2013 NCAA Basketball Tournament East Region capsules
SECOND-ROUND MATCHUPS:
1 Indiana vs. 16 LIU Brooklyn/James Madison
8 North Carolina State vs. 9 Temple
5 UNLV vs. 12 California
4 Syracuse vs. 13 Montana
6 Butler vs. 11 Bucknell
3 Marquette vs. 14 Davidson
7 Illinois vs. 10 Colorado
2 Miami vs. 15 Pacific
MY PICK TO WIN IT
Miami. If I were Jim Larranaga, I would be concerned about Colorado in the third round. The Buffs have terrific guard play and are comfortable in tournament settings. If Miami gets to the regional in Washington, it will play on the same Verizon Center court where Larranaga's George Mason team got to the 2006 Final Four.
DARK HORSE
Butler. The Bulldogs may not qualify anymore, but they are a No. 6 and their coach obviously knows how to win NCAA games. No group will be better prepared.
OBVIOUS ROUT
Indiana's Tom Crean loves to run up the score and he will have that chance in Dayton against the First Four winner of James Madison and LIU-Brooklyn. At least, the winner can stay in Dayton all week and enjoy the Pine Club. Former Saint Joseph's assistant Matt Brady got the CAA title with JMU.
UPSET SPECIAL
Colorado is better than Illinois. More scorers and more ways to score.
LOOKING FORWARD TO
Seeing a Butler-Marquette matchup in the third round, a rematch of their game in Maui, won at the buzzer by Butler.
QUESTIONABLE SEEDING
Love Bucknell and Mike Muscala, but I can't imagine how the Patriot champion got a No. 11 seed in a tourney where Pacific-12 champion Oregon got a 12 seed.
PLAYERS YOU WILL LOVE TO WATCH
Indiana's Cody Zeller and Victor Oladipo are among the Player of the Year finalists ... Miami point guard Shane Larkin, Barry's son, has been tremendous ... North Carolina State's C.J. Leslie is one of the nation's most versatile players ... Temple's Khalif Wyatt has a game unlike anybody's ... UNLV forward Anthony Bennett is among the nation's best freshmen ... Colorado guard Spencer Dinwiddie is an explosive scorer ... Cal's Allen Crabbe averaged nearly 19 points per game ... Montana's Kareem Jamar is the first winner of consecutive Big Sky Player of the Year awards in 33 years ... Davidson's Nik Cochran (94.1 percent) is the nation's best free throw shooter ... Davidson senior center Jake Cohen is from Contestoga High.
1 INDIANA (27-6)
Location: Bloomington, Ind. Conference: Big Ten.
Bid: At-large. RPI: 8. Strength of Schedule Rank: 9.
NCAA Tournament Record: 62-31 (5 titles, 8 Final Fours).
Last NCAA: 2012, Lost in regional semifinal to Kentucky, 102-90
Head Coach: Tom Crean
School: 82-81 (5 years). Overall: 272-177 (14 years).
Probable Starters, Pos., Hgt., Yr., Pts., Reb., FG%, FT%
Cody Zeller, F, 7-0, So., 16.8, 8.1, 57.0, 75.0
Christian Watford, F, 6-9, Sr., 12.4, 6.4, 43.2, 82.0
Victor Oladipo, G, 6-5, Jr., 13.7, 6.2, 61.4, 74.6
Kevin Yogi Ferrell, G, 6-0, Fr., 7.7, 2.8, 39.0, 79.3
Jordan Hulls, G, 6-0, Sr., 10.6, 2.5, 47.4, 77.8
Other Key Players
Will Sheehey, F, 6-7, Jr., 9.6, 3.7, 49.5, 66.7
Remy Abell, G, 6-4, So., 4.0, 1.5, 45.4, 75.0
Jeremy Hollowell, F, 6-8, Fr., 3.2, 2.1, 41.1, 63.9
About the Hoosiers: They are the most efficient offensive team in the country, scoring 1.24 points per possession. They average 80.8 points (third best), shoot 48.6 percent overall, 41.8 percent from the arc ... Oladipo is the defensive stopper and the only guard among the top 40 in field-goal accuracy; he's fourth nationally ... Zeller changed everything when he signed on 2 years ago. His post threat has opened up areas for all those shooters ... Hulls has made 76 threes and shoots a ridiculous 48.7 percent from the arc, but can be exploited on defense ... Outrebound teams by 8.0 per game ... Crean has become the most disliked coach in America for his sideline demeanor and his penchant for running up scores.
