Atlanta Regional

No. 1 Duke (27-5): Second-round game against Seton Hall or Arizona is no gimme. Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament champion.

No. 2 Mississippi State (25-3): A remarkable, surprising season for the Bulldogs, considering what was lost from last year. At-large from Southeastern Conference.

No. 3 Texas (23-7): Will learn what life is like without T.J. Ford in an early upset. At-large from Big 12.

No. 4 Cincinnati (24-6): Played its way back to prominence in the final week of the season. Conference USA Tournament champion.

No. 5 Illinois (24-6): Fortunate to have played in a down Big Ten, because the Illini have significant weaknesses. At-large from Big Ten.

No. 6 North Carolina (18-10): Up and down all season, but the Tar Heels have the makeup for a deep run. At-large from ACC.

No. 7 Xavier (23-10): Late-season momentum could take Xavier to the second weekend. Atlantic 10 Tournament champion.

No. 8 Seton Hall (20-9): Point guard Andre Barrett is a serious playmaker. At-large from Big East.

No. 9 Arizona (20-9): Just one top-50 RPI win means the Wildcats are lucky to be in the field. At-large from Pacific-10.

No. 10 Louisville (20-9): Trying to recover from injuries that sunk the Cardinals' seed several spots. At-large from Conference USA.

No. 11 Air Force (22-6): First Tournament berth in 42 years. At-large from Mountain West.

No. 12 Murray State (28-5): A well-coached team that will challenge in the opening round, if not pull the upset. Ohio Valley Conference Tournament champion.

No. 13 East Tennessee State (27-5): A solid team and a star player with the best name in the Tournament: Zakee Wadood. Southern Conference Tournament champion.

No. 14 Princeton (20-7): Played tough out-of-conference games and will be ready for Texas. Ivy League regular-season champion.

No. 15 Monmouth (21-11): Lost three of six games before winning the conference tournament at home. Northeast Conference Tournament champion.

No. 16 Alabama State (16-14): Recovered from 3-12 start to make the NCAAs - only to be rewarded with Duke. Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament champion.

East Rutherford Regional

No. 1 Saint Joseph's (27-1): Has its share of doubters in the press, but it put on a show of force in the regular season. At-large from the Atlantic 10.

No. 2 Oklahoma State (27-3): A strong backcourt should take the Cowboys far. Big 12 Tournament champion.

No. 3 Pittsburgh (29-4): A new star in Carl Krauser and a new coach in Jamie Dixon, but similar results for the powerful Panthers. At-large from the Big East.

No. 4 Wake Forest (19-9): Slipping late, but still as talented as any team in the field. At-large from the Atlantic Coast Conference.

No. 5 Florida (20-10): Ranked No. 1 at one point but no longer in the Top 25 after surprising losses. At-large from the Southeastern Conference.

No. 6 Wisconsin (24-6): Gets to play virtually at home in Milwaukee in the opener. Big Ten Tournament champion.

No. 7 Memphis (21-7): One of the Conference USA five that tied for first place. At-large from C-USA.

No. 8 Texas Tech (22-10): Playing .500 basketball in the last six games doesn't look good for the Red Raiders. At-large from the Big 12.

No. 9 Charlotte (21-8): Runners and (mainly) gunners who love to play offense. At-large from C-USA.

No. 10 South Carolina (23-10): Romped over a weak schedule early but couldn't keep it going in the tough SEC. At-large from the SEC.

No. 11 Richmond (20-12): It was a nervous Selection Sunday, but the Spiders are in and could pull off an upset with their defense. At-large from the A-10.

No. 12 Manhattan (24-5): Jaspers have an explosive guard (Luis Flores) and an intense coach (Bobby Gonzalez). Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament champion.

No. 13 Virginia Commonwealth (23-7): A Cinderella to watch for, VCU has won eight straight games. Colonial Athletic Association Tournament champion.

No. 14 Central Florida (25-5): The Knights have played only one Tournament team. Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament champion.

No. 15 Eastern Washington (17-12): First trip to the NCAAs made on the strength of senior leadership. Big Sky Conference Tournament champion.

No. 16 Liberty (18-14): 15.7 turnovers a game won't get it done in the first round against Saint Joseph's. Big South Conference Tournament champion.

Phoenix Regional

No. 1 Stanford (29-1): A Final Four threat. Pacific-10 Tournament champion.

