No. 1 Duke — The Blue Devils are the first team in ACC history to lead their conference in scoring offense (83.0) and defense (61.9). Duke, the nation’s No. 1 ranked team, is looking to win it all for a sixth time. The team has a trio of star freshmen and opens with a de facto home game in Raleigh, N.C.
No. 2 Alabama — The Crimson Tide’s up-tempo style can catch a lot of opponents flat-footed. But does this team have the defense to get to the Final Four? Coach Nate Oats led his team to the Elite Eight last year, and had teams that advanced to the Sweet 16 in ’23 and ’21.
No. 3 Wisconsin — This is a seasoned basketball program. The Badgers are making their 24th NCAA tournament appearance in the last 26 years. Wisconsin is a disciplined team and deadly when it gets to the line, leading the nation in free-throw accuracy (82.6%). This is the highest-scoring Badgers team since the 1970-71 season.
No. 4 Arizona — The Wildcats have come on strong of late, making it all the way to the Big 12 title game in their inaugural season in the conference. Arizona fell 72-64 to Houston, significantly off the Wildcats’ average of 81.7 points per game. Arizona blew out Old Dominion and Davidson this season.
CINDERELLA SEARCH
Liberty knows how to slow it down, play tough defense and make every possession count. The 12th-seeded Flames have a tough matchup against Oregon, and coach Dana Altman will have his Ducks in a row, but this game won’t be an easy opener for the No. 5 seed.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Cooper Flagg, forward, Duke — Projected as the top pick in the 2025 NBA draft, the 6-9 Flagg suffered a left ankle sprain during the ACC tournament quarterfinals, sparking concerns he wouldn’t be available for the NCAA tournament. But the Blue Devils are confident the star freshman will be ready.
Caleb Love, guard, Arizona — Love is a feast-or-famine shooter who can get hot and have a huge game or come out as cold as an ice plunge. He leads Arizona in scoring (18.0) and three-pointers made (92), and has plenty of experience, having spent his first three seasons with North Carolina.
Egor Demin, guard, Brigham Young — NBA scouts will be keeping a keen eye on the 6-9 Demin, who grew up in Russia and found his way to BYU. This was his first season at the school and he averaged 10.3 points and 5.4 assists, and was named to the Big 12 all-freshman team. He could be a lottery pick.
RIM SHOTS
- Saint Mary’s is lousy when it comes to shooting threes. The Gaels lost to Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference tournament, going 0 for 16 from three-point range, the first ranked team to do that since Texas A&M in 2011.
- Robert Morris, which opens against Alabama, went 26-8 this season after an overall record of 10-22 a year earlier, with a seven-game losing streak to finish that season.
- Another U-turn: Vanderbilt was 9-23 last year under Jerry Stackhouse, but went 20-12 this year with coach Mark Byinton at the helm.
— Sam Farmer
