for the Trojans during Tournament play. His performance earned him the Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament award. DeRozan now looks to continue his hot play and lead the 10th-seeded USC Trojans over a 7th-seeded Boston College team in upset fashion.

2) Somebody Give Tim Floyd A Hug A lot of noise has been made over the course of the season regarding whether or not Tim Floyd is the right man for the USC job. Well, a hop, skip, and a jump later and what do you know, Floyd has silenced his critics, having put together three consecutive 20-win seasons (with winning the Pac-10 Tournament as his exclamation point). His play-calling has been questioned, his rotations lambasted and he was once referred to as "a pretty good college coach but with the backbone of licorice," by everyone's favorite playmate-ogling PTI host, Michael Wilbon. All Tim Floyd has done is to continue to muzzle his detractors, going about his business and changing the perception of USC men's basketball. Similar to how Rick Neuheisel must feel when he is compared against a certain cross-town rival, it's not an easy thing for a coach when his next door neighbor just made it to three-consecutive Final-Four appearances. However, Floyd is doing and saying all the right things and now, with a healthy rotation, he stands at the brink of bigger and better opportunities.

3) It's A "Team-building" Exercise Earlier in the season, following a 60-51 loss at home to the (then ranked 22nd) Washington Huskies, Dwight Lewis and Daniel Hackett decided to treat some of the kids in the student section to a seminar on conflict resolution. After registering a lackluster performance against the Huskies, Hackett decided to get a little testy with some of the students in attendance as he was leaving the court. Lewis then jumped in the middle of the exchange, in an attempt to defend the students, and moments later he and Hackett began to shove one-another. Even though the two would later downplay the incident, this ugly moment in Trojans' sports history seemed to mark an apparent downfall of the men's basketball team after a solid start to the season. However, while they would lose their next two games (against Cal and Stanford), the incident seemed create a sense of urgency and light a fire under the Men of Troy who would go on to sweep both Oregon schools and run the table in Pac-10 Tournament, getting an automatic bid to the "big dance." — Neal Leitereg

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2) Defense Win Championships An overused cliche, but a perfect fit for Rick Pitino's team. Obviously making shots are a necessity in basketball, but when the Cards are hitting it allows them to throw on the most vicious, in-your-grill press in college hoops. Guards Andre McGee, Jerry Smith and Preston Knowles make life living hell for opposing guards causing frequent turnovers. They are like wild dogs—the kind Mike Vick would lay the heavy bread on. Pitino says getting 35 deflections on defense will get you the win 9/10 times. The turnovers caused by the ferocious press get the Cards easy buckets and harm the opposition's morale. The Cards have been known to go on 15-0 or 23-2 runs based solely off their press which completely cripple their opponents. If the Cards' shots are falling and the patented Pitino press is engaged the Cards will be extremely tough to beat.

The Mystery of Earl Clark Earl "E5" Clark might be the most talented player to come through Louisville in the last 25 years. How he uses that talent is a different story. Recently Clark has had a monster games and is a double-double machine. However, Earl has been known to make horrendous decisions at the most inopportune times (ie: walking, lazy passes). This is something that has to concern Pitino moving forward. Clark turned it up for the tourney last year by eating Blake Griffin's breakfast lunch and dinner then taking his girlfriend out for a steak dinner and never calling her back in the second round. That is the E5 that needs to show up for Louisville. When Clark is ready to play that way, he gets this Bruce Banner-like look in his eye and just starts grabbing board after board and dunking on people's heads. Yet you really never know when that's going to happen. His draft stock is at stake and so are the title hopes of the Fightin' Cardinals, so for the Cards' sake let's hope the good E5 shows up. — Rob Jones (The L Yes! Report)

MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES

1) Nobody Ever Cheered for Lesshead. OK, now that we've all had our giggle, and irritated our girlfriends by ordering the Morehead sweatshirt with the strategically placed zipper, let's figure out what it really means. The university is located in Morehead, KY ("The happiest town on earth"). Both are, then, named in honor of former Kentucky Governor James Turner Morehead, a rabid anti-abolitionist who personally went after runaway slaves who sought refuge in Ohio. Dang. That's not sexy at all.

