HispanicBusiness

March 12 FIRST ROUND

(16) Miss. Valley State vs. (16) Western Kentucky: Winner to be clobbered by Kentucky.

(14) BYU vs. (14) Iona: Both schools are fortunate to be here.

(16) Lamar vs. (16) Vermont: Pat Knight's rant is the stuff of legend.

(12) California vs. (12) South Florida: Bulls have zero players who average double-digit points.

EAST REGIONAL

(1) Syracuse vs. (16) UNC Asheville: From Bernie Fine to an alleged cover-up of failed drug tests, Syracuse cannot avoid controversy.

(8) Kansas State vs. (9) Southern Miss: What a year of athletics for Brett Favre's alma mater.

(5) Vanderbilt vs. (12) Harvard: Sharpshooter John Jenkins has made 100 or more three-pointers in each of the last two seasons.

(4) Wisconsin vs. (13) Montana: Badgers can shoot and buckle down on defense, a good combo in March.

(2) Ohio State vs. (15) Loyola (Md.): Jared Sullinger needs to be assertive for the Buckeyes to go the distance.

(7) Gonzaga vs. (10) West Virginia: Virtual home game for Mountaineers in Pittsburgh.

(3) Florida State vs. (14) St. Bonaventure: Don't sleep on the Bonnies and Andrew Nicholson, one of the best players nobody knows about.

(6) Cincinnati vs. (11) Texas: Hot-and-cold Cincy big man Yancy Gates is the ultimate wild card.

WEST REGIONAL

(1) Michigan State vs. (16) Long Island University: Draymond Green can carry Spartans to another championship.

(8) Memphis vs. (9) Saint Louis: No John Calipari, but Memphis has sustained its success and could give Spartans a scare in third round.

(5) New Mexico vs. (12) Long Beach State: Lobos won a very good Mountain West conference and play great 'D.'

(4) Louisville vs. (13) Davidson: Rick Pitino's team should play angry after two straight first-round NCAA exits.

(2) Missouri vs. (15) Norfolk State: Missouri can score at will with five players averaging in double figures.

(7) Florida vs. (10) Virginia: Green Bay native Tony Bennett has Cavs in the tourney for just second time since 2001.

(3) Marquette vs. (14) BYU / Iona: Marquette needs to erase 26-turnover loss to Louisville from its memory.

(6) Murray State vs. (11) Colorado State: Under-seeded Racers force opponents to play their game.

SOUTH REGIONAL

(1) Kentucky vs. (16) Miss. Valley State / Western Kentucky: Wildcats are easily the nation's most complete team.

(8) Iowa State vs. (9) UConn: The Huskies' Jeremy Lamb and Andre Drummond are both future NBA lottery picks.

(5) Wichita State vs. (12) VCU: More VCU magic? Don't bet on it.

(4) Indiana vs. (13) New Mexico State: Tom Crean has cleaned up the mess and built a contender.

(2) Duke vs. (15) Lehigh: Blue Devils will win this one easily but has been too streaky of late.

(7) Notre Dame vs. (10) Xavier: Irish can't score, could be one and done.

(3) Baylor vs. (14) South Dakota State: Perry Jones III passed up NBA millions to stay in school.

(6) UNLV vs. (11) Colorado: Rebels knocked off North Carolina in November.

MIDWEST REGIONAL

(1) North Carolina vs. (16) Lamar / Vermont: Loaded Tar Heels could win this one by 40.

(8) Creighton vs. (9) Alabama: Creighton's Doug McDermott is the nation's third-leading scorer at 23.2 ppg.

(5) Temple vs. (12) California / South Florida: Temple has the firepower to be a New Orleans dark horse.

(4) Michigan vs. (13) Ohio: Michigan will go as far as point guard Trey Burke takes them.

(2) Kansas vs. (15) Detroit: No Cinderella stories from the Horizon League this year.

(7) Saint Mary's vs. (10) Purdue: Close matchup features gritty guard Matthew Dellavedova from Australia and Purdue's Robbie Hummel.

(3) Georgetown vs. (14) Belmont: Hoyas have underachieved in March last four years.

(6) San Diego State vs. (11) N.C. State: This is no Fab Five, but Steve Fisher's Aztecs have had surprising success after losing top four scorers.