Filling The Brackets

30 SYRACUSE // BIG EAST // 4 //
Guards Eric Devendorf and Andy Rautins return from injury to help relieve sophomore Jonny Flynn, who averaged 39.2 minutes in league play.

31 TEMPLE // ATLANTIC 10 // 4 //
Oh Come Owl Ye Faithful: Dionte Christmas, two-time A-10 scoring champ, will help deliver second straight tournament bid to coach Fran Dunphy.

32 CLEMSON // ACC // 3 //
Do-it-all senior swingman K.C. Rivers leads the rising Tigers, who improved their RPI for the seventh straight year—from No. 168 in 2001--02 to No. 19.

33 XAVIER // ATLANTIC 10 // 2 //
Former Indiana signee Terrell Holloway will help fill void left by departed Drew Lavender and Stanley Burrell as X-Men win 20 for 12th time in 13 years.

34 LSU // SEC // 4 //
Pac-10 coach of the year Trent Johnson, late of Stanford, turns things around quickly on the Bayou thanks to healthy Tasmin Mitchell and experienced, athletic roster.

35 TEXAS A&M // BIG 12 // 3 //
If Josh Carter regains outside touch (38% from the arc, down from 50% in '06--07) and Donald Sloan shores up point, lock-down D will do its job.

36 VA. TECH // ACC // 4 //
Hokies, who have third-most ACC wins over last two seasons, bring back 81% of their scoring from last year, led by guard A.D. Vassallo (16.9 points a game).

37 KENTUCKY // SEC // 3 //
Five-star freshman guard DeAndre Liggins must mesh with a healthy Patrick Patterson up front as Wildcats chase their 18th straight NCAA tournament bid.

38 NEVADA // WAC // 2 //
McDonald's All-American Luke Babbitt decided to stay home in Reno and will help the Wolf Pack return to the NCAA tournament for the fifth time in six years.

39 ALABAMA // SEC // 2 //
Injury-plagued fifth-year senior Ronald Steele is finally healthy and will get welcome help from freshman big man JaMychal Green, a top SEC recruit.