Coach: Rick Pitino.
Entry: Big East champion.
Key player: Gorgui Dieng (10.0 ppg, 9.9 rpg).
Notable: The Cardinals, a Final Four team in 2012, are on a 10-game winning streak, having won every game since their epic five-overtime loss at Notre Dame.
Coach: Dale Layer.
Entry: Big South champion.
Coach: Cy Alexander.
Entry: Mid-Easter Athletic champion.
Coach: Larry Eustachy.
Entry: Mountain West at-large.
Key player: Colton Iverson (14.7 ppg, 9.8 rpg).
Notable: Eustachy, in his first year with the Rams, is coaching in his second NCAA tournament in a row, having guided Southern Miss to the tourney last year.
Coach: Frank Haith.
Entry: Southeastern at-large.
Player to watch: Laurence Bowers (14.4 ppg, 6.2 rpg).
Notable: Mizzou, which is in its first year in the SEC after leaving the Big 12, will try to erase the memory of losing as a No. 2 seed to Norfolk State last year.
Coach: Travis Ford.
Entry: Big 12 at-large.
Player to watch: Marcus Smart (15.4 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 4.2 apg).
Notable: In Smart, the Cowboys boast one of the nation's top players. The freshman guard is the Big 12 Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year.
Coach: Dana Altman.
Entry: Pac-12 champion.
Player to watch: E.J. Singler (11.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.9 apg).
Notable: Altman was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year. Oregon led the Pac-12 in rebounding (37.4 per game) and steals (8.5 per game).
Coach: Jim Crews.
Entry: Atlantic 10 champion.
Player to watch: Dwayne Evans (13.6 ppg, 7.7 rpg).
Notable: A dark horse to reach the Final Four, St. Louis is playing for the memory of late coach Rick Majerus, who died last December.
Coach: Marvin Menzies.
Entry: WAC champion.
Player to watch: Daniel Mullings (14.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.6 apg).
Notable: The Aggies use a strong inside game to shoot better than 46 percent from the floor and outrebound opponents by 6.4 per game.
Coach: Mike Krzyzewski.
Entry: ACC at-large.
Player to watch: Mason Plumlee (17.2 ppg, 10.2 rpg).
Notable: Plumlee led the conference with 17 double-doubles; Duke was 18-0 during the regular season when Ryan Kelly played.
Coach: Will Brown.
Entry: America East champion.
Player to watch: Mike Black (14.9 ppg, 2.5 apg).
Notable: Albany, the conference leader in free-throw percentage (73.4 percent), made more free throws (502) than its opponents attempted (493).
[7] CREIGHTON VS. [10] CINCINNATI
Coach: Greg McDermott.
Entry: Missouri Valley champion.
Player to watch: Doug McDermott (23.1 ppg, 7.5 rpg).
Notable: The Bluejays swept the regular-season and tournament titles in what could be their last season in the MVC before potentially joining the Catholic 7.
Coach: Mick Cronin.
Entry: Big East at-large.
Player to watch: Sean Kilpatrick (16.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg).
Notable: The Bearcats ended nonconference play with a 12-1 record and a No. 8 ranking but shot 37.2 percent in Big East play and are 4-7 in their past 11.
Coach: Josh Pastner.
Entry: Conference USA champion.
Player to watch: Joe Jackson (13.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 4.8 apg).
Notable: Memphis is known for its balanced scoring and didn't have anybody finish among the top 15 in Conference USA scorers during the regular season.
Coach: Kermit Davis.
Entry: Sun Belt at-large.
Coach: Randy Bennett.
Entry: West Coast at-large.
[3] MICHIGAN STATE VS. [14] VALPARAISO
Coach: Tom Izzo.
Entry: Big Ten at-large.
Player to watch: Adreian Payne (10.4 ppg, 7.5 rpg).
Notable: The Spartans, again with their typical muscle on the boards in the 6-10 Payne and 6-9 Derrick Nix, seek their seventh Final Four since 1999.
CRUSADERS (26-7)
Coach: Bryce Drew.
Entry: Horizon League champion.
Player to watch: Ryan Broekhoff (15.9 ppg, 7.3 rpg).
Notable: The Crusaders reached their first NCAA tourney under Drew, who as a Valpo player hit one of the most iconic winning shots in tournament history.
With an investigation ongoing and the girls team's season over, Kurt Weber steps in to try to lead the boys team back to the state tournament.
