#1 Louisville Cardinals (29 - 5)
- The Cardinals were at one point this season ranked #1 before losing at home to Syracuse, which was the first of three straight losses. But since those 3 losses, Louisville has only fallen one other time, which was against Notre Dame in a 5 OT thriller. Louisville was in the Final Four last season and is led by head coach Rick Patino who knows how to get to the Final Four, but also knows how to win it all. They are the overall #1 seed, and should be considered a threat to once again reach the Final Four and possibly win it all.
- Tournament appearances: 39 (were in it last year)
- Tournament result last year: lost in the Final Four to Kentucky
- Duke was zeroing in on another #1 seed but fell in the ACC quarterfinals to Maryland. Still, Duke has a shot at making the Final Four but find themselves in one of, if not the, toughest region. Duke has only 5 losses on the season but has been quite inconsistent. They have had moments of greatness with Ryan Kelley but have had several losses against mediocre competition, including Maryland and Virginia and a near 30 point loss to Miami. Now these aren't bad teams, but they are losses that should have been wins. I don't expect Duke to lose again as a #2 seed like they did last year. Depending on which version of Duke shows up, the Bluedevils could either win the National title, or go home in the second round to Creighton/Cincinnati, or they could lose to another 15 seed.
- Tournament appearances: 36 (were in it last year)
- Tournament result last year: lost in first round to Lehigh
#3 Michigan State Spartans (25-8)
- The Spartans have been to five Final Fours since 2000. Under Tom Izzo they are always a threat to make a deep run. MSU looked at times to be the best team in a very difficult Big 10. They didn't have a single loss this season against an unranked team. I think the Spartans should win their first round game, but if they are matched up against Memphis in the second round, they may not make it back to the sweet 16.
- Tournament appearances: 26 (were in it last year)
- Tournament result last year: lost to Louisville in the Sweet 16
#4 St. Louis Billikens (27-6)
- At the beginning of the season I did not expect St. Louis to be as good as they were the past few seasons. After their former head coach Rick Majerus decided to retire before the start of the season and then passed away a few weeks later, I expected St. Louis to have an off year. But it was the exact opposite. St. Louis had a better season than last year and as a #4 seed could really make some noise in this tournament.
- Tournament appearances: 7 (were in it last year)
- Tournament result last year: lost in second round to Michigan State
#5 Oklahoma State Cowboys (24-8)
- The Cowboys may have the #1 player selected in the upcoming draft, Marcus Smart, who averages 15 ppg, 6 rbg, and 4 apg. He is a great all around player and is the biggest reason OK St was able to have such a successful season. They had some big wins this season, none bigger than knocking off Kansas in Lawrence and ending their 33 game home court win streak. But the Cowboys got unlucky with their first round draw. They are matched with the Pac 12 tournament champs, Oregon, who most people believe deserved much higher than a 12 seed. Tough break for the Cowboys.
- Tournament appearances: 24 (last appeared in 2010)
#6 Memphis Tigers (30 - 4)
- Memphis started the season 6-3 and chatter begin to circulate about how coach Josh Pastner was on the hot seat. Since that start, the Tigers have gone 24-1 with their only loss on the road against Xavier. They finished the conference season undefeated and won the conference tournament for the third straight year. I think this team is good enough to win their first two games and advance to the Sweet Sixteen. If you get a chance to watch Memphis, keep your eye on Chris Crawford who can score with the best in the country. In the conference quarter finals he had 6 triples and followed that up by scoring 30 points in only 27 minutes of play and knocking down 8 of 10 from behind the arc. Oh and did I mention, he is not a starter. Also take a look at DJ Stephens who may be one of the most athletic players in the country with a 41" vertical jump. He plays above the rim and can block, rebound, and oh yes, dunk.
- Tournament appearances: 25 (were in it last year)
- Tournament result last year: lost in the first round to St. Louis
#7 Creighton Bluejays (27 - 7)
- The Jays spent most of this season in the top 25. They may play in a smaller conference but they played 7 games this season against teams in the RPI top 50 and have wins over Cal and Wisconsin. Creighton is led by one of the Wooden Award finalists Doug McDermott. They have a tough draw against Cincinnati, but could knock off a couple teams in the tournament.
- Tournament appearances: 18 (were in it last year)
- Tournament Result last year: lost in the Round of 32 to North Carolina
#8 Colorado State Rams (25-8)
- Of all the mid-major conferences, the Mountain West is arguably the best. The MWC has 5 teams in the tournament this year. For the Rams to finish in second place in that conference says a lot about the quality of team that they are. If they get past their first round game, they will give Louisville a tough test in the second round.