2 MIAMI (FLORIDA) (27-6)
Location: Coral Gables, Fla. Conference: Atlantic Coast.
Bid: Automatic. RPI: 4. Strength of Schedule Rank: 7.
NCAA Tournament Record: 4-6 (0 Titles, 0 Final Fours).
Last NCAA: 2008, Lost in second round to Texas, 75-72
Head Coach: Jim Larranaga
School: 47-19 (2 years). Overall: 517-353 (29 years).
Probable Starters, Pos., Hgt., Yr., Pts., Reb., FG%, FT%
Kenny Kadji, F, 6-11, Sr., 13.6, 6.9, 49.0, 67.3
Julian Gamble, F, 6-10, Sr., 6.6, 4.9, 55.4, 50.0
Durand Scott, G, 6-5, Sr., 12.9, 4.1, 45.7, 72.3
Trey McKinney Jones, G, 6-5, Sr., 9.2, 3.3, 41.6, 85.3
Shane Larkin, G, 5-11, So., 13.7, 3.8, 48.2, 73.4
Other Key Players
Reggie Johnson, C, 6-10, Sr., 7.7, 7.4, 39.0, 67.9
Rion Brown, G, 6-6, Jr., 5.9, 1.9, 35.7, 70.7
About the Hurricanes: Larranaga, the first UM coach to ever win 20 in his first season, went to Final Four with George Mason in 2006 ... Set a school record for wins, set in 2001-02. This was their first outright regular-season title ... Their 14-game winning streak was also longest since 2001-02. Only other time it happened in Coral Gables was 1946-47 ... Became first team to beat Duke and North Carolina by at least 20 since Maryland in 1974-75, and first ever to beat those two by 25 or more since ACC started in 1953 ... Scott broke Darius Rice's school record for starts (113) ... Gamble was granted a sixth season of eligibility by the NCAA ... They shoot 67 percent at the foul line; opponents just 65 percent.
3 MARQUETTE (23-8)
Location: Milwaukee. Conference: Big East.
Bid: At-large. RPI: 12. Strength of Schedule Rank: 13.
NCAA Tournament Record: 38-31 (1 title, 3 Final Fours).
Last NCAA: 2012, Lost in regional semifinal to Florida, 68-58
Head Coach: Buzz Williams.
School: 119-53 (5 years). Overall: 133-70 (6 years).
Probable Starters, Pos., Hgt., Yr., Pts., Reb., FG%, FT%
Juan Anderson, F, 6-6, So., 3.0, 3.0, 36.1, 56.7
Chris Otule, C, 6-10, Jr., 5.0, 3.2, 65.7, 45.2
Trent Lockett, G, 6-5, Sr., 7.2, 4.7, 42.0, 74.2
Vander Blue, G, 6-4, Jr., 14.4, 3.3, 46.1, 72.4
Junior Cadougan, G, 6-1, Sr., 8.6, 2.9, 44.1, 71.8
Other Key Players
Davante Gardner, F, 6-8, Jr., 11.5, 4.8, 57.7, 84.8
Jamil Wilson, F, 6-7, Jr., 9.2, 4.8, 46.2, 76.5
Todd Mayo, G, 6-3, So., 6.4, 1.0, 38.9, 79.1
Steve Taylor Jr., F, 6-7, Fr., 3.4, 2.3, 53.9, 59.3
About the Golden Eagles: Have made the Sweet 16 each of the past two seasons ... Picked to finish seventh in the Big East, tied for regular-season title for first time since joining in 2005-06 ... Ten guys average at least 10 minutes a game ... In their 96th season, became the 15th program to reach 1,500 wins ... Their bench has accounted for 43 percent of the scoring, which ranks among the national leaders ... Lockett is second on the team in rebounds despite being a perimeter player ... Blue was one of the most improved players in the Big East, while Gardner was among the conference's top sixth men.
4 SYRACUSE (26-9)
Location: Syracuse, N.Y. Conference: Big East.
Bid: At-large. RPI: 14. Strength of Schedule Rank: 6.
NCAA Tournament Record: 56-35 (1 title, 4 Final Fours).