No. 2 Connecticut (27-6): Everything hinges on Emeka Okafor's health. Big East Tournament champion.

No. 3 North Carolina State (20-9): Extremely challenging to plan for because of a patient offense. At-large from the ACC.

No. 4 Maryland (19-11): A hot team no one wants to face, but UTEP has to. ACC Tournament champion.

No. 5 Syracuse (21-7): Unstable yet overall successful season after winning the national championship last year. At-large from the Big East.

No. 6 Vanderbilt (21-9): Looked like a Top 25 team early but faded in SEC play. At-large from the SEC.

No. 7 DePaul (21-9): Coach Dave Leitao has done a remarkable job bringing this program back to life. At-large from C-USA.

No. 8 Alabama (17-12): Got into the field by playing the toughest schedule in the nation. At-large from the SEC.

No. 9 Southern Illinois (25-4): A great nickname, Salukis, and a great young coach in Matt Painter. At-large from the Missouri Valley Conference.

No. 10 Dayton (24-8): In the Tournament for the second straight season and needs to win a game or two. At-large from the A-10.

No. 11 Western Michigan (26-4): Coach Steve Hawkins made a a talented team NCAA-ready. Mid-American Conference Tournament champion.

No. 12 BYU (21-8): Has a low-30s RPI. At-large from the Mountain West.

No. 13 UTEP (24-7): The last team to make the field, the Miners are back in for the first time since 1992. At-large from the Western Athletic Conference.

No. 14 Louisiana-Lafayette (20-8): A high-scoring team that has experienced players and upset potential. Sun Belt Conference Tournament champion.

No. 15 Vermont (22-8): Playing with a broken wrist, Taylor Coppenrath is the toughest player in the field. America East Conference Tournament champion.

No. 16 Texas-San Antonio (19-13): A great nickname, Roadrunners, but not a great chance to upset Stanford. Southland Conference Tournament champion.

St. Louis Regional

No. 1 Kentucky (26-4): With the regular season's best team two years running, Big Blue Nation is getting antsy for another title. Southeastern Conference Tournament champion.

No. 2 Gonzaga (27-2): Their only losses were to Stanford and Saint Joseph's, but the Zags feasted on weak conference competition and must prove themselves. West Coast Conference Tournament champion.

No. 3 Georgia Tech (23-9): A scary team, considering it was the first to beat Connecticut and it also went into Durham and beat Duke. At-large from the Atlantic Coast Conference.

No. 4 Kansas (21-8): No top-25 RPI wins, but apparently that doesn't matter when it comes to getting a good seed. At-large from the Big 12.

No. 5 Providence (20-8): Has a dominating player in Ryan Gomes, but most of the Friars are Tournament newbies; Providence's last NCAA bid was in 2001. At-large from the Big East.

No. 6 Boston College (23-9): An 8-2 record in its last 10 games pushed Boston College up to this lofty seed. At-large from the Big East.

No. 7 Michigan State (18-11): Pretty darn happy to be seeded this well after starting 5-7 against a brutal schedule. At-large from the Big Ten.

No. 8 Washington (19-11): One of the hottest teams in the field and the only one to beat Stanford. At-large from the Pacific-10.

No. 9 UAB (20-9): Surprised Conference USA by tying for first place with a balanced, if not spectacular, game plan. At-large from Conference USA.

No. 10 Nevada (23-8): Made early headlines by upsetting Kansas in December, which kept the Wolf Pack on the national radar all season. Western Athletic Conference Tournament champion.

No. 11 Utah (24-8): Coach Rick Majerus left for health reasons in January, but interim coach Kerry Rupp went 9-3 to end the season. Mountain West Conference Tournament champion.

No. 12 Pacific (24-7): The Tigers are roaring into the Tournament, having won 20 of their last 21 games. Big West Conference Tournament champion.

No. 13 Illinois-Chicago (24-7): One of those veteran teams that major-conference teams do not want to face. Horizon League Tournament champion.

No. 14 Northern Iowa (21-9): The Panthers have won eight straight games and shot themselves into the Tournament. Missouri Valley Conference Tournament champion.

No. 15 Valparaiso (18-12): Coach Homer Drew is back on the sidelines, looking for another upset win. Mid-Continent Conference Tournament champion.

No. 16 Florida A&M (15-16): The Rattlers are the only sub-.500 team in the Tournament. Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament champion.

Dustin Dow