WEST REGION
No. 3 Gonzaga (Bulldogs)[
Record: 28-5 overall, 14-2 West Coast
Location: Spokane, Wash.
Bid: Automatic
Best wins: No. 1 Alabama, 3 Xavier, 5 Saint Mary’s, 6 Kentucky, 7 Michigan State
Worst loss: Loyola Marymount
Tourney tidbit: GU’s 25 straight NCAA berths are outdone only by Kansas (33) and Michigan State (26). GU leads the nation in NCAA Tournament wins in the past eight years (22).
Coach: Mark Few (686-134, 24th season at Gonzaga)
Colorado connections: Ex-Zags Matt Bouldin (ThunderRidge) and Josh Perkins (Regis Jesuit) were Colorado all-state stars, and Gonzaga flourished in Denver’s NCAAs in 2011 and 2016.
Threat level to win NCAA title (1-10): 9. Gonzaga’s eight straight Sweet 16 berths is the nation’s longest streak, and the Zags are the country’s hottest team, per Haslam Metrics.
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No. 14 Grand Canyon (Antelopes)
Record: 24-11 overall, 10-7 WAC
Location: Phoenix
Bid: Automatic
Best win: Sam Houston State (2x)
Worst losses: UT Rio Grand Valley, Tarleton State, Seattle (2x)
Tourney tidbit: Grand Canyon’s second NCAA Tournament appearance comes two years after its first.
Coach: Bryce Drew (228-134, third season at Grand Canyon)
Colorado connections: The Antelopes gave the CU Buffs a run in December 2020, falling to Tad Boyle’s squad 74-64 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Threat level to win NCAA title (1-10): 1. Playing with the No. 5 seed, GCU’s epic run through the WAC tourney included three upsets of higher seeds and extended its longest win streak to five.
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No. 6 TCU (Horned Frogs)
Record: 21-12 overall, 9-9 Big 12
Location: Fort Worth
Bid: At-large
Best wins: No. 1 Kansas, 2 Texas, 3 Baylor, 3 Kansas State, 9 Iowa, , 9 West Virginia
Worst loss: Northwestern State
Tourney tidbit: In its third NCAA Tournament under Jamie Dixon, TCU will make consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time since 1953.
Coach: Jamie Dixon (466-219, seventh season at TCU)
Colorado connections: Fresh off a surprise run to the College Football Playoff, the Horned Frogs football program will open the 2023 season against Deion Sanders and the CU Buffs.
Threat level to win NCAA title (1-10): 6. TCU has the athletes to beat a No. 1 seed (Kansas), 2 (Texas) or 3 (Baylor). It can also lose to the Southland runner-up (Northwestern State).
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No. 11 Arizona State (Sun Devils)
Record: 22-12 overall, 11-9 Pac-12
Location: Tempe
Bid: At-large
Best wins: No. 2 Arizona, 6 Creighton, 10 USC, 12 VCU
Worst losses: Texas Southern, Washington
Tourney tidbit: The Sun Devils are searching for their first Sweet 16 appearance since Mario Bennett and Ron Riley led the program past Ball State and Manhattan in the 1995 tournament.
Coach: Bobby Hurley (182-132, eighth season at ASU)
Colorado connections: Hurley was the Duke point guard at the 1990 Final Four at McNichols Arena, a 103-73 UNLV win over Hurley, Christian Laettner, Grant Hill’s Blue Devils.
Threat level to win NCAA title (1-10): 1. Defense travels, and ASU ranks among the country’s top 25 defensive teams. But it was December the last time it strung together six straight wins.
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No. 11 Nevada (Wolf Pack)
Record: 22-10 overall, 12-6 Mountain West
Location: Reno
Bid: At-large
Best wins: Boise State, Utah State, San Diego State
Worst losses: Wyoming, Loyola Marymount
Tourney tidbit: Coach Steve Alford was an NCAA Tournament all-timer at Indiana, twice being named all-region while teaming with Keith Smart to win the 1987 national championship.