Last NCAA: 2012, Lost in regional final to Ohio State, 77-70
Head Coach: Jim Boeheim
School and Overall: 916-313 (37 years)
Probable Starters, Pos., Hgt., Yr., Pts., Reb., FG%, FT%
Rakeem Christmas, F, 6-9, So., 5.6, 5.0, 54.9, 62.9
Dajuan Coleman, F, 6-9, Fr., 4.6, 4.1, 43.7, 44.1
C.J. Fair, F, 6-8, Jr., 14.6, 7.3, 48.7, 79.5
Michael Carter-Williams, G, 6-6, So., 12.4, 4.8, 38.1, 75.4
Brandon Triche, G, 6-4, Sr., 14.3, 3.6, 41.8, 75.4
Other Key Players
James Southerland, F, 6-8, Sr., 14.1, 5.3, 46.3, 77.3
Jerami Grant, F, 6-8, Fr., 4.6, 3.0, 45.8, 52.4
Trevor Cooney, G, 6-4, So., 3.8, 0.7, 32.0, 81.8
Baye Moussa Keita, C, 6-10, Jr., 3.2, 3.7, 61.5, 50.0
About the Orange: For everything Boeheim has done, he's only been to five Elite Eights ... Lost seven of their last 12 in regular season. Scored 39 in finale at Georgetown, fewest under Boeheim. Last time they had less than that was 1962-63 ... Carter-Williams is among national leaders in assists (7.8 per game) ... Southerland, a 39 percent three-point shooter, missed seven games at midseason due to academic issues ... Christmas (Academy New Church) is the latest in a long list of Philadelphia-area products to play in the Carrier Dome ... Their 2-3 zone limited opponents to 37 percent from the field, just under 29 from the arc.
5 NEVADA-LAS VEGAS (25-9)
Location: Las Vegas. Conference: Mountain West.
Bid: At-large. RPI: 22. Strength of Schedule Rank: 15.
NCAA Tournament Record: 33-18 (1 Title, 4 Final Fours)
Last NCAA: 2012, Lost in second round to Colorado, 68-64
Head Coach: Dave Rice
School and Overall: 51-18 (2 years).
Probable Starters, Pos., Hgt., Yr., Pts., Reb., FG%, FT%
Khem Birch, F, 6-9, So., 7.9, 6.2, 54.6, 66.7
Anthony Bennett, F, 6-8, Fr., 16.2, 8.3, 53.1, 70.3
Bryce Dejean-Jones, G, 6-5, So., 10.0, 4.4, 42.1, 75.0
Katin Reinhardt, G, 6-5, Fr., 10.2, 2.1, 38.3, 90.9
Anthony Marshall, G, 6-3, Sr., 10.5, 3.9, 47.3, 69.3
Other Key Players
Mike Moser, F, 6-8, Jr., 7.4, 5.8, 39.1, 75.6
Justin Hawkins, G, 6-3, Sr., 5.1, 2.8, 31.9, 63.6
Savon Goodman, F, 6-6, Fr., 4.0, 2.5, 48.6, 59.5
Quintrell Thomas, F, 6-8, Sr., 3.9, 3.5, 50.6, 79.0
Carlos Lopez-Sosa, F, 6-11, Jr., 2.4, 1.4, 47.7, 63.0
About the Runnin' Rebels: Were upset by top seed New Mexico in the conference final, played on the Rebels' home court ... Bennett, who was selected as league's Freshman of the Year, scored in double figures in each of his first 17 collegiate appearances ... Marshall, who was named to the all-defensive team, leads the team and conference in assists with 5.9 per game. He had a career-high 12 twice this season ... Don't shoot the three particularly well (33.6 percent), but sure can defend it (29.7) ... Outrebounded teams by seven a game.
6 BUTLER (26-8)
Location: Indianapolis. Conference: Atlantic 10.
Bid: At-large. RPI: 23. Strength of Schedule Rank: 33.
NCAA Tournament Record: 18-11 (0 Titles, 1 Final Four)
Last NCAA: 2011, Lost in championship game to Connecticut, 53-41
Head Coach: Brad Stevens
School and Overall: 165-48 (6 years).
