With the addition of King James, Ohio State is about a No. 3 seed...in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Buckeyes already have at least four future NBA players in Greg Oden, Daequan Cook, Mike Conley Jr. and Ron Lewis -- and now you add the most hyped basketball player ever? People in Columbus would forget about their football team if this squad ever set foot on a court together. --Matt Dollinger

The Mean Green made the tournament for the first time since 1988. Will they stick around? They'll need a big effort from the senior backcourt of Calvin Watson (15.8 ppg) and Kendrick Davis (13.2 ppg). --Jay St. Pierre

With three seniors in the starting lineup and six overall, the Cougars have bulldozed their way to 25 wins on the season and an NCAA tournament berth. BYU also showcases a talented frontcourt, with forward Keena Young averaging 17.5 points per game and center/forward Trent Plaisted averaging 12.5 ppg. If the Cougars can find a way to put together their strong post performance with some production from the guards, they should be a tough team to beat. -- Steffi Chan

Big players make big plays in big games and no Xavier player has played bigger in conference than 5-8 transfer Drew Lavender. His 11 points per game does not tell the whole story, as the big man on campus has scored 20 or more points in three of the last four games heading into the postseason. Senior forward Justin Doellman and junior guard Stanley Burrell both averaged in double digits for the third straight season for third-year coach Sean Miller. Miller is hoping the third time is the charm and that he leads his Cincinnati-based school to its first NCAA tourney win with him at the helm. --Mike Donovan

The last time the Wahoos made it to the Big Dance (2001), they fell to Gonzaga 86-85 on a shot in the final seconds. This year, after being selected to finish eighth in the ACC preseason poll, Virginia quieted its nay-sayers with a conference regular-season title. And with its backcourt it's no wonder. Guards Sean Singletary (18.9 ppg., 4.6 apg.) and J.R. Reynolds (17.8 ppg., 3.9 apg.) both earned All-ACC honors, but Virginia's frontcourt and lack of depth may pose a problem in the tourney. While post players Mamadi Diane and Adrian Joseph have been known to step it up occasionally (Diane scored 26 against Maryland and Joseph dropped 17 against Florida State), they may not be enough to off-set a potentially bad day from their experienced and tenacious guards. --Nicki Jhabvala

Brewer brings back his team-leading 16.2 ppg from 2006 to bolster the SEC's third-worst scoring offense (71.4 ppg) in ‘07. Jefferson's defense combined with Famutimi's (who now plays in the NBA's Developmental League) inside play make the Razorbacks a dangerous seed in this tournament. --Jay St. Pierre

Bruce Pearl is a lot of things: Crazy, loud, a master at painting his own chest, but on top of all those things he is a heck of a coach. In wins over powerhouses Florida and Memphis, junior guard Chris Lofton had 54 points and last year he single-handedly prevented a first-round upset, hitting a game-winning jump shot against Winthrop. His 21 points per game is complemented by fellow guards JaJuan and Ramar Smith. The triple threat of small guards accounts for 58 percent of the Volunteers' scoring. Senior cult hero Dane Bradshaw, a 6-4 power forward, has overshadowed the more heralded Major Wingate. --Mike Donovan

Folks in Tallahassee wouldn't have had to sweat out Selection Sunday had Johnson and Wafer returned for their senior years. Without Johnson and Wafer, Al Thornton, an all-ACC forward, averaged 20 points and 7.3 rebounds. Guards Toney Douglas, Jason Rich and Isaiah Swann add depth to the squad. --Nick Zaccardi

Telfair running the point for the Cardinals would've meant the world to the team -- not to mention at least five more wins. His court vision and penetrating ability would've opened up the lanes for Louisville. This season, the regression in both performance and playing time of big man David Padgett and guard Brandon Jenkins has doomed the Cards. Last season, the duo averaged 23 points per game and 60 minutes combined. This year? Try 14.8 points in 49 minutes on average. Talk about a slide. -- Jon Gold

The Cardinal barely snuck into the NCAA tournament with an 18-12 record and a first-round loss in the Pac-10 tournament to USC. After a hot start that included wins over Texas Tech and Virginia, Stanford stumbled in conference play to a 10-8 record that included losses to Washington and Cal. The bright spot for the Cardinal has to be the play of freshman Brook Lopez, who averaged almost 13 points per game but was at his best against the best teams. Lopez had games of 26, 23 and 23 points in a three-game stretch against Tourney teams Oregon, UCLA and USC late in the conference season, and he added 20 against Gonzaga on Jan. 31. -- Jon Gold

Last year the Aggies were a last-second three-pointer away from making the Sweet 16. This year the team is even stronger. Texas A&M beat Texas this season and had a monumental victory over Kansas in Lawrence (their first time in school history Texas A&M beat the Jayhawks). With senior Acie Law IV (17.9 ppg and 5.3 apg) running the point and the Aggies playing hard-nosed defense (only one team all season shot better than 50 percent from the field; 18 shot worse than 40 percent), coach Billy Gillispie's crew can make a deep run. --Dakota Rubin

There's good news and bad news for the Quakers. First, the good news: The team ranks No. 7 in the nation in assists, shoots more than 50 percent from the field and is led by three talented seniors (guard Ibrahim Jaaber and forwards Steve Danley and Mark Zoller). Now the bad: Penn ranks 184th in the nation in rebounding and struggles from the free-throw line. They'll need to play outstanding defense and get some luck to play beyond the first game. --Amy Brittain

National Player of the Year candidate Nick Fazekas is the real deal, leading the Wolf Pack on a tear through the WAC and knocking off Adam Morrison and the mighty Gonzaga Bulldogs. However, the Pack is unlikely to overlook lesser opponents after getting knocked off by Montana last year despite a high seed and a loss to Utah State two weeks before Selection Sunday. Underrated fifth-year junior swingman Marcelus Kemp (18 ppg) is Pippen to Fazekas's Jordan and will be key in a deep tourney run. --Mike Donovan

Unfortunately for the Bluejays (22-10), they haven't had success in the NCAA tournament. Although this will be its 16th tournament appearance -- seventh in the past nine years -- Creighton has never advanced past the second round. However, after defeating No. 11 Southern Illinois 67-61 for the Missouri Valley Conference championship, Creighton proved that it can knock off big-name teams, especially when guard Nate Funk is in his rhythm. Funk, who led the conference in scoring (17.6 ppg) and was selected MVC tournament MVP, had a career-high 33 points in his team's conference tourney semifinal win over Missouri State. With 6-9 center Anthony Tolliver's 13.4 points per game and 6.7 rebounds, the tandem could end the Bluejays drought. --Nicki Jhabvala

Even with Rodney Carney playing for the Sixers, Memphis is loaded with NBA-caliber players including Banks (a D-League player), Perkins, Sanchez (D-League), Washington (playing in Greece) and Williams. The sudden influx of talent presents coach John Calipari with a luxury of lineup choices. The Tigers could go big with Sanchez, Perkins and Williams or opt for a shorter starting five and play current Tigers stars Chris Douglas-Roberts and Jeremy Hunt. --Nick Zaccardi

Stacked. That's how you would describe the front line in Baton Rouge with Bass, Thomas and Glen (Big Baby) Davis. It will be hard for opponents to get a rebound in the paint. Thomas showed last year that he can dominate games and Davis is a sleeker player this season. LSU coach John Brady has a No. 1 seed here. --Jay St. Pierre