Coach: Steve Alford (579-319, fourth season at Nevada)
Colorado connections: The Colorado Springs-based MWC is living right, as Nevada snuck into the field to grant the league four bids (San Diego State, Boise State, Utah State, Nevada).
Threat level to win NCAA title (0-10): 1. With losses to Wyoming, UNLV and San Jose State to close the season, the Wolf Pack are playing on borrowed time with eyes on a play-in victory.
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SOUTH REGION
No. 3 Baylor (Bears)
Record: 22-10 overall, 11-7 Big 12
Location: Waco, Texas
Bid: At-large
Best wins: No. 1 Kansas, 2 Texas, 2 UCLA, 3 Gonzaga, 6 TCU.
Worst losses: None.
Tourney tidbit: The 2021 NCAA champs show 13 tournament games since 2017
Coach: Scott Drew (441-243 career record, 20th season at Baylor)
Colorado connections: Brother Bryce Drew coaches Grand Canyon, which also plays in Denver.
Threat level to win NCAA title (0-10): 8. Yes, that high. No team has a better collection of perimeter players than NBA lottery pick Keyonte George, Adam Flagler and AJ Cryer.
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No. 14 UC-Santa Barbara (Gauchos)
Record: 27-7 overall, 15-5 Big West
Location: Santa Barbara
Bid: Automatic
Best wins: Fresno State, UC Irvine
Worst losses: Cal State-Northridge, Northern Arizona.
Tourney tidbit: The Gauchos are hunting their second tournament win, the first coming in 1990 against No. 8 Houston.
Coach: Joe Pasternak (183-112, sixth season at UCSB)
Colorado connections: UCSB product Brian Shaw coached the Nuggets from 2013-15.
Threat level to win NCAA title (1-10): 1. Baylor, on Friday, will be the first NCAA Tournament team UCSB has faced this season. Beware the Gauchos in Round 1, however. They can score.
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No. 6 Creighton (Bluejays)
Record: 21-12 overall, 14-6 Big East
Location: Omaha, Neb.
Bid: At-large
Best wins: No. 3 Xavier, 4 Connecticut, 9 Arkansas, 11 Providence
Worst loss: Nebraska
Tourney tidbit: Creighton’s first Sweet 16 appearance came in 2021 when current Jays Ryan Kalkbrenner and Shereef Mitchell were on the team.
Coach: Greg McDermott (446-280, 13th season at Creighton)
Colorado connections: Star forward Baylor Scheierman knows Denver after three seasons at South Dakota State in the DU Pios’ Summit League. Plus, Vinny Benedetto’s a notable alum.
Threat level to win NCAA title (1-10): 5. Arguably the best No. 6 team in the field, the Jays are a balanced squad that ranks in the top 45 on offensive and defensive efficiency.
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No. 11 NC State (Wolfpack)
Record: 23-10 overall, 12-8 ACC
Location: Raleigh
Bid: At-large
Best wins: No. 5 Miami, 5 Duke
Worst losses: Pittsburgh, Syracuse
Tourney tidbit: The Wolfpack’s five coaches since Jim Valvano, whose final season was 1989-90, show a combined three berths in the Sweet 16.
Coach: Kerry Keatts (185-106, sixth season at NC State)
Colorado connections: The Nuggets selected NC State product Julius Hodge with the 20th pick in the 2005 NBA draft.
Threat level to win NCAA title (1-10): 1. The Wolfpack hasn’t won six straight games this season, suggesting six straight in the Big Dance feels like a long shot.
TV info
Friday at Ball Arena
South
11:30 am: 3 Baylor vs. 14 UCSB (TNT)
2 pm: 6 Creighton vs. 11 NC State (TNT)
West
5:35 pm: 3 Gonzaga vs. 14 Grand Canyon (truTV)
8:05 pm: 6 TCU vs. Arizona State/Nevada (truTV)