2) Loose Balls. Beware 6'8" sophomore Kenneth Faried has a pretty sweet all-around game. He's third on the national rebounding list, averaging 12.8 per game. That's a fine complement to his 14 points, 2 steals, and 2 blocks that tend to come about in every contest. Not a bad get for the fourth-best team in the Ohio Valley, eh?

3) Your Grandpa Beat My Grandpa. By winning the play-in, the Eagles get to face nearby neighbor Louisville as a sixteen seed. This is not an entirely unprecedented matchup. In 1961, when the tourney had just 32 teams and had consolation rounds, Morehead beat Xavier, then lost to Kentucky in the Midwest region. They played for third place in the losers bracket against Louisville, and lost again. Unlike a modern bracket, all of those schools were close enough together that one could hop in the Studebaker and visit them all in a single weekend, making the "Midwest" designation a little more meaningful. — Eric Angevine (Storming the Floor)

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2) Turnaround In only his second year on the job Coach Jim Boylen has lead the Utes to a MWC co-championship with a 21-9 record heading into the MWC tournament. (Ed.: Which they won.) In May 2007 he inherited a 11-19 team from Ray Giacoletti, who is currently an assistant at Gonzaga. Last year Boylen coached the Utes to the second round of the CBI where they lost to eventual champion Tulsa and finished the year at 18-15.

3) Signature win Luke Nevill scored 23 points as Utah destroyed LSU 91-61 on January 6th in Salt Lake City. He was named the MWC Player of the Year and if the 7-2 center heats up in March the Utes could easily wind up in the Sweet Sixteen. — Jon "snowpunter" Marsh

ARIZONA WILDCATS

1) Not bad, just dumb Everyone is in agreement that the Arizona Wildcats have no business being in the NCAA tournament this year, with their paper-thin 21 wins and delightfully medicore 9-9 conference record. But everyone forgets that this team completely gave away two victories with spectacularly boneheaded plays. So that says something right? Just think about how impressive their record would look if their players only understood the basic strategies of basketball. And what did smarts ever have to do with being gooder?

2) Tradition! You might suspect that the Wildcats were given a pass into the dance simply to keep their 24-year (now 25-year) tournament appearance streak intact. You're probably right. Most of the players in this year's tournament (maybe all?) were not even alive when that streak began and no one wants to end all that just because some other team might be more deserving. This year's 12 seed is the first time during the streak that Wildcats started lower than a 10.

3) The Ghost of Lute Olsen Most observers (i.e., your humble editor) believed that Arizona's season was headed for disaster after coach Lute Olsen abruptly retired days before the season began. Their first choice to replace him fled in panic—as did many of their recruits—and "interim" head coach Russ Pennell inherited a program in seeming disarray. It didn't help that he had a team loaded with freshmen and inexperienced sophomores. Fortunately, juniors Jordan Hill and Chase "The Face" Buddinger have risen to the challenge, scoring nearly 18 ppg a piece and leading the young squad through a rocky beginning to a nice solid middle. Losing five of their last six games made for a less than ideal end, but considering where they started they should be proud that it wasn't all six. — Dashiell

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2) DeMarre, DeMarre, DeMarre That being said, when the Tigers are on, they're on. Their 81.1 points per game is good for sixth in the country, and they're second in steals per game and first in assists per game. The man who can do it all is DeMarre Freakin' Carroll. DeMarre Carroll, Missouri's representative on the first team all-Big 12, averages 16.8 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 2 apg and 1.6 spg. He also screams a lot. When he's not busy scoring, assisting, stealing (basketballs only, promise), rebounding or screaming, he's succeeding academically. He's on the Academic all-Big 12 team, meaning his head's screwed on a lot tighter than many of his Tiger predecessors. Or maybe all of them. Regardless, it's probably unwise to not pay attention to a 6-7, braided monster who's nicknamed the Junkyard Dog. The Junkyard Dog! Those kids at Cornell just peed a little reading that.

