West Regional

Top-seeded teams

No. 1 Syracuse: The Orange took the last of the regional top seedings despite a two-game losing streak and a quadriceps injury that could sideline senior center Arinze Onuaku. Coach Jim Boeheim said Onuaku was not expected to play in a first-round game Friday against Vermont. Onuaku said his leg was “getting better.”

No. 2 Kansas State: This will be the Wildcats’ 24th tournament appearance and the highest they’ve been seeded. Kansas State has won at least two games in 16 of its 23 previous tournaments.

No. 3 Pittsburgh: The Panthers have made the last nine NCAA tournaments and have advanced to the Sweet 16 in five of the previous eight. But they are only 6-5 against other tournament teams this season.

No. 4: Vanderbilt: The Commodores finished second in the Southeastern Conference East but were otherwise rarely tested. Vanderbilt was 2-0 in nonconference games against tournament teams, beating St. Mary’s, 72-70, on the road, and Missouri, 89-83, at home.

Cinderella search

Texas El Paso has played this role before, upsetting Kentucky in the 1966 NCAA final in one of college basketball’s landmark games. The Miners are physical, can shoot (47.6%) and have a play-making guard in Julyan Stone.

Top players

Wesley Johnson, forward, Syracuse: The Big East Conference player of the year didn’t let a late-season hand injury slow him down. He averages 15.7 points and 8.5 rebounds and even shoots better than 38% from three-point range.

Jimmer Fredette, guard, Brigham Young: He is among the nation’s leading scorers with a 21.7 average, shoots 44.8% from three-point range and 89.6% (206 of 230) from the free-throw line.

Jordan Crawford, guard, Xavier: This will be Crawford’s second tournament. His first, as a freshman for Indiana, ended in a one-game, zero-points-in-21-minutes appearance. He’s averaging 19.7 points in his first season with the Musketeers.

Rim shots

The parents of Kris and Maurice Joseph have some details to work out. Kris is a 6-foot-7 sophomore forward for Syracuse. He averages 11.3 points and 5.4 rebounds and, because of Onuaku’s injury, might get a start against Vermont — which is captained by his older brother, Maurice, a 6-4 senior guard who is averaging 14.1 points.

Syracuse and Murray State are the only Division I teams that as a team shot better than 50% while holding opponents to under 40% shooting. The last team to claim that distinction, North Carolina last season, won the national championship.

Brigham Young can score. The Cougars, who average 83.0 points, shoot 48.6% and are also among the nation’s leaders from three-point range (41.9%). Oh, and Tyler Haws is one freshman you don’t want to put on the line at crunch time. He has made 100 of 110 free throws (90.9%).

mike.hiserman@latimes.com