ESPN.com - Reading into tourney teams' fortunes http://espn.go.com/espn/print?id=9066746&type=story ESPN.com: NCAA Tourney 13 [Print without images] Wednesday, March 20, 2013 Reading into tourney teams' fortunes By Dana O'Neil ESPN.com Ah, brackets. So tempting with all of those empty spaces and the promises of choosing wisely. So overwhelming when you know absolutely nothing about Albany and Iona other than that they are in the same state. Consider this your study guide. Now you merely need to parse through it all and figure out which Cinderellas you trust and which would-be princes will be first-round frogs. Presuming you'll be standing around watercoolers and perhaps watering holes for the next month, I've also included a little factoid so you can amaze your friends with your vast knowledge. Like, why, for example the urban campus of Temple would choose a forest creature for its nickname. Enjoy. East | Midwest | South | West SOUTH REGIONAL Kansas (1) Write 'em in: Do you really want to bet against Bill Self? Every time KU is written off, it seems to wind up in the Final Four. This group has the makeup to do it again, with a transcendent player in Ben McLemore and a tough interior presence in the form of Jeff Withey. Write 'em out: Self's piñata this season has been Elijah Johnson, and not without reason. The point guard is the one shaky piece of this puzzle. If he goes toe to toe with a more aggressive counterpart, the Jayhawks could struggle. Another note to remember: As good as Kansas has been, it lost to TCU. Anything can happen. Write it down: Phog Allen Fieldhouse sits on Naismith Drive. That ought to say it all. Western Kentucky (16) Write 'em in: Western Kentucky has a nice inside-outside mix with guards T.J. Price and Jamal Crook matching up with George Fant in the low post. If they can keep a balanced scoring attack, the Hilltoppers can at least make it interesting. 1 of 6 3/21/13 9:16 AM ESPN.com - Reading into tourney teams' fortunes http://espn.go.com/espn/print?id=9066746&type=story Write 'em out: A year after facing Kentucky, the Hilltoppers don't exactly get a break in their first-round matchup. They'll need their A-plus game to keep up with Kansas, especially because the Jayhawks can score and Western Kentucky struggles. Write it down: The Hilltoppers used the basketball equivalent of football's Statue of Liberty play to upset Jacksonville and Artis Gilmore in 1971. With four seconds left and the game tied, Clarence Glover bent down to tie his shoelaces. Or so the Dolphins thought. Instead Glover popped up, took a pass and scored the game winner. North Carolina (8) Write 'em in: The Tar Heels have finally found their groove, going with a four-guard lineup. What once looked like a bubble team now could win a game in the NCAA tournament. That may be small bananas by UNC standards, but it's a big improvement for this bunch. Write 'em out: While James Michael McAdoo is a terrific matchup nightmare for teams with a more traditional big man, he's not terribly big. That could be trouble for the Heels if they square up with a team with some post heft. Write it down: Woollen Gym, the onetime basketball gym, served as living quarters for the likes of Ted Williams, Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush while they attended preflight training school during World War II. Villanova (9) Write 'em in: This is a team more to Jay Wright's liking -- blue-collar, feisty and scrappy. The Wildcats live to keep teams off-balance with pressure defense and are plucky enough to stay in most games. Write 'em out: The Wildcats taketh, but they also giveth away. Villanova averages 16 turnovers per game, a gigantic number that can spell immediate doom against the wrong foe. Write it down: The Wildcats remain the lowest-seeded team (a No. 8) to win a national championship, and their upset of heavily favored Georgetown remains the Cinderella story for the ages. VCU (5) Write 'em in: If the Rams are creating havoc, watch out. Their defensive moniker is much more than a nickname; it's a way of life. When VCU gets going, swatting and trapping all over the court, even smart, savvy teams look like elementary school bench players. Write 'em out: If the Rams can't score, they can't create havoc. It's a simple equation. VCU absolutely has to score -- and it prefers to score from long distance -- to set up its defense. Without the scoring, without the