3) The ghost of Athena. Ah, yes. The infamous Athena nightclub. It's the place where hoop dreams literally go to die. In January of '08, back when the Tigers had a respectable chance to make a dent in the Big 12, a minor scuffle-turned-brawl-turned-minor riot occurred at Athena, a favorite hangout spot for Missouri athletes. Seniors Stefhon Hannah and Jason Horton—who were both pretty important and stuff—were charged with assault, and a total of five players were either cut or suspended due to the "altercation." The Missouri men's basketball team promptly descended to basketball hell, all hope was lost, and the program became even more of a joke than it was during the final days of Quin Snyder's reign. Coach Mike Anderson has since replaced many of the offenders with players more up to his personal standards (read: decent human beings) and the results have been special. Nobody knows how long this unexpected success will last, but hey, why let the fun end now? — Ian Thomas

CORNELL BIG RED

1) The Best Laid Plans... At this point last year, the Big Red were coming off an undefeated Ivy League season and looking to make a national impression in the tournament as a 14 seed. Instead, Cornell travelled cross country to Anaheim, had their worst shooting day of the year, got clobbered by third-seeded Stanford, and had their cheerleaders mocked by Bill Simmons. So in planning for 2009, Cornell decided to push for a better seed in the tournament. The Big Red returned their five leaders in minutes, including reigning Ivy League POY Louis Dale, sharpshooting forward Ryan Wittman (son of Randy), and 7-foot center Jeff Foote. In addition, the team set up an ambitious non-conference schedules for a Cornell team, including games at Syracuse, at Minnesota, at St. Joseph's, and vs. St. John's in the NIT Tip-Off. Things were looking rosy for the Red, right up until a few weeks before their opening game when they lost their entire starting backcourt—consisting of Dale and senior Adam Gore—to injuries. As a result, Cornell dropped all of their tough non-conference games and blew double-digit halftime leads against the Orange and Gophers. Dale and Gore have since returned to action—though Ivy League Rookie of the Year Chris Wroblewski has taken Gore's place in the starting lineup—and the Big Red won the Ancient Eight for the second straight year. They are the first non-Penn, non-Princeton Ivy League school in 50 years to earn consecutive NCAA Tournament berths. Their reward for such accomplishments is another 14 seed and another cross country trip. But instead of sunny Anaheim, they'll be in Boise, Idaho this year. At least it will make Ithaca seem more exciting when they get back.

2) Earning Their Andy Bernard Comparisons Cornell is traditionally a hockey school before anything else. Every year, Cornell students camp out for season tickets to Big Red men's hockey and, before the school changed the system three years ago, risk broken limbs in a mad weeknight stampede to claim line numbers. Cornell's Lynah Rink is known as one of the toughest places for visiting teams to play due to the volume and spirit of the student fans. The men's basketball team's recent rise to (relative) prominence has resulted in record attendance for Big Red basketball. But while the quantity of student fans may be there, the quality is not. Back in November, Cornell hosted South Dakota in their season opener. It was supposed to be a game to celebrate last year's accomplishments with the raising of the Ivy League Champion banner, as well as set the tone for a highly-anticipated season. At the end of the game, however, nearly every student in the crowd was booing. The Big Red didn't lose—in fact they won by 10—but by only scoring 79 points, the students were denied their free chicken wings at Generic Local Chicken Wing Restaurant. This situation nearly resulted in a unusual incident a couple weeks ago. The game that clinched the Ivy League title for Cornell was won by a score of 83-59 over Penn. Had the Big Red scored four points fewer in that game, it would have been the first occurrence in world history of students storming the court while booing.