Probable Starters, Pos., Hgt., Yr., Pts., Reb., FG%, FT%
Khyle Marshall, F, 6-6, Jr., 9.9, 4.6, 56.1, 55.2
Roosevelt Jones, F, 6-4, So., 10.4, 5.8, 49.6, 55.2
Andrew Smith, C, 6-11, Sr., 10.9, 5.8, 50.5, 70.9
Rotnei Clarke, G, 6-0, Sr., 16.7, 3.0, 40.8, 89.6
Alexander Barlow, G, 5-11, So., 2.2, 2.7, 46.8, 68.2
Other Key Players
Kellen Dunham, G, 6-6, Fr., 10.2, 2.7, 40.2, 87.5
Kameron Woods, F, 6-8, So., 4.4, 4.6, 56.7, 61.9
Erik Fromm, F, 6-8, Jr., 3.4, 2.7, 42.9, 50.0
About the Bulldogs: This version is not nearly as talented as the team that almost beat Duke for the 2010 national championship. It is closer to the team that got back to the Final Four in 2011, with Smith playing the Matt Howard role and Clarke (98 threes, 41.7 percent) playing the Shelvin Mack role ... Stevens has obviously proven he knows how to win in the NCAA so you absolutely know this team will be prepared for whatever it faces ... They had the worst of the Atlantic 10 schedule with five games against the other four top teams and only two of them at home. They were terrific in the nonconference, with wins over Indiana, Gonzaga and North Carolina.
7 ILLINOIS (22-12)
Location: Champaign, Ill. Conference: Big Ten.
Bid: At-large. RPI: 40. Strength of Schedule Rank: 8.
NCAA Tournament Record: 39-30 (0 Titles, 5 Final Fours).
Last NCAA: 2011, Lost in third round to Kansas, 73-59
Head Coach: John Groce
School: 22-12 (1 year). Overall: 107-68 (5 years).
Probable Starters, Pos., Hgt., Yr., Pts., Reb., FG%, FT%
Sam McLaurin, F, 6-8, Sr., 4.1, 3.3, 47.5, 57.1
Nnanna Egwu, C, 6-10, So., 6.5, 4.5, 46.2, 60.5
Brandon Paul, G, 6-4, Sr., 16.3, 4.4, 40.5, 71.6
D.J. Richardson, G, 6-3, Sr., 12.8, 4.1, 38.4, 82.1
Tracy Abrams, G, 6-1, So., 10.6, 3.5, 40.3, 72.7
Other Key Players
Joseph Bertrand, G, 6-6, Jr., 7.7, 4.4, 50.8, 80.5
Tyler Griffey, F, 6-9, Sr., 7.2, 3.4, 43.2, 71.0
Myke Henry, G, 6-6, So., 3.6, 2.3, 35.5, 70.8
About the Fighting Illini: First-year coach Groce, after a run to the Sweet 16 with Ohio last year, taught a senior-dominated team a new way to play. They became a volume three-point shooting team with 773 attempts, hoping to overwhelm teams with basketball math 101. It worked very well in the nonconference when they won the Maui Tournament and at Gonzaga. It was less effective in the Big Ten ... Ran the out of bounds play of the year to beat Indiana at the buzzer ... Team averaged just 10.4 assists per game (311th in the nation) ... Seniors Paul and Richardson can be very good or very bad. If they win, it will be because they made threes. If they don't, it will be because they did not.
8 NORTH CAROLINA STATE (24-10)
Location: Raleigh, N.C. Conference: Atlantic Coast.
Bid: At-large. RPI: 33. Strength of Schedule Rank: 32.
NCAA Tournament Record: 34-22 (2 Titles, 3 Final Fours).
Last NCAA: 2012, Lost in regional semifinal to Kansas, 60-57
Head Coach: Mark Gottfried
School: 48-23 (2 years). Overall: 327-177 (16 years).
Probable Starters, Pos., Hgt., Yr., Pts., Reb., FG%, FT%
C.J. Leslie, F, 6-9, Jr., 15.2, 7.7, 53.3, 61.9
Richard Howell, F, 6-8, Sr., 12.8, 10.7, 56.0, 67.6
T.J. Warren, F, 6-8, Fr., 12.3, 4.2, 61.3, 55.4
Scott Wood, F, 6-6, Sr., 11.9, 3.0, 42.5, 90.3
Lorenzo Brown, G, 6-5, Jr., 12.4, 4.3, 42.9, 76.9
Other Key Players
Rodney Purvis, G, 6-3, Fr., 9.1, 2.5, 44.1, 52.0
Tyler Lewis, G, 5-11, Fr., 3.7, 1.1, 36.6, 85.7
About the Wolfpack Ninth team in NCAA history to have four 1,000-point scorers ... In both meetings with North Carolina, had three players get double-doubles. The last time it did that in a game was 1991 ... Howell has the most double-doubles for any player since Tom Burleson in 1973-74. The ACC's top rebounder, he's the fourth to reach 1,000 for State ... Made almost as many free throws as its opponents attempted ... Among national leaders in field-goal percentage and scoring ... Brown is active ACC assist leader ... Wood owns school record for starts and is closing in on the record for threes held by Rodney Monroe (1987-91) ... Most combined wins in back-to-back seasons since 1987-89.
