ShareThisCapsule previews of the 16 NCAA West regional teams.
No. 1 CONNECTICUT
Nickname: Huskies.
Location: Storrs
Coach: Jim Calhoun.
Record: 27-4.
NCAA record: 42-27 (1999 and 2004 championships).
Entry to tournament: At-large.
Best regular-season win: 68-51 at Louisville on Feb. 2.
Key players (regular-season averages): F Jeff Adrien (13.6 ppg, 10.0 rpg), G A.J. Price (14.0 ppg, 4.7 apg), C Hasheem Thabeet (13.7 ppg, 10.9 rpg, second in nation with 4.5 blocks per game).
Did You Know?: 38 of Huskies' 42 NCAA wins have come under Calhoun. But since winning second title in 2004, Huskies have made it out of first round only once.
Outlook: Talented, complete Huskies anxious to make first Final Four since winning it all in San Antonio in '04. But loss of G Jerome Dyson (knee surgery) makes depth, scoring punch questionable.
No. 2 MEMPHIS
Nickname: Tigers.
Location: Memphis, Tenn.
Coach: John Calipari.
Record: 31-3.
NCAA record: 30-21.
Entry to tournament: C-USA champs.
Best regular-season win: 68-50 at Gonzaga on Feb. 7.
Key players (regular-season averages): G Tyreke Evans (16.6 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.8 apg), C Robert Dozier (12.8 ppg, 7.2 rpg. 51.0 FG pct), G Antonio Anderson (10.2 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 4.1 apg).
Did you know?: After ranking dead last in nation in FT pct. last year, Tigers have improved to 157th at 69.3 pct.
Outlook: Tigers are thrilled at shot to atone for heart-breaking OT loss to Kansas in title game last year.
No. 3 MISSOURI
Nickname: Tigers.
Location: Columbia.
Coach: Mike Anderson.
Record: 28-6.
NCAA record: 18-21.
Entry to tournament: Big 12 Tournament champs.
Best regular-season win: 73-64 over Oklahoma on March 4.
Key players (regular-season averages): F DeMarre Carroll (16.8 ppg, 7.3 rpg), F Leo Lyons (14.2 ppg, 6.0 rpg), G Matt Lawrence (9.0 ppg, 42.0 3-pt. pct).
Did you know?: Tigers' first NCAA trip in six years after Mizzou had made 20 of its 21 NCAA appearances from 1976-2003.
Outlook: Surprise winner of Big 12 tournament, Missouri has talent to go deep in tournament, but tournament inexperience could hurt their chances.
No. 4 WASHINGTON
Nickname: Huskies.
Location: Seattle.
Coach: Lorenzo Romar.
Record: 25-8.
NCAA record: 14-14.
Entry to tournament: At-large.
Best regular-season win: 86-75 over UCLA on Jan. 24.
Key players (regular-season averages): G Isaiah Thomas (15.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg), F Jon Brockman (14.9 ppg, 2.5 apg), G Justin Dentmon (15.0 ppg).
Did you know?: Huskies won their first Pac-10 regular-season title since 1953.
Outlook: Aiming for first Final Four since 1953, Huskies have size (third in nation in rebounding margin, +8) and talent to get there -- but not much tournament experience. Sweet 16 looks about right.
No. 5 PURDUE
Nickname: Boilermakers.
Location: West Lafayette, Ind.
Coach: Matt Painter.
Record: 25-9.
NCAA record: 29-22.
Entry to tournament: Big Ten tournament champs.
Best regular-season win: 72-54 over Michigan State on Feb. 17.
Key players (regular-season averages): G E'Twaun Moore (13.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 3.1 apg), F Robbie Hummel (12.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 40.3 pct on 3-pointers), F JaJuan Johnson (13.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 54.9 FG pct).
Did you know?: Boilermakers have won nine straight first-round games dating back to 1993.
Outlook: While the Boilermakers don't have the NCAA tournament pedigree of conference foe Michigan State, they enter the tourney playing their best basketball of the season. Don't be surprised if they make a deep run.
No. 6 MARQUETTE
Nickname: Golden Eagles.
Location: Milwaukee.
