1. Pittsburgh: The Panthers, whose only Final Four trip was in 1957, are 3-3 over their last six games.

2. Florida: Led by SEC player of the year Chandler Parsons, the Gators have their best team since the 2006-2007 back-to-back champions.

3. BYU: The Cougars apparently have this player named Jimmer Fredette who's supposed to be pretty good.

4. Wisconsin: The Badgers would seem to be a potential upset victim, but they've won eight of their nine first-round games under coach Bo Ryan.

5. Kansas State: Two players left the Wildcats during the season, not the sort of thing that bodes well for a tournament run.

6. St. John's: Back in the tournament for the first time since 2002, the Red Storm will be without do-it-all guard D.J. Kennedy, who suffered a torn ACL in the Big East tournament.

7. UCLA: The Bruins have no seniors on the roster and are coming off of their worst loss of the season, in the Pac-10 tournament to Oregon.

8. Butler: Usually a popular upset pick, the national finalists from last year have won nine in a row after losing three of four.

9. Old Dominion: The CAA champs knocked out Notre Dame last year and are one of the best rebounding teams in the tournament.

10. Michigan State: The Spartans are in their 14th consecutive tournament, barely. It hasn't been a good chemistry year for Michigan State, which started the season No. 2 in the country.

11. Gonzaga: The Bulldogs' roster includes David Stockton, whose father John was a player of some renown.

12. Utah State: The Aggies have an RPI of 15 and are 23rd in the A.P. poll, but 12th seed. Go figure.

13. Belmont: The Bruins, who almost knocked out Duke of the 2008 tournament, love to press and can count country music star Vince Gill among its boosters.

14. Wofford: The Terriers are making their second tournament appearance in a row, and second ever.

15. UC-Santa Barbara: The Gauchos are 18-13 and were 8-8 in the Big West but won its tournament to earn its second berth in a row.

16. UNC Asheville: The Big South tournament champs are in the NCAA for the second time in school history.

16. Arkansas-Little Rock: The Trojans made the First Four with a 19-16 record by winning four games in four days to win the Sun Belt tournament.

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