Here’s a look at the South Region of the NCAA Tournament as March Madness gets set to tip off Tuesday:
No. 1 Houston
Record: 30-4
Conference: Big 12
Coach: Kelvin Sampson (10th season)
Post-ing up: The Cougars’ first season in the Big 12 was supposed to be a reality check. Instead, led by guards L.J. Cryer (15.4 ppg) and Jamal Shead (13.2 ppg, 6.2 apg) they were dominant, winning the best conference in the country by two full games. The nation’s premier defensive team is a nightmare to run offense against.
No. 16 Longwood
Record: 21-13
Conference: Big South
Coach: Griff Aldrich (6th season)
Post-ing up: A 12-game winning streak. Three stretches of three consecutive losses or more. Longwood is streaky, and it enters the tournament having won seven of its last nine games after an unexpected run to the Big South Tournament title as the conference’s fifth seed.
No. 8 Nebraska
Record: 23-10
Conference: Big Ten
Coach: Fred Hoiberg (5th season)
Post-ing up: Patience paid off for Nebraska. It took Hoiberg five seasons, but he finally has the Cornhuskers dancing. The Big Ten school notched its most conference wins (11) in six years, highlighted by impressive victories over Purdue and Wisconsin, two of the Big Ten’s best teams.
No. 9 Texas A&M
Record: 20-14
Conference: SEC
Coach: Buzz Williams (5th season)
Post-ing up: Boosted by an upset of Kentucky in the SEC quarterfinals, Williams’ Aggies played their way off the bubble and into the field for a second straight year. Led by junior guard Wade Taylor IV (18.1 ppg), the Texas A&M offense is one of the slowest and most methodical in the country.
No. 5 Wisconsin
Record: 22-13
Conference: Big Ten
Coach: Greg Gard (9th season)
Post-ing up: AJ Storr was a major transfer addition, the former St. John’s wing leading the Badgers in scoring (16.6) and providing needed athleticism on the perimeter. The Badgers found themselves in the Big Ten Tournament final after losing eight of 11 to close out the regular season.
No. 12 James Madison
Record: 31-3
Conference: Sun Belt
Coach: Mark Byington (4th season)
Post-ing up: The Dukes take care of the ball and they take it from you, notching an impressive plus-3.7 turnover margin, the 13th-best mark in the country. That was one of the driving forces in James Madison’s first 30-win season in school history, on the heels of an 11-2 football campaign, too.
No. 4 Duke
Record: 24-8
Conference: ACC
Coach: Jon Scheyer (2nd season)
Post-ing up: Upended by Tennessee in the second round of last year’s tournament, Duke shook off a shaky start to the season with three losses by Dec. 2. Two years removed from replacing Mike Krzyzewski, Scheyer will be relying on leading scorer and rebounder Kyle Filipowski, who was at the center of a court-storming controversy.
No. 14 Vermont
Record: 28-6
Conference: America East
Coach: John Becker (13th season)
Post-ing up: It’s time for the America East to rename its tournament the Vermont Invitational. The defensively stingy Catamounts, who allow just 63 points per game, have won it three straight times and five of the previous seven. They’re still searching for their first Big Dance win since 2012, though.
No. 6 Texas Tech
Record: 23-10
Conference: Big 12
Coach: Grant McCasland (1st season)
Post-ing up: After five 20-win seasons in six years as North Texas, McCasland made the leap to the high-major level. Nothing has changed for him. Despite losing center Devan Cambridge in December to a season-ending knee injury, the Red Raiders are in the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time since 2016.
No. 11 N.C. State
Record: 22-14
Conference: ACC
Coach: Kevin Keatts (7th season)
Post-ing up: The Wolfpack had played their way well off the bubble, entering the ACC Tournament on a four-game losing streak. Out of nowhere, they won five games in as many days, beating in-state rivals Duke and North Carolina en route to a stunning title. Madness.
No. 3 Kentucky
Record: 23-9
Conference: SEC
Coach: John Calipari (15th season)
Post-ing up: Led by Antonio Reeves — a senior, which is unusual for Calipari — the Wildcats are second in the nation in scoring (89.5) and first in 3-point shooting (41.2 percent). Along with Reeves (44 percent), guards Reed Sheppard (52.6 percent) and Rob Dillingham (44.5 percent) are lethal shooters from deep.
No. 13 Oakland
Record: 23-11
Conference: Horizon League
Coach: Greg Kampe (40th season)
Post-ing up: Kampe is the longest-tenured Division I coach, and his Golden Grizzlies are battle-tested. They edged Cleveland State and Milwaukee in the Horizon League Tournament by a combined 10 points, won at Xavier of the Big East and also faced tournament teams Dayton, Michigan State and Illinois on the road.
No. 7 Florida
Record: 24-11
Conference: SEC
Coach: Todd Golden (2nd season)
Post-ing up: Get ready for a physical battle, as the Gators have made a habit of bullying opponents. They often dominate on the boards, leading the nation with 43.2 per game, and are led by sharpshooter and Iona transfer Walter Clayton Jr. (17.1 ppg), as well as Seton Hall transfer Tyrese Samuel (7.8 RPG).
No. 10 Colorado
Record: 24-10
Conference: Pac-12
Coach: Tad Boyle (14th season)
Post-ing up: The Buffaloes won their final six games in the regular season to finish 13-7 in conference play. Junior guard KJ Simpson and Colorado can really shoot it, finishing sixth in the country in the regular season in field-goal percentage (.497) and third overall from beyond the 3-point arc at 40.2 percent.
Or
No. 10 Boise State
Record: 22-10
Conference: Mountain West
Coach: Leon Rice (14th season)
Post-ing up: The Broncos are in the field for a third straight year and fifth time under Rice, but are still searching for their first NCAA Tournament win in school history. Standout forward Tyson Degenhart (17.0 ppg) provides much of the scoring punch in an otherwise guard-heavy lineup.
No. 2 Marquette
Record: 25-9
Conference: Big East
Coach: Shaka Smart (3rd season)
Post-ing up: After beginning the year by losing three of their first five games in conference play, Marquette went on an eight-game winning streak that made them one of the top teams in the country. Star guard Tyler Kolek missed time at the end of the regular season with an oblique injury, but the Golden Eagles remain a tough team.
No. 15 Western Kentucky
Record: 22-11
Conference: Conference USA
Coach: Steve Lutz (1st season)
Post-ing up: Lutz, a longtime assistant at the Division I level, has been a head coach for three years and has yet to miss the NCAA Tournament. After getting there with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi each of the previous two seasons, he has Western Kentucky in the field.