Coach: Buzz Williams.
Record: 24-9.
NCAA record: 33-27, one championship (1977).
Entry to tournament: At-large.
Best regular-season win: 79-72 over Villanova on Jan. 1.
Key players (regular-season averages): G Wesley Matthews (18.6 ppg, 5.5 rpg), G Dominic James (11.4 ppg, 5.1 apg), F Lazar Hayward (16.2 ppg, 8.5 rpg).
Did You Know?: Eagles' 9-0 Big East start was its best conference start ever.
Outlook: Loss of James to broken foot on Feb. 25 makes Eagles, 1-4 minus James, a long shot to survive first weekend.
No. 7 CALIFORNIA
Nickname: Bears.
Location: Berkeley
Record: 22-10.
NCAA record: 18-13, one championship (1959).
Entry to tournament: At-large.
Best regular-season win: 81-71 over Arizona State on Jan. 4.
Key players (regular-season averages): G Jerome Randle (18.4 ppg, 4.9 apg), G Patrick Christopher (14.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg), F Theo Robertson (12.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg).
Did you know?: Bears lead nation in 3-point FG pct at 43.8 (196-of-448).
Outlook: Teams that live on 3-points don't usually last in NCAAs. Bears are no exception to that.
No. 8 BRIGHAM YOUNG
Nickname: Cougars.
Location: Provo, Utah.
Coach: Dave Rose.
Record: 25-7.
NCAA record: 11-26.
Entry to tournament: At-large.
Best regular-season win: 69-59 at San Diego State on Feb. 24.
Key players (regular-season averages): G-F Lee Cummard (16.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 86.8 FT pct), F Jonathan Tavernari (15.9 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 82 3-pointers), G Jimmer Fredette (16.2 ppg, 4.2 apg, 85.8 FT pct).
Did you know?: Last year's 67-62 loss to Texas A&M was Cougars' 7th straight first-round defeat since 1993.
Outlook: At No. 21 on the RPI, watch out for the Cougars, who will be motivated to avenge last year's lost to the Aggies when the two teams face off again in the first round this year.
No. 9 TEXAS A&M
Nickname: Aggies.
Location: College Station
Coach: Mark Turgeon.
Record: 23-9.
NCAA record: 7-10.
Entry to tournament: At-large.
Best regular-season win: 96-86 over Missouri on March 7.
Key players (regular-season averages): G-F Josh Carter (14.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg), G Donald Sloan (11.7 ppg, 3 apg), F-C Chinemelu Elonu (10.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg).
Did you know?: After not winning an NCAA game for 25 years and making the field only once over that span (1981-2006), Aggies have four NCAA wins last three years.
Outlook: Turgeon, who made Final Four as player at Kansas in 1986, would love to join Florida's Billy Donovan as only current coaches to play and coach in Final Four. But Aggies have been too inconsistent for that to happen this year.
No. 10 MARYLAND
Nickname: Terrapins.
Location: College Park
Coach: Gary Williams.
Record: 20-13.
NCAA record: 36-21, one championship (2002).
Entry to tournament: At-large.
Best regular-season win: 88-85 over North Carolina on Feb. 21.
Key players (regular-season averages): G Greivis Vasquez (17.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 5.1 apg), G Eric Hayes (9.9 ppg, 3.1 apg, 105 3-pointers), F Landon Milbourne (11.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg).
Did you know?: Williams has guided Terps to six of UM's 10 wins over No. 1 ranked teams, the second most of any team in the nation.
Outlook: Considering many UM fans were howling for Williams' head in early February, Terps responded with impressive push to get here. But Vazquez can't do enough to cover up for lack of height (254th in nation in rebounding margin, -2.0).
No. 11 UTAH STATE
Nickname: Aggies.
Location: Logan
Coach: Stew Morrill.
Record: 30-4.
NCAA record: 6-19.
Entry to tournament: WAC tournament champs.
Best regular-season win: 66-64 over Utah on Dec. 22.
Key players (regular-season averages): F Gary Wilkinson (17.1 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 58.6 FG pct), G Jared Quayle (12.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 3.7 apg), F Tai Wesley (11.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 59.0 FG pct).
