1. Arizona: For the conspiracy theorists out there, this game is for you. Arizona will face Memphis, and if you think like former Wildcats’ head coach Lute Olson, then you must believe this game was a setup by the committee. Memphis is coached by former Olson protégé Josh Pastner who just happens to be the head coach of the Tigers. Gene Smith, chairman of this year’s tournament committee, denied any intentional match-making here contrary to Olson’s belief.

‘It just doesn’t seem like this just occurred,’ Olson said. ‘The people on the committee must have known there’d be a lot of interest in it.’ Olson also said that the match-up is a good one for the Wildcats. ‘Memphis is very talented but I think it’s a good draw for Arizona because they don’t have much size inside and that’s the thing that seems to give Arizona trouble,’ Olson said.

2. Syracuse: ‘Unfinished Business’ is what the Orange has called this season. A year ago, Jim Boeheim's team was a #1 seed with thoughts of making the Final Four. But that dream came crashing down when Syracuse lost center Arinze Onuaku with a career-ending knee injury. They survived the first two rounds with wins over Vermont and Gonzaga, but Butler knocked them off in the Sweet 16. This year, Syracuse has two big men controlling the paint which has the team full of confidence heading into this tournament.

‘Having those two big guys is huge,’ junior guard Scoop Jardine said. ‘For Baye and Fab to play well is going to help us because we need them bad. We need both of our big men.’ Rick Jackson concurs: ‘Right now they're playing good. Fab really came alive in the Big East tournament. If he's playing like that, I think we'll go far. He's getting his confidence and Baye did a great job all year for us. I think with those two big guys, just keep rotating them and we'll be fine. We're just ready to go. This is my last go-round. I'm trying to go out with a bang.’

3. Akron: The Zips will represent the MAC when they face #2 seed Notre Dame on Friday afternoon. Akron closed the season strong as they won 11 of their last 13 games including a win over Kent St. to get the automatic bid. Prior to the start of their winning streak, Akron was mired in a slump as they lost 5 of their previous 7 games. But a little conversation between head coach Keith Dambrot and assistant Terry Weigand during the wee hours (4:30 a.m) of the morning back on February 3rd ignited the Zips’ run.

‘I said to Terry, 'I am miserable. We are no good. We are playing awful,’ Dambrot said. ‘He said to me, 'Coach, look, just kept coaching 'em. The talent is there. Trust the talent.’ I wanted them to have more fun, have less structure on offense and defend the 3-line,’ Dambrot said. So Dambrot let the players have more freedom on offense. ‘Coach D ran less plays. He told us to let our hair down and just play the game. That's what he did and that was best for us,’ said Brett McKnight. ‘There was less structure, more pick and rolls, more freedom to drive to the basket, and more playing off each other.’ In the past 13 games, the new system helped the Zips increase their points per game, their shooting percentage, and their 3-point shooting percentage.

4. George Mason: There wasn’t a better team in all of college basketball that flew well under the radar this season. The Patriots come into this game at 26-6, but more impressive is their 22-8 ATS record. Prior to losing to VCU in the CAA tournament, George Mason had won 16 consecutive games with 12 of those wins coming by 14 points or more. The Patriots played Villanova last season in Puerto Rico and only lost by a single point (69-68) as a 15-point underdog so they know they can compete with a Big East team. And losing their last game may also be a good thing for the Patriots.

‘You’re never really happy to lose,’ said guard Cam Long, who leads the team in scoring with 15.3 points a game. ‘But having that winning streak out of the way definitely takes some of the pressure off of us. Now we can relax and get ready to go.’ Can Jim Larranaga take this team back to the Final Four like he did back in 2006? We’ll soon find out.

5. Illinois: The Fighting Illini was one of the biggest disappointments this season. Illinois is loaded with talent, but they simply couldn’t get out of their own way, and they’ve got a weak 19-13 record to show for it. They’ve lost seven games by 5 points or less and another in overtime. The worst part of those losses is the fact Illinois held late leads in the majority of those games, but they just couldn’t close their opponents out. Their best player, Demetri McCamey, spent a recent practice doing nothing by yelling, ‘play a full 40 minutes’ to his teammates.

‘I think we’ve got the right tools and the right people in the right places,’ McCamey said when asked if the team is still confident. ‘Especially if we get a couple wins in the tournament, everyone will forget about what you didn’t do in the season or not winning the Big 10 Tournament.’ Head coach Bruce Weber said this when asked how the close losses impacted his team: ‘I think it takes a toll on you. There’s no doubt. I think it takes a toll on the staff. It’s just human nature to get frustrated, to have some doubt.’

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