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Regional breakdown: Duke overall No. 1
Blue Devils get tough draw with UConn, HOF coaches
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Duke forward Cameron Boozer
EAST REGION
Top overall seed Duke headlines an East Region bracket of March Madness that is stacked with big names.
Dan Hurley's UConn team is the 2-seed, a decision by the NCAA Tournament selection committee that came after the Huskies had been in contention for a No. 1 seed both in preliminary rankings in February and this week leading into the Big East Tournament.
Hall of Fame coaches Tom Izzo from Michigan State, Bill Self from Kansas and Rick Pitino from Big East champion St. John's lead the next teams up in the 16-team bracket.
Duke (32-2) is a No. 1 seed for the second straight year, with last year's run ending in the Final Four. Jon Scheyer's fourth squad has made it back to the top line in diff erent fashion, relying on star freshman Cameron Boozer as the anchor to an inside-out approach that has routinely overwhelmed opponents in the paint and on the glass.
The Blue Devils have won 11 straight since falling at rival North Carolina on a last-second 3-pointer. They led the country with 17 Quadrant 1 wins that top a postseason résumé, including a neutral-court win against fellow 1-seed Michigan, a home win against Florida, and a road win against Michigan State.
"We have a bunch of guys that aren't fazed," Scheyer said after Saturday's 74-70 win against Virginia in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title game. "They thrive in this environment."
Duke won the ACC Tournament for the third time under Scheyer despite being down two starters, with point guard Caleb Foster (broken foot) and big man Patrick Ngongba II (foot soreness) being sidelined to leave Duke with a seven-man rotation.
While Foster is out for an extended period, Scheyer has said the hope is for Ngongba to be ready for the start of the tournament.
Arizona on a roll in bid for first Final Four in 25 years
WEST REGION
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Arizona guard Brayden Burries
No. 2 Arizona can add a No. 1 seed to its impressive resume.
The Big 12 regular-season and tournament champion Wildcats are the No. 1 seed in the West Region — second overall behind Duke — and will open the NCAA Tournament against Long Island University on Friday in San Diego.
The West also includes No. 2 seed Purdue, Gonzaga, Arkansas and Wisconsin in a region that goes through San Jose, California, on the way to the Final Four in Indianapolis.
The Wildcats haven't been to the Final Four since 2001 but have the type of team that could end that streak.
Arizona (32-2) has a big, balanced roster that's had seven diff erent leading scorers and a defense that's as physical as any in the country. The Wildcats opened the season by knocking off reigning national champion Florida and kept taking down ranked opponents all season.
Arizona beat 15 teams that were ranked at the time — that's 46% of its wins — and rolls into the NCAA Tournament on a nine-game winning streak since its only two losses of the season. The Wildcats took down State on Jaden Bradley's buzzer beater in the Big 12 semifinals and outlasted Houston 79-74 in the title game to sweep the Big 12 championships their second season in the league. "They're just resilient, you know? And they just have this unbreakable spirit," Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said after cutting down the nets in Kansas City. Elsewhere in the region, No. 6 BYU boasts the nation's leading scorer and potential No. 1 overall pick A.J.
Dybrantsa, who averaged 25.3 points per game. No. 5 seed Wisconsin, led by guards Nick Boyd and John Blackwell, averages 83 points per game, highest since 1971.
Florida looks to defend title with Houston lurking
SOUTH REGION
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Florida forward Thomas Haugh
Defending national champion Florida's path to another Final Four could include a rematch with Houston, whom it beat in the final a year ago, only this time in a South Region finale that would be played just a short drive from the Cougars' campus.
The Gators were chosen as one of the four No. 1 seeds for the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.
The SEC regular-season champions will open against the winner of a First Four game on Wednesday between Prairie View A&M and Lehigh on Friday in Tampa, Florida, getting the benefit of a close opening weekend of games. The second-seeded Cougars will play No. 15 seed Idaho on Thursday in Oklahoma City.
Yet it's not hard to look ahead to a potential regional finale between the Gators and Cougars at the Toyota Center, which is less than three miles away from the Fertitta Center, where Houston celebrated with its fans on Sunday at a selection watch party.
"We try to be very consistent with our program. We're not going to be reactive in regards to when we're winning that we don't practice hard," Gators coach Todd Golden said after their loss to Vanderbilt on Saturday in the semifinals of the SEC tourney.
"Part of what makes our program what it is is our consistency," he said. "We're not going to change a lot."
Third-seeded Illinois and fourth-seeded Nebraska could have something to say about that Florida-Houston rematch.
The Illini, who had struggled down the stretch and lost to Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament, will open against No. 14 seed Penn — the Ivy League tourney champ — on Thursday. "We're a possession away in a lot of games from being one of the best teams recordwise in the country.
I still think we're one of the best teams in the country," Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. "We've just got to stay focused."
Lendeborg leads Michigan to first No. 1 seed since 2021
MIDWEST REGION
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOS
Michigan earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021 on Sunday and will lead the Big Ten's pursuit of its first national championship in men's basketball since 2000.
The Wolverines (31-3) are the third overall seed behind Duke and Arizona.
This is the fourth time the Wolverines have earned a No. 1 seed. Juwan Howard's 2021 team reached the Elite Eight, Steve Fisher's 1993 team lost in the championship game and Bill Frieder's 1985 team lost in the second round.
Dusty May's team came out of the regular season with an average winning margin of 19.4 points per game. The Wolverines won two close games to get to the Big Ten Tournament championship game in Chicago, where they lost 80-72 to Purdue. More challenges await in a Midwest Region that also features Iowa State, Virginia and Alabama. The Wolverines are the betting favorite to win the national championship, at plus-325, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. Two wins would send them back to Chicago for a regional semifinal. With a win Thursday in Buff alo, New York, Michigan would advance to a second-round game against No. 8 seed Georgia (22-10) or No. 9 Saint Louis (28-5).
Led by Big Ten player of the year Yaxel Lendeborg, the Wolverines set a Big Ten record with 19 conference wins and ran away with the regular-season title by four games.
May, the Associated Press Big Ten coach of the year, built on a 27-win first season by bringing in Lendeborg and three other transfers to fill spots in the starting lineup. The Wolverines are a complete team. They've scored over 100 points eight times, and four players average in double figures. The 7-foot-3 Aday Mara is blocking 2.6 shots per game and opponents are shooting just 38.4% against a defense ranked No. 1 in adjusted efficiency by KenPom.
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