3) Cornell's Best Hope for a National Title (Obviously Not Basketball) This year, Cornell best sport is wrestling. Seriously, their wrestling team is number 2 in the nation. Who knew? — Max Wasserman

2) Wear Gloves One of the university's most notable programs is in Forensic Science. The program was established with help from the FBI, and the biggest library repository for the biggest damn forensic organization on the planet—the International Association for Identification—has its official library repository here. So that Calleigh Duquesne-look-alike you gave a fake name to and hooked up with last night? Yeah, depending on what you, um, left behind, most likely she's already run it through a couple of machines at the lab, snagged your entire family's SS numbers and has, Andy Dufresne-style, created a phantom version of you who is currently transferring every dollar of your checking balance, 401(k), and the deed to your dad's Buick dealership into her account in the Caymans. Serves you right.

3) 1-2 Punch Da'Sean Butler and Alex Ruoff are a pretty potent one-two senior punch for this squad which has shown fine progression throughout the year. We all know Ruoff can drill the three and the team as a whole does a superb job in defending beyond the arc (13th nationally, with opponents shooting 30.1%). This is a group who went from dropping games to the likes of Kentucky and Davidson early in the season to beating teams like Villanova and Pittsburgh later in the year. Dayton's a good squad but they've got their hands full with this bunch. — Rush The Court

DAYTON FLYERS

1) It's all in the rear-view. Dayton's heyday, like America's, was back in the 1950s and 60s. The Flyers won more games during that span than any other division one program, racking up 435 wins (UCLA is second with 427). This has led to two distinct viewpoints among the Flyer Faithful. On one side, you have the folks who believe the program can return to its former greatness. On the other, you have people who realize that the last time UD was a prominent national power their fathers were knee deep in rice patties and yet-undiscovered venereal diseases—and things aren't likely to change. These opposing viewpoints have led to countless fights, fisticuffs, donnybrooks and melees.

2.) Take me home ... country roads Dayton plays West "Fucking" Virginia, made famous by couch fires and John Denver's karaoke inducing tune. Dayton fans wish the Flyers were playing in the friendly confines of UD Arena, where they went 18-0 this year. Picking Dayton to advance in your bracket? Caveat emptor, brothers and sisters. They are historically terrible on the road and have not won an NCAA Tournament game since 1990. The Flyers have struggled since point guard Rob Lowery went down with an injury in their victory against Xavier. Fan favorite, and current backup guard, Brad McEldowney provides pre-game entertainment with freestyle rapping and break dancing.

3) The Church of Izzo Dayton's current roster is hands-down the most athletic edition of the Flyers the Gem City (you heard me) has ever seen. Part of this can be attributed to the fact that UD no longer concentrates its recruiting efforts solely on guys with rattails. A larger part has to be ascribed to Brian Gregory's ability to bring in the type of recruits that routinely bypassed UD for bigger programs. Players such as forwards "Kountry" Chris Wright and Chaz Little, as well as junior guard Marcus Johnson, are freakish athletes that will make you question everything you know about physics and love. Dayton's system resembles Michigan State's, in the sense that defensive pressure is paramount to the Flyers success. This should come as no surprise, as Brian Gregory plied his trade as an assistant for Tom Izzo in East Lansing. Brian Gregory is also Michael J. Fox's twin...without the uncontrollable shaking of course. Unless he is arguing a call. Which is often. — Tom Blackburn and Don Donoher (Blackburn Review)

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2) The Oakland Zoo is to Pitt as the Cameron Crazies are to Duke. You know, minus the pretentiousness. I'd go on with the comparisons, but we were given strict instructions to leave our dick jokes at the door. During home games, and possibly when just hanging out, members of the zoo can be seen wearing animal costumes, telling Jim Calhoun to sit down and enticing football recruits to commit via signing a dry-erase board. LeSean McCoy credited this stunt with getting him to commit to Pitt. Unfortunately that trick didn't work on Tyrell Pryor. But, what sets our student section apart from any other are the gold shirts worn by everyone in attendance. Not the shirts themselves, but the fact that the founders of the Zoo were once entrenched in a legal battle with the Pitt Stop (a street vendor on campus) over a copyright issue involving said shirts. It may or may not have gone to the Supreme Court. Also, the proceeds of the t-shirt sales now go to charity. Which is nice.