9 TEMPLE (23-9)
Location: Philadelphia. Conference: Atlantic 10.
Bid: At-large. RPI: 42. Strength of Schedule Rank: 62.
NCAA Tournament Record: 32-30 (0 Titles, 2 Final Fours).
Last NCAA: 2012, Lost in second round to South Florida, 58-44
Head Coach: Fran Dunphy
School: 157-74 (7 years). Overall: 467-237 (24 years)
Probable Starters, Pos., Hgt., Yr., Pts., Reb., FG%, FT%
Anthony Lee, F, 6-9, So., 10.3, 7.1, 54.2, 64.7
Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson, F, 6-6, Sr., 8.6, 6.1, 42.9, 62.5
Scootie Randall, F, 6-6, Sr., 11.8, 6.3, 39.3, 78.3
Khalif Wyatt, G, 6-4, Sr., 19.9, 2.8, 42.2, 82.9
Will Cummings, G, 6-2, So., 6.0, 2.3, 39.9, 69.6
Other Key Players
Jake O'Brien, F, 6-9, Sr., 9.4, 3.3, 49.1, 67.5
Dalton Pepper, G, 6-5, Jr., 2.9, 1.3, 31.6, 80.0
T.J. DiLeo, G, 6-3, Sr., 2.8, 1.9, 42.2, 60.0
About the Owls: Sixth straight NCAA appearance, second-longest streak in program history ... Wyatt, the 10th Owl to be named Atlantic 10 Player of the Year (and first since 2000), made 32 consecutive free throws early in the season, longest Temple streak since Lynn Greer's 49 in 2000-01 ... Three guys already have their degrees: DiLeo, Randall and O'Brien ... Beat top 10 team for fifth straight season, when it ended Syracuse's 52-game nonconference winning streak in December at Madison Square Garden. This was first time they did it outside Philly ... Don't always play lockdown defense, but don't turn it over much ... Closed strong, as often is case under Dunphy.
10 COLORADO (21-11)
Location: Boulder, Colo. Conference: Pac-12.
Bid: At-large. RPI: 38. Strength of Schedule Rank: 22.
NCAA Tournament Record: 10-13 (0 Titles, 2 Final Fours).
Last NCAA: 2012, Lost in third round to Baylor, 80-63
Head Coach: Tad Boyle
School: 69-37 (3 years). Overall: 125-103 (7 years).
Probable Starters, Pos., Hgt., Yr., Pts., Reb., FG%, FT%
Josh Scott, F, 6-10, Fr., 10.7, 5.4, 48.7, 75.3
Xavier Johnson, F, 6-6, Fr., 8.7, 4.8, 51.4, 56.2
Andre Roberson, G, 6-7, Jr., 10.8, 11.5, 48.2, 54.0
Spencer Dinwiddie, G, 6-5, So., 15.4, 3.4, 42.9, 82.2
Askia Booker, G, 6-1, So., 12.6, 3.6, 36.9, 68.0
Other Key Players
Sabatino Chen, G, 6-4, Sr., 4.7, 2.3, 41.1, 58.8
Jeremy Adams, G, 6-5, Jr., 2.4, 1.4, 41.2, 58.6
Shane Harris-Tunks, C, 6-11, Jr., 1.3, 1.5, 36.8, 45.8
About the Buffaloes: Won four games in 4 days to win the 2012 conference tournament ... Roberson, the nation's leading rebounder, was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and is the only player in the country averaging a double-double with more rebounds than points. He leads the team in steals (63) and blocked shots (38) for the third straight season. He missed the last two games of the regular season with a viral illness, but had 15 points and 11 rebounds in a quarterfinal loss to Arizona . . . Dinwidde has made more free throws than all but two Pac-12 players have attempted ... Scott's father Alton (football) and mother Theresa (basketball) both played at the Air Force Academy.
11 BUCKNELL (28-5)
Location: Lewisburg, Pa. Conference: Patriot.
Bid: Automatic. RPI: 51. Strength of Schedule Rank: 192.
NCAA Tournament Record: 2-5 (0 Titles, 0 Final Fours).
