[1] KANSAS VS. [16] WESTERN KENTUCKY

8:50 p.m. Friday in Kansas City, Mo. • TNT

JAYHAWKS (29-5)

Coach: Bill Self.

Entry: Big 12 champion.

Player to watch: Jeff Withey (13.6 ppg, 8.4 rpg).

Notable: The Jayhawks lead the nation with 13 victories over the RPI top 50 but also have curious losses, notably a 62-55 loss Feb. 6 to TCU, ranked 237 in the RPI.

HILLTOPPERS (20-15)

Coach: Ray Harper.

Entry: Sun Belt champion.

Player to watch: T.J. Price (15.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.4 apg).

Notable: The Hilltoppers lost nine of 12 games at one point but have lost only once since falling Feb. 16 at Florida International.

[8] NORTH CAROLINA VS. [9] VILLANOVA

6:20 p.m. Friday in Kansas City, Mo. • TNT

TAR HEELS (24-10)

Coach: Roy Williams.

Entry: ACC at-large.

Player to watch: James Michael McAdoo (14.4 ppg, 7.4 rpg).

Notable: Going small is a decision that saved UNC's season, and led to a six-game winning streak towards the end of the season..

WILDCATS (20-13)

Coach: Jay Wright.

Entry: Big East at-large.

Player to watch: JayVaughn Pinkston (13.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg).

Notable: The Wildcats beat three top-five teams in Louisville, Syracuse and Georgetown but defended the three-point arc poorly (222 threes against).

[5] VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH VS. [12] AKRON

8:45 p.m. Thursday in Auburn Hills, Mich. • Ch. 4

RAMS (26-8)

Coach: Shaka Smart.

Entry: Atlantic 10 at-large.

Player to watch: Treveon Graham (15.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg).

Notable: The pressure defense of the Rams forces 19.2 turnovers a game, but it's a team that has had a tough time against big guards.

ZIPS (26-6)

Coach: Keith Dambrot.

Entry: MAC champion.

Player to watch: Zeke Marshall (13.0 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 3.7 bpg).

Notable: The Zips' 26 victories tied a school record. Demetrius Treadwell heads into the NCAA tournament with three consecutive double-doubles.

[4] MICHIGAN VS. [13] SOUTH DAKOTA STATE

6:15 p.m. Thursday in Auburn Hills, Mich. • Ch. 4

WOLVERINES (26-7)

Coach: John Beilein.

Entry: Big Ten at-large.

Player to watch: Trey Burke (19.2 ppg, 6.7 apg, 1.6 spg).

Notable: Burke led the Big Ten in assists and the NCAA statistics in assist-turnover ratio (3.41). Michigan averaged the fewest turnovers (8.9) in the country.

JACKRABBITS (25-9)

Coach: Scott Nagy.

Entry: Summit champion.

Player to watch: Nate Wolters (22.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 5.8 apg).

Notable: The Jackrabbits are making their second consecutive NCAA tournament appearance behind Wolters, the Summit League Player of the Year.

[2] GEORGETOWN VS. [15] FLA.-GULF COAST

5:50 p.m. Friday in Philadelphia • TBS

HOYAS (25-6)

Coach: John Thompson III.

Entry: Big East at-large.

Player to watch: Otto Porter Jr. (16.3 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 2.7 apg).

Notable: The Hoyas, who give up only 55.7 points per game, won 12 of their final 13 regular-season games behind Porter, the Big East Player of the Year.

Eagles (24-10)

Coach: Andy Enfield.

Entry: Atlantic Sun champion.

Player to watch: Sherwood Brown (15.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg).

Notable: The Eagles, who average 73.1 points per game and give up 66.7, played an ambitious nonconference schedule that included a 21-point loss at Duke.

[7] SAN DIEGO STATE VS. [10] OKLAHOMA

8:20 p.m. Friday in Philadelphia • TBS

AZTECS (22-10)

Coach: Steve Fisher.

Entry: Mountain West at-large.

Player to watch: Jamaal Franklin (16.7 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 3.2 apg).

Notable: Fisher has led the Aztecs to their fourth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance and 20 or more victories for eight years in a row.

SOONERS (20-11)

Coach: Lon Kruger.

Entry: Big 12 at-large.

Player to watch: Romero Osby (15.8 ppg, 7.0 rpg).

Notable: The Sooners head into the NCAA tournament with three losses in their past five games and will obviously need to pick things up.

[6] UCLA VS. [11] MINNESOTA

8:57 p.m. Friday in Austin, Texas • truTV

BRUINS (25-9)

Coach: Ben Howland.

Entry: Pac-12 at-large.

Player to watch: Shabazz Muhammad (17.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg).

Notable: Jordan Adams, the team's second-leading scorer (15.3 ppg.), will miss the NCAA tournament with a broken toe suffered last week.

GOPHERS (20-12)

Coach: Tubby Smith.

Entry: Big Ten at-large.

Player to watch: Trevor Mbakwe (10.0 ppg, 8.7 rpg).

Notable: The Gophers lost 11 of their last 16 games after a 3-0 start in conference play but were first in the Big Ten with a plus-8.2 rebound margin.

[3] FLORIDA VS. [14] NORTHWESTERN STATE

6:27 p.m. Friday in Austin, Texas • truTV

GATORS (26-7)

Coach: Billy Donovan.

Entry: SEC at-large.

Player to watch: Kenny Boynton (12.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.9 apg).

Notable: The Gators were the top defensive team in the SEC, giving up 53.7 points per game, and also led the SEC in three-point field-goal percentage defense.

DEMONS (23-8)

Coach: Mike McConathy.

Entry: Southland champion.

Player to watch: DeQuan Hicks (14.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg).

Notable: The Demons, who are making their first NCAA tourney appearance since 2006, are the nation's top scoring team at 82.4 points per game.