Did you know?: Since losing to eventual champ UCLA in Elite Eight in 1970, Aggies are 1-12 in NCAA games.
Outlook: As Wilkinson goes, so goes Utah State. If he stays hot, the Aggies could make a run.
No. 12 NORTHERN IOWA
Nickname: Panthers.
Location: Cedar Rapids
Coach: Ben Jacobson.
Record: 23-10.
NCAA record: 1-4.
Entry to tournament: Missouri Valley tournament champs.
Best regular-season win: 69-66 at Creighton on Jan. 6.
Key players (regular-season averages): F Adam Koch (12.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg), G Kwadzo Ahelegbe (11.8 ppg, 3.2 apg), C Jordan Eglseder (10.1 ppg, 6.5 rpg).
Did you know?: Leading scorer Koch is also an Academic All-American candidate with a 3.49 GPA in biology.
Outlook: Picked in preseason to finish 6th in Missouri Valley, Panthers were nice surprise. But they've really done it with smoke and mirrors (9-2 record in games decided by 5 points or less) and that won't work vs. superior NCAA opponents.
No. 13 MISSISSIPPI STATE
Nickname: Bulldogs.
Location: Starkville
Coach: Rick Stansbury.
Record: 23-12.
NCAA record: 10-8.
Entry to tournament: SEC tournament champs.
Best regular-season win: 88-68 over Ole Miss on Jan. 26.
Key players (regular-season averages): G-F Ravern Johnson (12.2 ppg, 84.8 FT pct, 40.7 3-pt pct), F-C Jarvis Varnado (13.1 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 4.7 blocks per game).
Did you know?: The 6-9 Varnado leads nation in blocked shots at 4.7 per game.
Outlook: The Bulldogs finished hot to win the weak SEC, but don't expect them to make it far.
No. 14 CORNELL
Nickname: Big Red.
Location: Ithaca, N.Y.
Coach: Steve Donahue.
Record: 21-9.
NCAA record: 0-4.
Entry to tournament: Ivy champs.
Best regular-season win: 89-59 over Boston University on Dec. 29.
Key players (regular-season averages): G-F Ryan Wittman (18.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg), F Louis Dale (13.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg), C Jeff Foote (11.8 rpg, 7.1 rpg).
Did you know?: Ivy League schools have lost 10 straight NCAA games by average margin of 15 points.
Outlook: A 77-53 loser to Stanford in first round last year, nothing suggests overmatched Big Red will do much more this time.
No. 15 CALIFORNIA STATE-NORTHRIDGE
Nickname: Matadors.
Location: Northridge
Coach: Bobby Braswell.
Record: 17-13.
NCAA record: 0-1.
Entry to tournament: Big West champs.
Best regular-season win: 77-64 over UC-Riverside on Feb. 14.
Key players (regular-season averages): G Deon Tresvant (13.3 ppg, 2.2 apg, 83.3 FT pct), F-C Tremaine Townsend (10.9 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 49.1 FG pct), G Josh Jenkins (10.2 ppg, 6.1 apg, 36.2 3-pt pct).
Did you know?: Since UNLV left the Big West in 1996, Big West teams are 3-13 in NCAA Tournament games.
Outlook: The Matadors were anything but dominant in the weak Big West and should be an easy foe for first-round opponent Memphis.
No. 16 CHATTANOOGA
Nickname: Mocs.
Location: Chattanooga, Tenn.
Coach: John Shulman.
Record: 18-16.
NCAA record: 3-9.
Entry to tournament: Southern champs.
Best regular-season win: 80-69 over College of Charleston in the Southern Conference Championship Game on March 9.
Key players (regular-season averages): G Stephen McDowell (18.6 ppg, 43.4 pct. on 3-pointers, second in nation with 135 3-pointers made), F Nicchaeus Doaks (13.9 ppg, 8.7 ppg), F Kevin Goffney (13.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg).
Did you know?: Mocs overcame 4-10 start to make first NCAA field since 2005.
Outlook: With RPI of 190, Mocs benefited greatly from playing Southern tourney on their home court. Still, if McDowell gets hot, Chatty could prove to be a tough first-round out.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
