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.
Dawson-Boyd is playing in its first state title game. Cherry is the defending 1A champion.
