A lot of fans in this region believe the ACC has a lot to prove in this tournament, especially after Duke was seeded ahead of every team in the Big East.
But the Big East might be under even more pressure. Analysts cried loudly over the snub of West Virginia, a team many saw deserving of a No. 1 seed. But the fact is, many of the top Big East teams struggled down the stretch.
Syracuse lost its last two games and still gained a No. 1 seed. Georgetown lost six of 11 before rebounding to reach the Big East tournament final. Villanova has lost five of its past seven.
The Big East had an excellent tournament last year with four teams in the round of eight.
Can Spiders get a leg in?
If you're looking for a dark horse, Richmond could be a good choice as a No. 7 seed.
The Spiders have an excellent junior guard in Kevin Anderson and meet a St. Mary's team that had to travel across the country to play them in Providence, R.I.
If Richmond can get to a second-round meeting against Villanova, Anderson could prove a worthy foil for Wildcats guard Scottie Reynolds, whose brilliant winning basket against Pittsburgh vaulted Villanova into the Final Four last season.
Historical significance?
Brigham Young's game against Florida might be the most interesting first-round matchup of the day.
BYU has lost seven first-round games in a row in the tournament, but has its highest seed at No. 7 since 1993, which was the last time it won in the tournament.
7-13
Wake Forest coach Dino Gaudio's record after Feb. 15 over three seasons heading into tonight's meeting with Texas. He's 53-17 before Feb. 15.
.415
Three-point shooting percentage for Notre Dame's Ben Hansbrough, who's a vastly different player from his older brother.
20
Consecutive wins for Butler, which hasn't lost since Dec. 22 and meets UTEP in the West tonight.
17
Final RPI (ratings percentage index) ranking of Northern Iowa, which inexplicably received a No. 9 seed despite a strong record (28-4) and decent schedule.
East Regional
Kentucky over ETSU: No late heroics needed today.
Texas over Wake Forest: Deacs unraveled again under Gaudio.
Washington over Marquette: Got to like the Pac-10 in San Jose.
New Mexico over Montana: Lobos are the best team you haven't seen.
South Regional
Villanova over Robert Morris: Wildcats should dominate the boards.
Richmond over St. Mary's: Upset specialist Spiders are favored this year.
Notre Dame over Old Dominion: Luke Harangody's too strong for ODU.
Baylor over Sam Houston State: Bears' revival under Scott Drew is remarkable.
Midwest Regional
Georgetown over Ohio: Greg Monroe is unstoppable - when he wants to be.
Tennessee over San Diego State: SDSU has RPI of 18, is underseeded at No. 11.
Northern Iowa over UNLV: Seven-foot Jordan Eglseder will dominate Rebels.
Kansas over Lehigh: Little Lehigh can't stop big Cole Aldrich.
West Regional
Florida over BYU: Florida has 12-game tournament win streak.
Kansas State over North Texas: Durham's Dominique Sutton a key for KSU.
Vanderbilt over Murray State: Kevin Stallings doesn't get nearly enough credit.
Butler over UTEP: Bulldogs often go deep in NCAA tournament.
