Greg Hansen's guide to the NCAA tournament

Who's hot — Stephen F. Austin 

The Lumberjacks are 28-1 since losing on Nov.  24. Spoiler alert: That one loss was to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.  

Who's hot — Notre Dame 

The Irish won the ACC tournament and finished on an 8-1 tear, which included victories over Duke, North Carolina and Louisville. 

Who's hot — Northern Iowa 

Only loss in the last 20 games was at fellow MVC power Wichita State. No excuses needed. 

Who's not — Utah 

After climbing into the Associated Press top 10, the Utes have gone 4-4. Why? Center Jakob Poeltl hasn’t progressed and Jordan Loveridge morphed into an average player. 

Who's not — West Virginia 

No matter how smug coach Bob Huggins looks wearing his Bob Knight gear on the sideline, the Mountaineers have lost six of their last 11, including three to one team, Baylor. 

Who's not — North Carolina 

With five losses since Valentine’s Day, this isn’t your grandfather’s Tar Heels powerhouse. 

Two reasons Texas Southern should be feared 

1. The Tigers won at Oregon State 66-60 in 2010, and took Colorado to double overtime in an 85-80 loss in Boulder two years ago when the Buffaloes had NBA-bound Spencer Dinwiddie and André Roberson in the lineup. 

2. They take on all comers. The Tigers played eight early-season road games – for an estimated aggregate gate guarantee of $500,000 – at Indiana, Tennessee, Michigan State, SMU, Auburn, Kansas State, Gonzaga and Florida. 

Six NCAA champions to go through Oregon 

1. Bill Russell’s 1955 San Francisco Dons won two games at Oregon State’s Gill Coliseum.

2. Russell’s senior year at USF, 1956, began again in Corvallis.

3. John Wooden won the first of his 10 NCAA titles by beating Seattle and USF in Corvallis.

4. UCLA won again in 1967, beating Wyoming and Pacific at Gill Coliseum.

5. Wooden beat Montana and ASU in the Portland regional en route to his final title in 1975.

6. Jim Valvano’s epic 1983 title run at N.C. State began with a double-overtime win over Pepperdine at Oregon State. 

Arizona's Men of March — Miles Simon 

Miles Simon, 260 points in NCAA tournament. High: 30 against Kentucky, 1997 NCAA title game. 

Arizona's Men of March — Jason Gardner 

Jason Gardner, 211 points. High: 28 against UC Santa Barbara, first round, 2002. 

Arizona's Men of March — Khalid Reeves 

Khalid Reeves, 183 points. High: 32 against Loyola-Maryland, first round, 1994. 

Arizona's Men of March — Mike Bibby 

Mike Bibby, 178 points. High: 26 against Maryland, 1998 Sweet 16. 

Arizona's Men of March — Channing Frye 

Channing Frye, 172 points. High: 24 against Illinois, Elite Eight, 2005. 

Arizona's Men of March — Michael Dickerson 

Michael Dickerson, 170 points. High: 21 against Kansas, 1996 Sweet 16. 

Arizona's Men of March — Sean Elliott 

Sean Elliott, 162 points. High: 31, 1988 Final Four against Oklahoma. 

Arizona's Men of March — Salim Stoudamire 

Salim Stoudamire, 159 points. High: 28: UAB, 2005 second round. 

Arizona's Men of March — Damon Stoudamire 

Damon Stoudamire, 156 points. High: 27 against Missouri, 1994 Elite Eight. 

Arizona's Men of March — Hassan Adams 

Hassan Adams, 153 points. High: 21, 2006 first round against Wisconsin. 

Three-point bombers to avoid — Tyler Harvey, Eastern Washington 

He led the nation with 3.9 treys per game, and also led the country in scoring (22.9). 

Three-point bombers to avoid — Derrick Marks, Boise State 

He shot the Broncos to the MWC title by shooting 44 percent from three-point distance. 

Three-point bombers to avoid — Pat Connaughton, Notre Dame 

He hit four threes in the ACC tournament title game and is 88 of 202 this season. 

Who not to foul — Riley Grabau, Wyoming 

Wyoming’s Riley Grabau shoots 94 percent from the foul line. 

Who not to foul — Duke guards Quinton Cook and Tyus Jones

Duke’s Quinton Cook and Tyus Jones are shooting better than 88 percent from the foul line. 

Who not to foul — Oregon's Joseph Young

Oregon’s Joseph Young is a 92 percent free-throw shooter. No ticky-tack touch fouls advised.  

Three Beasts on the Boards — Jordan Mickey, LSU 

He leads the nation with 3.6 blocks per game and pulls down 9.8 rebounds. 

Three Beasts on the Boards — Rico Gathers, Baylor 

The Bears man in the middle, Gathers averages 11.6 rebounds. 

Three Beasts on the Boards — A.J. Hammons, Purdue 

Not a good idea to go inside against Hammons, who averages 2.9 blocks and 6.5 rebounds. 

Three most feared playmakers — T.J. McConnell, Arizona 

The UA’s Glue Guy is 10th nationally with 6.4 assists per game and No. 6 overall in assist/turnover ratio, 3.25. 

