Coach: Tom Crean.
Entry: Big Ten at-large.
Player to watch: Cody Zeller (16.9 ppg, 8.2 rpg).
Notable: The Hoosiers are terrific offensively, ranking in the top six in NCAA statistics in points, field-goal percentage, and three-point accuracy.
Coach: Jim Ferry.
Entry: Northeast champion.
Coach: Matt Brady.
Entry: CAA champion.
Coach: Mark Gottfried.
Entry: ACC at-large.
Player to watch: Richard Howell (12.7 ppg, 10.7 rpg).
Notable: Howell enters the NCAA tournament with 1,200 career points and 1,040 career rebounds. C.J. Leslie shot 51.4 percent from the floor.
Coach: Fran Dunphy.
Entry: Atlantic 10 at-large.
Player to watch: Khalif Wyatt (19.8 ppg, 4.1 apg).
Notable: The Owls have the ability to reach the Sweet 16 but also could easily suffer an opening-round blowout loss. Temple can be that inconsistent.
Coach: Dave Rice.
Entry: Mountain West at-large.
Player to watch: Anthony Bennett (16.1 ppg, 8.1 rpg).
Notable: NCAA tourney teams will have a tough time keeping Bennett away from the basket. The 6-foot-8 freshman is a first- team all-conference pick.
Coach: Mike Montgomery.
Entry: Pac-12 at large.
Player to watch: Allen Crabbe (18.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg).
Notable: Crabbe was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year. Cal had won seven in a row before a regular-season-ending loss to Stanford.
Coach: Jim Boeheim.
Entry: Big East at-large.
Player to watch: C.J. Fair (14.4 ppg, 7.1 rpg).
Notable: The Orange closed the regular season 3-5 but rebounded to reach the Big East final. James Southerland is a reliable three-point shooter.
Coach: Wayne Tinkle.
Entry: Big Sky champion.
Player to watch: Will Cherry (13.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 4.1 apg).
Notable: The Grizzlies have shot well, ranking fifth in the nation in free-throw percentage, 13th in three-point shooting and 23rd in field-goal percentage.
[2] MIAMI (FLA.) VS. [15] PACIFIC
Coach: Jim Larranga.
Entry: ACC champion.
Player to watch: Shane Larkin (14.6 ppg, 4.4 apg).
Notable: Durand Scott, a 6-5 senior, was named the ACC defensive player of the year, and Larkin finished second in the voting.
Coach: Bob Thomason.
Entry: Big West champion.
Player to watch: Lorenzo McCloud (11.4 ppg, 4.0 apg).
Notable: The Big West tourney champion Tigers will make their ninth NCAA tourney appearance. Pacific has won six in a row and eight of 1.
Coach: John Groce.
Entry: Big Ten at-large.
Player to watch: Brandon Paul (16.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.8 apg).
Notable: Ranked as high as 10th in December, the Illini finished first in the Big Ten with 265 three-pointers as Paul and D.J. Richardson combined for 152.
Coach: Tad Boyle.
Entry: Pac-12 at-large.
Player to watch: Spencer Dinwiddie (15.6 ppg, 3.0 apg).
Notable: Colorado was fifth in the Pac-12 in scoring defense (63.8 ppg). The Buffaloes averaged 10.0 assists and 13.3 turnovers per game.
Coach: Brad Stevens.
Entry: Atlantic 10 at-large.
Player to watch: Roosevelt Jones (10.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 3.5 apg).
Notable: Rotnei Clarke was second in the A-10 in free-throw percentage this season (.886) and first in three-pointers made (3.6 per game).
Coach: Dave Paulsen.
Entry: Patriot champion.
Player to watch: Mike Muscala (19.0 ppg, 12.3 rpg).
Notable: The Bison, making an NCAA tournament for the second time in three seasons, have won seven consecutive games and 12 of the last 13.
Coach: Buzz Williams.
Entry: Big East at-large.
Player to watch: Davante Gardner (11.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg).
Notable: Marquette creates offense off a pressing defense but don't attempt many three-pointers. Davante Gardner is the Big East's sixth man of the year.
Coach: Bob McKillop.
Entry: Southern champion.
Player to watch: De'Mon Brooks (13.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg).
Notable: Davidson led the nation in free-throw percentage, with Nik Cochran connecting on an NCAA-best 94.1 percent.
The center had called on coach Chris Finch to start benching players who give lackluster effort on defense.