3) A Season of Firsts When Boston College beat North Carolina on January 4th this year, there was probably more celebrating in Oakland that night than in Chestnut Hill. With UNC's loss, Pitt became the heir apparent to the #1 ranking for the first time in the program's history. They went on to hold that distinction on two separate occasions for a grand total of 3 weeks. Their second rise to #1 coincided with another first for the program. Hasheem Thabeet and the UConn Huskies picked themselves up off their home floor in mid-February just in time to see Pitt win their first game ever against a #1 ranked team (beating themselves at Louisville a couple weeks earlier didn't count). Pitt now heads into the NCAA tournament after claiming another first during this historic season. Here's hoping their first #1 seed in March doesn't coincide with the first 16 seed to win a game. Unless it's UNC. — whowantsawanstacheride (The Mosh Pitt)

EAST TENNESSEE STATE BUCCANEERS

1) What? The East Tennessee State University Buccaneers are the Atlantic Sun Conference champs. They can be found during the regular season playing in the Mini-Dome in Johnson City, TN. The Bucs's last NCAA tournament appearances were in 2003 and 2004. This completely land-locked school located in the mountains of Tennessee near the NC and VA state lines claims to be located on top of an underground river named Pirate Creek, giving themselves the right to a mascot that looks like Davey Jones in "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"

2) Who? Senior forward Kevin Tiggs, senior guard Courtney Pigram and junior guard Mike Smith led the team in points this season. Tiggs and Pigram carried the team in their push to win the conference tournament. If Pigram can make his 3's, then the team may have a shot to upset Pitt. Of course, the game may be fun to watch with Kevin Smith's showmanship.

3) Why? Courtney Pigram will also be interesting with his ability to shoot from well behind the arc and fragile temperament. He had a bad five game stretch in February in which the team lost 4 of 5 games. Boosters organized a grassroots email campaign of "support and encouragement." The school's administration even cooperated by organizing pre-game chants focused on boosting his confidence at the Feb. 26 game against Kennesaw State. Pigram also remembers working out with Tyler Hansbrough at 3 Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, MO. His report of the encounter, "I didn't know who he was, but he knew who I was." — Rachel Thomasson

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2) Baseball U Arizona State has sent 34 players to the NBA, including Byron Scott, Lafayette Lever and the impeccable Eddie House. (No relation to the TV doctor.) But that's not nearly as impressive as their baseball program, which has the third-highest number of Major League alumni of any school. Their progeny include Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, should be Hall of Famer Barry Bonds, Bob Horner, Dustin Pedroia, Fernando Vina, Hubie Brooks, Paul Lo Duca, Sal Bando, and living legend Oddibe McDowell.

3) Lil' Devils Coach Herb Sendek left the basketball wasteland of the ACC in 2006 to come turn around the lackluster Sun Devil program. They finished dead last in the Pac-10 his first year, but two seasons later they're all the way up to third, knocked off regular season champ Washington in the conference tournament and hope to make it past the first weekend in the NCAAs for the first time in over a decade. They are probably also hoping that it won't be another 10 years before the get back, thanks to a nice youth movement in Tempe. The team has only one senior (forward Jeff Pendergraph) and if sophomore James Harden doesn't get any ideas and bolt for the draft, they'll have the reigning Pac-10 Player of the Year next season. — Dashiell

TEMPLE OWLS

1) Dionte Christmas ain't bad The 6'5" senior averaged 19+ points for the third straight year. Though he shot an Iverson-esque 41% from field goal range, his ability to make it rain from deep and put the team on his 205 pound frame in crucial situations is the sole reason Temple has won back to back A-10 tourneys. The back to back A-10 Tournament's Most Outstanding Player's skills were best showcased during a ridiculous 35 point output in December against then ranked #8 Tennessee when he displayed his penchant for explosive games. The only way Temple can be successful in this tournament is if Christmas brings his A-game. Notice that I did not include any holiday puns.

