Breakdown

Teams

* Favorites: UCLA got its No. 1 seeding in the West and its first two games in Anaheim. Now the Bruins would like a healthy Luc Richard Mbah a Moute at forward. No. 2 Duke was also hopeful of a No. 1 until it lost to Clemson in an Atlantic Coast Conference semifinal. Xavier was ranked in the top 10 nationally before losing to St. Joseph’s in an Atlantic 10 Conference semifinal. No. 4 Connecticut has the size, defense and outside shooting to contend.

* Cinderella search: No. 5 Drake was a preseason pick to finish ninth in its conference. No. 11 Baylor is one of the nation’s best comeback stories. It was just in 2003 that Bears player Patrick Dennehy was murdered by former teammate Carlton Dotson and in the fallout Coach Dave Bliss resigned amid an NCAA scandal.

* No chance: No. 10 Arizona. Rival Arizona State would have been more dangerous.

--

Games

* Must see: Can No. 14 Georgia do it again against No. 3 Xavier? Heck, the Bulldogs will have three days’ rest after winning three games in 30 hours to take the weather-disrupted SEC tournament title.

It’ll be bombs away when Duke plays Belmont, which has made more three-point baskets, 349, than any team in the country. Duke ranks 10th with 297. Duke’s weakness: its inside game.

San Diego, surprise winner of the West Coast Conference tournament, shouldn’t be afraid of former NCAA champion Connecticut. It already has an upset over Kentucky at Rupp Arena early in the season.

Texas A&M; and Brigham Young is a typically evenly matched No. 8 vs. No. 9 game, and you can watch an NBA lottery prospect in the Aggies’ 7-foot freshman DeAndre Jordan.

* Must skip: UCLA vs. No. 16 Mississippi Valley State. Enough said.

--

Players and numbers

As sophomore forward Stanley Robinson’s three-pointers go, so goes Connecticut. In Huskies’ victories, Robinson has shot 47.7% from beyond the arc. In losses, Robinson has connected on 28.6%.

Connecticut, led by 7-foot-3 center Hasheem Thabeet, leads Division I teams in blocked shots, averaging 8.8. Thabeet, a sophomore, accounts for about half of that, averaging just shy of 4.5 a game.

Joe Alexander scored a career-high 34 points for West Virginia in a Big East tournament victory over Connecticut last week.

Xavier’s Stanley Burrell is one of the nation’s top lock-down defenders.

Duke’s Kyle Singler doesn’t get as much publicity as some of the nation’s other top freshmen, but he’s among the best.

How important is freshman Jerryd Bayless to Arizona? The Wildcats were 1-3 when he was injured.