- Tournament appearances: 9 (were in it last year)
- Tournament result last year (lost to Murray State in the first round)
#9 Missouri Tigers (23-10)
- Missouri had the potential this season to compete with Kansas for the Big 12 title, but in the end it didn't play out that way and they finished 5th in their conference. The Tigers biggest win of the year was against then #5 Florida. Missouri will look to avenge their first round upset last season when they were shocked as a #2 seed getting knocked of by the #15 seed. Led by Junior PG Phil Pressy, the Tigers like their first round opponent Colorado State could be a tough match for Louisville, but the biggest challenge will be getting to the second round. This should be a great first round match-up.
- Tournament appearances: 25 (were in it last year)
- Tournament result last year (lost to Norfolk State in the first round)
#10 Cincinnati Bearcats (22-11)
- For those women who mark their bracket selections based on which mascot would win in a fight, Cincinnati may win the National Championship. I mean, think about it, a bear that is also a car, nothing could defeat a Bearcat could it? But for the rest of us who make our selections based on performance during the regular season, Cincinnati does not pose much of a threat to make it out of the first weekend of the tournament. They lost 7 of their final 11 games and finished in 9th place in the Big East.
- Tournament appearances: 26 (were in it last year)
- Tournament result last year (lost to Ohio State State in the sweet 16)
#11 Middle Tennessee (28-5)
- Growing up I remember when Middle Tennessee played my local Univeristy in football. The next week when my group of friends played each other we would all argue over who got to pretend to be Middle Tennessee. We would say things like, "I get to be Middle Southern Northwest a little to the left Tennessee." For us, Mid Tenn was a joke, but this season, the basketball team is nothing of the sorts. They won 17 straight games before losing to FIU in the conference tournament. A lot of people were shocked to see two teams selected from the Sun Belt conference, but the Blue Raiders should put up a fight against any team they play in the tournament.
- Tournament appearances: 6 (last appeared in 1989)
#11 Saint Mary's Gaels (27-6)
- The Gaels are led by Senior guard Matthew Dellavedova from Australia who averages 16 ppg and 7 apg. He was one of the best players in the West Coast Conference this season and helped his team win every single conference game this season, except for the 3 times they played Gonzaga. I know a lot of people overlook the "play-in games" and start watching the tournament on Thursday. But I think this St. Mary's / Mid Tenn game should be an exciting game to watch.
- Tournament appearances: 7 (were in it last year)
- Tournament result last year (lost to Purdue in the first round)
#12 Oregon Ducks (26 - 8)
- The Ducks finished the Pac 12 season losing two in a row to Colorado and Utah. Going into the Pac 12 tournament they were the #3 seed but many people expected them to be a one and done in the tourney. The Ducks are led by E.J. Singler, brother of the Pistons forward and former Duke standout Kyle Singler. The Ducks are considered by many to be a first round threat to Oklahoma St.
- Tournament appearances: 11 (last appeared in 2008)
#13 New Mexico State Aggies (24 - 10)
- New Mexico State once went to the Final Four, well, back in 1970. So don't expect them to repeat that feat of 1970. The Aggies will likely go home after one game.
- Tournament appearances: 20 (were in it last year)
- Tournament result last year: lost in the first round to Indiana
#14 Valparaiso Crusaders (26 - 7)
- Any time Valpo is in the tournament I have to assume an upset is a possibility. After all, Bryce Drew is their head coach. This will be a very tall order against Michigan St. though.
- Tournament appearances: 8 (last appeared in 2004)
#15 Albany Great Danes (24 - 10)
- Albany finished in 5th place in their conference standings but got hot at the right time to win the American East tournament. The Great Danes only played one school from the power 6 conferences, Ohio State, and lost by 24. I don't expect to see them last too long in the tournament, as they should be a one and done. Them beating Duke would be a monumental upset, and Coach K. will not let happen again what happened last year.
- Tournament appearances: 3 (last appeared in 2007)
#16 North Carolina A&T (19 - 16)
- When people think about the state of North Carolina, the first team everyone thinks about is the Aggies from North Carolina A&T. No one thinks about Duke, North Carolina, NC State, Wake Forest, it's all about NC A&T. Welcome to the tournament Aggies, hope you enjoy being a #16 seed.
- Tournament appearances: 10 (last appeared in 1995)
Best first round game: Oklahoma St vs. Oregon
Possible Dark Horse who could reach the Final Four: Memphis
Final Four Prediction: Louisville
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