EAST REGION BREAKDOWN
FIRST-ROUND GAMES
Thursday at New Orleans
1. Kentucky vs. 16. East Tennessee State
8. Texas vs. 9. Wake Forest
Thursday at San Jose, Calif.
3. New Mexico vs. 14. Montana
6. Marquette vs. 11. Washington
Friday at Jacksonville, Fla.
4. Wisconsin vs. 13. Wofford
5. Temple vs. 12. Cornell
Friday at Buffalo, N.Y.
2. West Virginia vs. 15. Morgan State
7. Clemson vs. 10 Missouri
THE PARTICULARS
MOST OVERSEEDED: Wisconsin and Marquette each seem a spot too high, at Nos. 4 and 6, respectively. Wisconsin did its best work at home, and Marquette -- 50th in the RPI -- had only four top-50 wins and played a weak nonconference schedule.
MOST UNDERSEEDED: Temple tied for the Atlantic 10 regular-season title, then won the league tourney. The Owls had seven RPI top-50 wins, including three away from home. They went 16-4 on the road. They haven't lost since Feb. 6. They lost by one at Georgetown, which is a No. 3 seed. And their RPI is 8th. Yet they're a No. 5 seed. They should be a No. 3, or a No. 4 at worst.
BEST PLAYER: Kentucky guard John Wall. The highly hyped freshman actually has surpassed the hype. He is jet-quick with the ball and always seems to make the key play when it's needed. Enjoy him this month because he will be in the NBA next season.
FIVE OTHERS TO WATCH: Wake Forest forward Al-Farouq Aminu, West Virginia forward Da'Sean Butler, Kentucky forward DeMarcus Cousins, Marquette forward Lazar Hayward and Texas forward Damion James.
BEST PLAYER YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF: New Mexico swingman Darington Hobson. Hobson, a junior college transfer, was the missing piece the Lobos needed. He led them in scoring, rebounds and assists.
FIVE OTHERS TO WATCH: Temple forward Lavoy Allen, Wofford forward Noah Dahlman, Morgan State guard Reggie Holmes, Montana guard Anthony Johnson and Cornell forward Ryan Wittman.
NUMBERS GAME: There are eight conference tournament champions in the region -- East Tennessee State (Atlantic Sun), Kentucky (SEC), Montana (Big Sky), Morgan State (MEAC), Temple (Atlantic 10), Washington (Pac-10), West Virginia (Big East) and Wofford (Southern). There also is Cornell, which won the Ivy's regular-season title.
BEST FIRST-ROUND MATCHUP: Games matching 8-9 seeds always are intriguing, and this one certainly qualifies. Texas was 17-0 at one point but faded badly down the stretch. Wake Forest comes in having lost five of six. Each has some top-level individual talent, but for whatever reason, cohesion and chemistry haven't been there.
THE BUZZ: This is the first NCAA appearance for New Mexico since 2005. Steve Alford is in his third season as Lobos coach. Clemson hasn't won an NCAA Tournament game since 1997, when it reached the Sweet 16 as a No. 4 seed in the Midwest. Wisconsin is making its ninth straight NCAA appearance under Bo Ryan. The school had made seven appearances in its history before Ryan's arrival.
MIKE HUGUENIN/RIVALS.COM