Last NCAA: 2011, Lost in second to Connecticut, 81-52
Head Coach: David Paulsen
School: 99-64 (5 years). Overall: 361-184 (19 years).
Probable Starters, Pos., Hgt., Yr., Pts., Reb., FG%, FT%
Mike Muscala, F, 6-11, Sr., 19.0, 11.2, 52.0, 78.8
Joe Willman, F, 6-7, Sr., 10.3, 5.9, 48.8, 87.5
Cameron Ayers, G, 6-5, Jr., 12.5, 4.0, 47.2, 76.6
Steven Kaspar, G, 6-3, So., 2.3, 1.9, 44.8, 50.0
Bryson Johnson, G, 6-2, Sr., 11.1, 2.7, 40.2, 81.6
Other Key Players
Ryan Hill, G, 6-3, Jr., 2.9, 2.2, 42.0, 51.1
Ryan Frazier, G, 6-0, Fr., 2.7, 1.2, 28.1, 66.7
About the Bison: They have four 1,000-point scorers: Muscala (2,027), Johnson (1,375), Willman (1,142) and Ayers (1,056), who went to Germantown Academy and is the son of former Sixers coach Randy Ayers . . . Muscala, from Minnesota, led the nation with 22 double-doubles and was league tournament MVP for the second time. He was recruited via a tip given to associate coach Dane Fischer, a Minnesota native ... Bucknell upset Kansas in the 2005 NCAAs and stunned Arkansas the next year ... This is a solid team that can win an NCAA game if guards play well ... 28 wins are a league and school record ... The Bison are the Patriot's top defensive team (57.6 points per game) ... Paulsen led Williams College (his alma mater) to the 2003 Division III national title.
12 CALIFORNIA (20-11)
Location: Berkeley, Calif. Conference: Pac-12.
Bid: At-large. RPI: 53. Strength of Schedule Rank: 37.
NCAA Tournament Record: 19-17 (1 Title, 3 Final Fours).
Last NCAA: 2012, Lost in first round to South Florida, 65-54
Head Coach: Mike Montgomery
School: 108-58 (5 years). Overall: 655-302 (31 years).
Probable Starters, Pos., Hgt., Yr., Pts., Reb., FG%, FT%
Richard Solomon, F, 6-10, Jr., 8.4, 6.5, 45.9, 66.3
David Kravish, F, 6-9, So., 8.2, 7.0, 50.5, 67.5
Allen Crabbe, G, 6-6, Jr., 18.6, 6.0, 46.7, 81.0
Tyrone Wallace, G, 6-4, Fr., 7.3, 4.5, 35.2, 55.1
Justin Cobbs, G, 6-2, Jr., 15.1, 3.5, 45.4, 86.4
Other Key Players
Robert Thurman, F, 6-10, Sr., 4.7, 3.7, 57.9, 40.0
Brandon Smith, G, 6-0, Sr., 2.8, 1.4, 35.8, 57.1
About the Golden Bears: Crabbe was named Pac-12 player of the year and is a candidate for the Naismith National Player of the Year award. He led conference in scoring for the duration of the season ... The Bears logged a record 143 blocks this season, led by Kravis (50) and Solomon (36) ... Montgomery is a four-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year recipient. His 108 wins through 5 years mark the school's winningest stretch since 1960, when Pete Newell was coach. They had won seven of eight games entering the Pac-12 Tournament, but dropped their opener to Utah in overtime ... Opponents shot 120 more three-pointers than the Bears, and shot them better (33.1% to 30.2%) ... Cobbs and Crabbe have scored more than half the team's points.
13 MONTANA (25-6)
Location: Missoula, Mont. Conference: Big Sky.
Bid: Automatic. RPI: 74. Strength of Schedule Rank: 240.
NCAA Tournament Record: 2-10 (0 Titles, 0 Final Fours).
Last NCAA: 2012, Lost in second round to Wisconsin, 74-49
Head Coach: Wayne Tinkle.
School and Overall: 141-77 (7 years).