Three most feared playmakers — Fred Van Vleet, Wichita State 

He’s the Midwest McConnell, averaging 5.3 assists with a 3.21 assist/TO ratio. 

Three most feared playmakers — Kevin Pangos, Gonzaga 

He’s second in the nation with a 3.7 assist-turnover ratio, averages 4.6 assists and can bury a three on demand.

Two most exhausting coaching jobs — Rick Byrd, Belmont 

He has coached at NAIA schools in Virginia and Tennessee, been an assistant at Tennessee Tech, and has been at Belmont so long that the school has changed names, from Rebels to Bruins. At 62, Byrd has taken Belmont to seven NCAA tournaments and in 2008 had a final shot to eliminate Duke, but missed and lost 71-70. 

Two most exhausting coaching jobs — Jim Hayford, Eastern Washington 

After opening as a high school coach and as an assistant at Azusa Pacific, Hayford become the head coach at University of Sioux Falls and at Whitworth University. Dues paid.

Four Voices of March 

1. The A Team of Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery and Grant Hill begins the tournament in Charlotte, N.C.

2. Bill Walton and Dave Pasch will not call any NCAA tournament games. UA fans will stage a celebration.

3. Kevin Harlan and old Arizona nemesis Reggie Miller will call the games in Portland.

4. Gus Johnson, who used to be a can’t-miss March Madness voice, is also idle this month after taking a job at Fox Sports. 

The numbers of Madness 

1. The odds of successfully predicting the entire NCAA tournament bracket, start to finish, is 1 in 9.2 quintillion. Whatever that is.

2. The NCAA will distribute an estimated $194 million to Division I basketball teams from this year’s tournament. Average ticket price: $344.

3. A room at the downtown Portland City Center Marriott has climbed to $246.

4. General Motors is spending an estimated $83 million in advertising during this year’s tournament. 

One streak Arizona hopes to break 

The Wildcats have won four first-round games in succession from 1988-91, again from 2000-03 and now between 2009-14. They have never won five consecutive openers. 

Sean Miller and the chalk 

In his seven appearances in the NCAA tournament, Sean Miller has been one of the few coaches to escape a humbling upset. He has never lost to a team seeded worse than fourth. Here’s how Miller’s Xavier and UA teams have been eliminated:

2006: No. 14 seed lost to No. 3 Gonzaga.

2007: No. 9 seed lost to No. 1 Ohio State.

2008: No. 3 seed lost to No. 1 UCLA.

2009: No. 4 seed lost to No. 1 Pitt.

2011: No. 5 seed lost to No. 3 UConn.

2013: No. 6 seed lost to No. 2 Ohio State. 

2014: No. 1 seed lost to No. 2 Wisconsin.

Two reasons to avoid VCU in the second round 

1. The Rams whipped Oregon 77-63 on a neutral court game (New York City) in November. Coach Shaka Smart’s “Havoc” defense took Ducks star Joseph Young apart, holding him to 2-for-13 shooting and forcing him to commit seven turnovers.

2. In its run to the 2011 Final Four, VCU routed Kevin O’Neill’s USC team in the opener, limiting the Trojans to 46 points, and later knocked off No. 1 seed Kansas and No. 3 seed Purdue. They won’t be wide-eyed and in awe. 

How Wisconsin and Arizona match up 

1. The Badgers lead the nation in fewest turnovers, 252. Arizona has committed 381.

2. Arizona is second in the nation in free throws made and attempted (611 of 874). Wisconsin leads the nation in fewest free throws allowed 254, and those attempted by opponents, 373.

3. Wisconsin has attempted 663 three-pointers, which is 22nd nationally. Arizona has attempted 478 threes, which ranks No. 309 of all Division I teams. 

Three teams who get in your face — Kentucky 

The Wildcats don’t just dunk on you. They are third in NCAA scoring defense (54 points per game) and first in shooting percentage defense (.355). 

Three teams who get in your face — Virginia 

The Cavaliers walk the ball upcourt and lead the nation in scoring defense (50.7) but also are No. 3 in shooting defense at .361 percent. 

Three teams who get in your face — San Diego State 

Always a tough out, the Aztecs are fifth in shooting defense (.377) and second in scoring defense (53.1). 

Three teams who will run on you — North Carolina  

Tar Heels average 70 possessions per 40 minutes, more than the “Dunk City” USC teams. 

Three teams who will run on you — Eastern Washington 

The Big Sky bombers. Get this: Only three teams in the nation average 80 points a game, including EWU (80.8). 

Three teams who will run on you — Notre Dame 

The Irish have a reputation as a nasty defensive team, but they are 11th in the nation in scoring (78.8) and scored 90 to beat North Carolina in the ACC tournament final.

Five ways to get eliminated that don't include bad free-throw shooting 

Arizona has lost 29 NCAA tournament games and only one can be related to poor free-throw shooting: The Wildcats were 5 for 13 from the line in a 1995 first-round loss to 12th-seeded Miami (Ohio). Here’s how five more went down:

1. Run into a star-in-the-making. In 1977, