Conference: Ohio Valley Record: 24-10 (16-4) RPI: 84 How They Got In: Automatic Seed/Bracket: #15/South
Mascot: Austin Peay is known as the Governors, as the school was named for local Clarksville (TN) favorite son Austin Peay, former Governor of the Volunteer State. While the mascot does allow you dust off you cockney accent and count how many times you can say "'Ello, Gov'nah!" before someone punches you square in the face, the school is also widely known for its cheer of "Let's Go Peay!," which is much more fun to say than read.
Big Wins: The Govs have two wins over a tournament qualifying school; unfortunately both came over fellow automatic qualifier Belmont (Atlantic Sun). Peay has no other wins against teams in the RPI top 100. Player You Should Know: Senior Todd Babington was named OVC tournament MVP after nailing six threes in the championship game against Tennessee State. Since upsets are often built on hot three-point shooting, Babington will need a similar effort in the Governors' first round game, along with help from Peay's other two senior stars, Derek Wright (12 ppg, 41% 3-pt) and Fernandez Lockett (11 ppg, 7 rpg).
Outlook: As mentioned above, the Govs beat another team in the tournament, but not of the quality they'll see in the first round. The two best teams Peay played this year, Memphis and Vanderbilt, each handled the Govs easily. As a projected #15 or 16 seed, Austin Peay will need a magical night, and perhaps a bout of food poisoning for the favorite, to advance past round one of the tournament.
Conference:Big 12 Record: 21-9, 9-7 in conference RPI: 43 How They Got In: At-Large Seed/Bracket: 11/West
Mascot: Bear. Baylor actually has live bears for their mascot. All of their bears are named Judge. The two present mascots are named "Judge Joy" and "Judge Lady." The school adopted the bear as a mascot in 1914, in what seems to have been the typical manner of the time -- students voted.
Big Wins: Notre Dame, Kansas State, Texas A&M
Notable Loss: at Oklahoma State
Player You Should Know: Guard Curtis Jerrells leads the Bears in scoring and assists. He shoots from the outside and is able to drive to the basket. He opens things up for the rest of the team that shares the ball very well. Outlook: The Bears wore down at the end of the season. That opening round loss to Colorado in the Big 12 Tournament soured a lot of people on what had been a great season. For the most part, they beat the teams they should, and lost to the teams they were expected to lose. Baylor is likely to go out in their opening game.
Conference:Big East Record: 20-12, 9-9 in conference RPI: 51 How They Got In: At-large Seed/Bracket: 12 / Midwest
Mascot: Wildcats. There is no connection to the Philly area, as the Villanova Wildcat is a feral feline with an appearance based on a bobcat found in the Southwest US. 'Nova's anthropomorphic mascot is called Will D. Cat. The name was chosen by a campus-wide contest in 1926.
Big Wins: Pitt, UConn and West Virginia.
Notable Loss: Rutgers (ouch). Player You Should Know: The Villanova guards are the stars and the best athletes. The issue for Villanova is whether their forwards play well or just use up fouls. The main player inside is Dante Cunningham. The junior forward is their leading rebounder and has the highest field goal percentage -- if he can stay out of foul trouble,
Outlook: The Wildcats are best against other teams that like to play perimeter games. Against teams with strong frontcourts, they generally struggle. Villanova is likely one and done.
Conference:Big East Record: 22-9, 11-7 in conference RPI: 27 How They Got In: At-Large Seed/Bracket: 7/West
Mascot: Mountaineer. The only mascot that has and fires a flintlock rifle. West Virginia has had students serving as the embodiment of the Mountaineer since the late 1920s.
Big Wins: Pitt, Marquette, Winthrop
Notable Loss: Cinci (by 23 points)
Player You Should Know: Joe Alexander has emerged late in the season. The forward has great range and has stopped settling for jump shots and now goes closer to the basket. He's also the team's leading rebounder. Outlook: The Mountaineers are still in transition from the motion offense and zone defense of John Beilein to the more aggressive defense and traditional offense under Bob Huggins. They came on stronger later into the season, but have spells where the defense gets passive. They can definitely win a game, but getting to the Sweet 16 this season seems unlikely.
Conference:Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Record: 22-10, 8-8 in conference RPI: 34 How They Got In: at large bid. Seed/Bracket: #7/South
Mascot: Hurricanes because, well, there are Hurricanes in south Florida from time to time. The mascot is Sebastian, an ibis. According to legend, the ibis is the last animal to leave before a storm and the first to return.
Big Wins: Duke, Clemson, Mississippi State.
Notable Loss: Losses to ACC basement dwellers Boston College and NC State. Player You Should Know: Guard Jack McClinton is one heck of a shooter. He led the ACC in 3-point percentage, free throw percentage and three-pointers made. He's one of those guys that can get into a zone and is so difficult to stop.
Outlook: This is Miami's first appearance in the NCAA tournament since joining the ACC. They are one of the nation's pleasant surprises (picked last in the preseason polls) but can make a small run in this thing. The key is the interior guys. If guys like Anthony King and Dwayne Collins can get points in the paint while keeping up their boardwork and defense, they could sneak into the Elite Eight.
Conference:Big 12 Record: 21-10, 9-7 in conference RPI: 29 How They Got In: At-Large Seed/Bracket: 6/East
Mascot: Sooners. You need to know your American history. It was a term for those who jumped too soon on claiming land Oklahoma Territory on April 22, 1889. Eventually the term got changed to represent the "Progressive spirit."