Probable Starters, Pos., Hgt., Yr., Pts., Reb., FG%, FT%
Spencer Coleman, F, 6-6, Jr., 7.7, 3.7, 51.8, 77.2
Eric Hutchison, C, 6-9, Jr., 3.3, 2.1, 54.2, 48.3
Kareem Jamar, G, 6-5, Jr., 14.5, 6.0, 50.0, 71.0
Jordan Gregory, G, 6-2, So., 8.3, 3.3, 47.1, 88.9
Will Cherry, G, 6-1, Sr., 13.9, 4.2, 42.1, 76.4
Other Key Players
Keron DeShields, G, 6-2, So., 6.7, 1.9, 37.4, 79.7
Mike Weisner, F, 6-7, So., 6.1, 2.5, 49.6, 90.0
Kevin Henderson, F, 6-5, So., 2.7, 1.9, 44.1, 55.6
Andy Martin, C, 7-0, Fr., 2.1, 1.5, 48.7, 79.2
About the Grizzlies: Shoot 47.4 percent from the floor, 23rd in the country ... Jamar led the Grizzles with four double-doubles, including 20 points and 10 rebounds in the Big Sky title game win over Weber State, avenging their only conference loss ... Lost leading scorer Mathias Ward (14.8) to foot surgery. The 6-7 senior forward was shooting 51 percent from the field, 40 percent from the arc ... Cherry also battled a foot injury but returned for the conference tourney ... Three other players shoot over 40 percent on three-pointers.
14 DAVIDSON (26-7)
Location: Davidson, N.C. Conference: Southern.
Bid: Automatic. RPI: 61. Strength of Schedule Rank: 190.
NCAA Tournament Record: 8-12 (0 Titles, 0 Final Fours).
Last NCAA: 2012, Lost in second round to Louisville, 69-62
Head Coach: Bob McKillop.
School and Overall: 452-278 (24 years).
Probable Starters, Pos., Hgt., Yr., Pts., Reb., FG%, FT%
Jake Cohen, F, 6-10, Sr., 14.8, 5.5, 50.0, 82.9
De'Mon Brooks, F, 6-7, Jr., 13.8, 6.2, 50.0, 76.9
Chris Czerapowicz, G, 6-7, Jr., 9.2, 5.1, 43.8, 79.2
JP Kuhlman, G, 6-4, Sr., 8.1, 2.7, 44.6, 72.2
Nik Cochran, G, 6-3, Sr., 9.9, 2.3, 48.0, 94.0
Other Key Players
Tyler Kalinoski, G, 6-4, So., 7.8, 2.8, 42.6, 72.3
Tom Droney, G, 6-6, Jr., 4.2, 3.0, 44.9, 83.7
About the Wildcats: Have won the conference the past two seasons and been to to the NCAA Tournament seven times under McKillop, who will be the head coach for the 2013 USA Basketball Men's World University Games team that will play in July ... Cohen (Conestoga High) has started every game this season. He scored a career-high 32 in a win over Charleston ... WSU lost to Drexel, 69-58, in December, and dropped both of its games against ranked teams - 81-67 to then-No. 17 Gonzaga in November; 67-50 against then-No. 1 Duke in January ... Davidson is a small town along Lake Norman. How small? How about a total area of 5.1 square miles? Philadelphia is about 142 square miles.
15 PACIFIC (22-12)
Location: Stockton, Calif. Conference: Big West.
Bid: Automatic. RPI: 99. Strength of Schedule Rank: 137.
NCAA Tournament Record: 4-9 (0 Titles, 0 Final Fours).
Last NCAA: 2006, Lost in first round to Boston College, 88-76 (ot)
Head Coach: Bob Thomason
School: 437-320 (25 years). Overall: 489-347 (28 years).
Probable Starters, Pos., Hgt., Yr., Pts., Reb., FG%, FT%
Khalil Kelley, F, 6-9, Jr., 5.2, 3.6, 50.6, 22.1
Travis Fulton, F, 6-6, Sr., 9.2, 3.9, 49.3, 76.2
Colin Beatty, G, 6-4, Sr., 6.0, 3.4, 47.0, 55.9
Sama Taku, G, 6-1, Jr., 8.5, 3.6, 39.3, 78.2
Lorenzo McCloud, G, 6-0, Sr., 11.2, 2.9, 43.5, 79.6
Other Key Players
Ross Rivera, F, 6-7, Jr., 7.7, 2.8, 43.9, 73.6
Tony Gill, F, 6-8, Jr., 7.1, 3.4, 53.4, 69.5
Rodrigo De Souza, G, 6-2, Sr., 4.8, 2.2, 46.7, 66.0
Trevin Harris, F, 6-6, Jr., 3.4, 1.7, 43.2, 72.2
Markus Duran, G, 6-0, Sr., 3.0, 0.6, 36.1, 100.0
About the Tigers: Had an assist/turnover ratio of 1.34, good enough for 24th in the nation ... Thomason has announced his retirement effective at the end of the season. Also nice to go out in the NCAAs ... He passed Jerry Tarkanian as the winningest coach in Big West history earlier this season ... Gill, a junior college transfer, had 19 points in 26 minutes off the bench in the Big West title game ... The Tigers' lone double-double of the season came from McCloud (all 6-foot of him), who had 20 points and 12 rebounds in a 80-71 win against Hawaii on Feb. 16.
