REGION OF DEATH: There’s always one. Hard to think that any of the No. 1 seeds drew a tougher path than Kansas, which is actually lower in Ken Pomeroy’s ratings (9th) than two other teams in its own bracket: No. 3 seed Michigan State (6th) and No. 2 seed Duke (3rd). Jayhawks Coach Bill Self says the team played its best game of the season in winning the Big 12 Conference tournament on Saturday. But they could have to contend with a very athletic Auburn team (No. 4 seed), and Clemson (No. 5 seed) which finished fourth in the ACC.

SOONER BETTER THAN LATER: Somehow, Oklahoma squeaks in. One of the most befuddling teams in the tournament field (at one point, the Sooners were ranked fourth in the country), they lost 11 of their last 15 games. Freshman guard Trae Young (the nation’s leader in scoring and assists) remains one of the most fun players to watch. But he has not really been the same player since January.

UPSET SPECIAL: Not going too far out on a limb here, but No. 9 seed N.C. State should be able to handle eighth-seeded Seton Hall, which has been trending in the wrong direction. The Wolfpack beat Duke and Arizona this season.

East Regional: Villanova on Top

Villanova, fresh off its second consecutive Big East tournament championship, has earned the No. 1 seed in the East region, which means they could get to play in Boston for a trip to go to the Final Four. They will face the winner of LIU Brooklyn/Radford in the First Four game in Dayton.

BETTER WITHOUT BIGGIE: It is hard to believe that a team can lose one of the best players in the nation, and then improve the following season. But that’s exactly what happened to second-seeded Purdue this year, after the power forward Caleb Swanigan, nicknamed “Biggie”, jumped to the pros. Swanigan was the Big Ten’s player of the year, but his absence has allowed the 7-foot-2 center Isaac Haas more freedom to develop. Guards Carsen Edwards and Dakota Matthias are lethal for the second-best 3-point shooting team in the country. The Boilermakers have Final Four ingredients.

ROLLIN’ TIDE: Alabama lost 15 games this season, and there were some ugly ones (Central Florida, Vanderbilt, Georgia, Ole Miss). But they have the potential to make some noise in March. Why? Freshman guard Collin Sexton is arguably the best player in the nation: a Russell Westbrook-type talent who won’t be in college basketball for much longer.