Big Wins: at West Virginia, Gonzaga, Arkansas, swept Baylor
Notable Loss: Stephen F. Austin
Player You Should Know: Blake Griffin. Blake Griffin. Blake Griffin. The freshman forward was a 1st team All-Big 12 player and is the best freshman in the Big 12 not named Michael Beasley. Griffin averaged 15 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. The only issue for Griffin is that he has battled knee injuries in the season. Outlook: The Sooners should be able to win one game. Jeff Capel is one of the best young coaches, but this team doesn't have great depth. Their backcourt is distinctly average
Conference: Atlantic 10 Record: 21-12 (9-7 A-10) RPI: 44 How They Got In: At Large Seed/Bracket: 11/East Mascot: Hawks. Students apply and go through an interview process to don the Hawk costume, which comes with a scholarship, and must flap their wings nonstop through every game. ESPN once clocked the Hawk at 3,500 flaps during a regulation game.
Big Wins: Two wins over Xavier in an eight-day span at the season's end is why the Hawks are dancing. They also swept UMass and beat Villanova and Siena.
Notable Loss: A 102-88 loss at Duquesne ended a six-game winning streak and sent Saint Joe's on a death spiral that nearly cost them a chance at the tournament.
Player You Should Know: SEC fans are familiar with Florida freshman Nick Calathes but the whole nation will get a chance to acquaint themselves with his older brother Pat. They'll like what they see. He might not play with little bro's flair but he he scores inside, hits 41% of his three-pointers and grabs eight rebounds a night.
Outlook: Their biggest problem this season came in minutes 39 and 40 of games. The Hawks let more close ones get away late than any team in the country which overshadowed their more pleasant attributes. They're one of the best shooting teams in the country, have an enviable balance of scoring and play a high-pressure defense that can lead to big runs. If they play the whole way, they have the tools to beat almost anyone but, more likely, they'll bow out before the first weekend is over.
Conference: Big West Record: 23-8, 12-4 in conference RPI: 79 How They Got In: Automatic bid Seed/Bracket: No. 14/Midwest
Mascot: Titans. The name Titans beat out Aardvarks, thankfully. But why is the elephant the mascot? From the school's website. The "First Intercollegiate Elephant Race in Human History" was held in 1962. What began as a practical joke attracted elephants from universities around the nation and even Oxford from England . A crowd estimated at more than 10,000 people turned out on "Dumbo Downs" as the hastily graded field became known that spring afternoon in 1962. To publicize the event, a circus-like elephant called Tuffy the Titan was used and it began appearing on sweaters and notebook covers around the campus. With no other mascot, the elephant was unofficially adopted.
Big Wins: Portland State
Notable Loss: Wright State. Fans in attendance for this game will swear that the Horizon League referees wanted to ensure that their team was going to win the game. That might have been the difference between Fullerton being a 14 or 13 seed.
Player You Should Know: Scott Cutley was the Big West co-player of the year, but the Titans tournament hopes will rest on Josh Akognon the conference tournament MVP. Akognon made the big shots when needed to get Fullerton this far. He will need to be even better if the Titans are to advance. The Titans are going to face Wisconsin in the opening round who will no doubt shadow Akognon. He will need to work hard to get his shots.
Outlook: The Titans advance to the tournament for the first time since 1978. And the current edition shares a lot of similarities with its predecessors. The 1978 team also had a conference co-player of the year (Greg Bunch) and was the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament. That team advanced to the Elite 8, and was a whisper away from the Final Four. Can the Titans do it again? The Titans fans certainly believe. Beating Wisconsin, however, won't be easy.
Conference:Big East Record: 24-7, 13-5 in conference RPI: 18 How They Got In: At-Large Seed/Bracket: 4/West
Mascot: Jonathan XII is the present Husky mascot. UConn was originally an agricultural college and nicknamed the Aggies into the 1930s. A student survey/vote chose the Husky as the new mascot when the school changed from Connecticut Agricultural College became Connecticut State College.
Big Wins: at Indiana, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pitt
Notable Loss: Swept by Providence
Player You Should Know: It's hard to miss center Hasheem Thabeet. The big man inside is the best shot blocker at UConn since Emeka Okafor was at the program. His offensive game has developed a softer touch to finish better around the hoop. Almost as important, the big man shoots better than 70% from the free throw line.
Outlook: Lots of talent, but their coach has questioned their desire after going out in the Big East Tournament in their first game. The team has cooled off considerably in the last week. Mainly, their defense has dropped in intensity. Unless that changes, they will be hard pressed to get to the Sweet 16.
Conference: West Coast Record: 24-6, 12-2 in conference RPI: 36 How They Got In: At large Seed/Bracket: No. 10/South
Mascot: Gaels. The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group which originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to Scotland and the Isle of Man. The student fan group is cleverly known as the "Gael Force." (And did you know that St. Mary's was an all-male school until the 1970s?)
Big Wins: Drake, Oregon , Seton Hall, San Diego State
Notable Loss: The Gaels lost only one game to a non-tournament team ( Southern Illinois ).
Player You Should Know: Diamon Simpson is clearly the best player for the Gaels. He has a high basketball IQ and great feel for the game. He is one of those do-everything type of players. If Gus Johnson is on the call for a St. Mary's game, he will love Simpson.
But St. Mary's will only go as far as point-guard Patrick Mills takes them. Mills was great in the early going, but has really struggled of late. The tournament is built for teams that have one superstar carry a team. Mills can be that player for St. Mary's.
Outlook: St. Mary's looked like a lock for the tournament in November, but has limped into the tournament. The Gaels did not win a game in the WCC tournament and lost its bracket buster game to Kent State . But teams that work so hard in the conference tournament often struggle in the dance (think of Boston College a few years ago). Maybe St. Mary's coasting will actually benefit them. Big man Omar Samhan needed the rest, so maybe the Gaels come out with a lot of energy. This team has the chance to make a run to the Sweet 16, but a first-game knockout wouldn't be a surprise, either.
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