16A JAMES MADISON (20-14)
Location: Harrisonburg, Va. Conference: Colonial Athletic.
Bid: Automatic. RPI: 182. Strength of Schedule Rank: 268.
NCAA Tournament Record: 3-4 (0 Titles, 0 Final Fours).
Last NCAA: 1994, Lost in first round to Florida, 64-62
Head Coach: Matt Brady
School: 87-81 (5 years). Overall: 160-131 (9 years).
Probable Starters, Pos., Hgt., Yr., Pts., Reb., FG%, FT%
Rayshawn Goins, F, 6-6, Sr., 12.7, 7.4, 41.2, 69.9
A.J. Davis, G, 6-6, Sr., 12.1, 3.6, 48.1, 68.0
Alioune Diouf, G, 6-5, Sr., 4.8, 3.4, 41.1, 68.1
Devon Moore, G, 6-4, Sr., 11.6, 3.7, 49.0, 74.7
Andre Nation, G, 6-4, Fr., 8.7, 2.9, 37.2, 74.0
Other Key Players
Ron Curry, G, 6-3, Fr., 6.0, 2.2, 34.0, 68.8
Charles Cook, G, 6-6, Fr., 5.1, 2.6, 37.3, 67.3
Taylor Bessick, F, 6-9, Fr., 2.3, 2.2, 41.0, 64.3
About the Dukes: The last time they qualified for the NCAA Tournament Lefty Driesell was their coach ... Brady, from Haddon Heights, N.J., is a former Saint Joseph's assistant. Rob O'Driscoll, his associate head coach, is a Villanova graduate. Wonder if they sit at opposite ends of the bench ... Top-seeded Northeastern couldn't stop Goins (14 points, 13 rebounds) in the CAA title game ... Davis (26 points in that contest) is a transfer from Wyoming ... The Dukes started the season 1-5, including a 22-point loss to North Dakota State at home ... Three local freshmen come off the bench: Curry is from Paul VI, Cooke from Trenton Catholic, and Bessick went to Frankford and Rise Academy.
16B LIU BROOKLYN (20-13)
Location: Brooklyn, N.Y. Conference: Northeast.
Bid: Automatic. RPI: 179. Strength of Schedule Rank: 286.
NCAA Tournament Record: 0-5 (0 Titles, 0 Final Fours).
Last NCAA: 2012, Lost in second round to Michigan State, 89-67
Head Coach: Jack Perri
School: 20-13 (1 year). Overall: 40-22 (2 years).
Probable Starters, Pos., Hgt., Yr., Pts., Reb., FG%, FT%
Jamal Olasewere, F, 6-7, Sr., 18.9, 8.5, 51.9, 69.6
Kenny Onyechi, F, 6-7, Sr., 4.4, 2.7, 59.3, 62.2
Brandon Thompson, G, 6-1, Sr., 8.4, 3.0, 40.1, 76.5
C.J. Garner, G, 5-10, Sr., 16.1, 4.1, 50.7, 71.9
Jason Brickman, G, 5-10, Jr., 9.6, 2.6, 45.9, 79.8
Other Key Players
E.J. Reed, F, 6-6, Fr., 7.7, 4.0, 51.8, 58.4
Booker Hucks, F, 6-6, Sr., 5.9, 2.3, 50.9, 93.3
Gerell Martin, G, 6-2, So., 3.7, 1.6, 45.5, 93.8
Troy Joseph, F, 6-6, So., 3.3, 2.0, 43.7, 58.3
About the Blackbirds: Despite losing the 2012 NEC player of the year and tournament MVP Julian Boyd eight games into the season with a torn ACL, they still finished sixth in the country in scoring (79.1) ... Brickman led the nation in assists (8.5) and Garner pumped in a career-high 31 points in the NEC championship game vs. Mount St. Mary's ... The Blackbirds hit 47.9 percent of their shots, led by Olasewere (51.9) ... Season got off to rough start when Boyd, Garner, Olasewere and Joseph were suspended after being arrested for an on-campus fight.