defense, VCU is in a very precarious spot. 2 of 6 3/21/13 9:16 AM ESPN.com - Reading into tourney teams' fortunes http://espn.go.com/espn/print?id=9066746&type=story Write it down: If the players aren't creating havoc for VCU, the band -- the Peppas -- are. One of the more entertaining pep bands in the country, they play perhaps the most intimidating fight song in the country -- the War Song. Lyrics: You don't want to go to war with Rams/Don't start no stuff won't be no stuff. Akron (12) Write 'em in: Zeke Marshall anchors a pretty solidly sized lineup for a mid-major, and that's a bonus in this tournament when strength and power usually go to the big schools. Partnered with Demetrius Treadwell, the two can anchor a frontcourt against the best of them. Write 'em out: Freshman Carmelo Betancourt hasn't hurt the Zips since being pressed into service after starter Alex Abreu was suspended following an arrest for marijuana trafficking. But Betancourt isn't Abreu, and the difference could be felt most keenly in this tournament, not the MAC tournament. Write it down: What's a Zip? Well, originally Akron was called the Zippers, named in honor of galoshes developed by Akron's B.F. Goodrich Co that included a unique design -- metal teeth on the side that, when pulled back, opened up the shoe. No, the Kangaroo mascot doesn't make sense. Michigan (4) Write 'em in: Although Trey Burke has garnered most of the attention, the Wolverines have a ton of scoring weapons -- Tim Hardaway Jr., Glenn Robinson III, the elevated play of Mitch McGary and Nik Stauskas. If Michigan gets cooking, step out of the way. Write 'em out: Michigan remains a young team and has a tendency to fall in a hole or fall asleep at the wheel. If the Wolverines finds themselves playing catch-up, eventually it might catch up with them. Write it down: Rumeal Robinson was just a 67 percent free throw shooter when he stepped to the line with three seconds left and a one-point deficit. He sunk both, and the Wolverines topped Seton Hall for the 1989 national title. South Dakota State (13) Write 'em in: The Jackrabbits have a player who has the stuff to become a March star. Nate Wolters can score, but he's smart enough not to do everything on his own. In the Summit League semis and finals, yes, he scored 45 points, but he also dished 18 assists. If he's not slowed down, SDSU could be the latest Cinderella. Write 'em out: You have to make someone other than Wolters beat you. The danger is if you concentrate too much on him, he'll find that other person to beat you. Write it down: The Jackrabbits made the transition from Division I to Division II in only 2004 and already have two NCAA tournament berths to show for it. Or two more than Northwestern. 3 of 6 3/21/13 9:16 AM ESPN.com - Reading into tourney teams' fortunes http://espn.go.com/espn/print?id=9066746&type=story UCLA (6) Write 'em in: If the Bruins play to their talent, be very, very careful. For all the roller- coaster mayhem of this season, UCLA is still loaded. Shabazz Muhammad can take over any game he wants to, and coach Ben Howland is finally content to let his team just play. Write 'em out: Losing Jordan Adams is a huge blow to the Bruins. It puts more pressure and more attention on Muhammad. But UCLA's biggest enemy is itself. The Bruins have a slim margin of error thanks largely in part to a complete inability to rebound and defend well. Write home about: John Wooden. A few national championship banners. Lew Alcindor. Bill Walton. Pick one. Minnesota (11) Write 'em in: As awful as Minnesota has been down the stretch, Tubby Smith still has pieces plenty of coaches would envy. Trevor Mbakwe, Austin Hollins and Rodney Williams are superior talents, and if they opt to actually play that way, the Gophers could be very dangerous. Write 'em out: Feel free to question Middle Tennessee making the field. I'm more perplexed about the Gophers, who spent the better part of February trying to prove they didn't belong. Minnesota went from a 15-1 start to a 20-12 finish. Pick the Gophers at your own peril. Write it down: From 1950 to 1971, Minnesota's Williams Arena (known as the Barn) boasted the largest capacity of any gym in the country, home to 18,025 fannies. Florida (3) Write 'em in: All the pieces are here for the Gators -- talent, firepower, experience -- and if they can finally put that simple equation together, they are an extremely dangerous team.