2) Fran Dunphy: Miracle Worker After a disastrous ending to John Chaney's storied Temple coaching career, the future of the organization was put into the hands of 10 time Ivy League title winner Fran Dunphy in 2006. He responded by leading the Owls to consecutive NCAA tourney bids for the first time since the 2000-2001 squads led by Chaney.

3) Defense Defense Defense Unfortunately, Temple just doesn't have enough offensive weapons. After Christmas, the only legitimate offensive player is 2nd year power forward Lavoy Allen or third year guard Ryan Brooks, who both averaged around 10 points per game. The defense will be the key to success. The Owl defense really came alive during the A-10 tournament, holding opponents to under 65 points a game and forcing a powerful Xavier squad into 34.5% shooting from the field including only 2 field goals in the final 7 minutes of the game in a 55-53 nailbiter. They limited the Musketeers to their lowest point total of the season. If Temple can play defense at the level they did against Xavier, they have a legitimate shot at reaching the Sweet 16. — Shakey

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2) No Longer on Jay Bilas' Speed Dial Marquette rushed to hire assistant Brent "Buzz" Williams after national media darling Tom Crean left a talented group of seniors to coach a student manager, Timmy Lupus and Ollie at Indiana. A Texan through and through, Buzz guzzles gallons of sweet tea in between dips. He is brutally, sometimes uncomfortably, honest with the media, even revealing that Lazar Hayward is two inches shorter than listed. His penchant for not calling timeouts, ever, has driven MU fans crazy. The future looks bright after reeling in a Top 20 class for 2009-2010. Look for Buzz to try some junk defenses to throw off the opposition. A 1-3-1 was effective against plodding Wisconsin and a small lineup with 6'5" Wesley Matthews playing the five helped defeat Providence and Notre Dame.

3) It Was Like the Heidi Game...Without the Pigtails Marquette-Villanova, Big East Tournament quarterfinals. MU fights back from a 16 point deficit and is up one, inbounding the ball with 40 seconds left. As soon as the ball is inbounded, the Milwaukee Time Warner cable czars switch over to the monthly, ear piercing Emergency Broadcast Signal. After an interminable wait, Time Warner switches back to the game just in time for Marquette fans to absorb the sight of the Villanova players splayed all over the floor celebrating their improbable victory. Thanks Time Warner—hello DirecTV! — Husker4MU (Quevedo at the Buffet)

UTAH STATE AGGIES

1) Losing is for Losers Utah State comes into the Big Dance with more wins than any other contender. They started the season on a 24-1 run, losing only to fellow Mormon-staters Brigham Young. Their current 30-4 mark was amassed relatively close to home—the Aggies haven't traveled to the eastern side of the continental divide all season long. Since their West region path goes through Boise and Glendale, they won't cross the mountains
unless they make the Final Four in Detroit.

2) When We Say Senior, We Mean Senior Utah State's emotional leader and best player is Gary Wilkinson, a 27-year-old married dude. The red-haired, 6'9" forward spent two years on a Mormon mission in Canada before resuming his education at Salt Lake Community College. His play in the bus leagues caught the attention of USU coach Stew Morrill, who is no doubt familiar with the standard Mormon path to basketball success. He is the team's only senior.

3) It's Like the Onion, but About Basketball USU students print a satirical sports publication called The Refraction. The most recent edition commemorates opposing players who were most rattled by the hellacious noise in the Spectrum on game days. They also do a Top 8 list, and lead one article with the headline "Refraction Staff Still Not Getting Any." And you thought nobody funny came from Utah. — Eric Angevine (Storming The Floor)

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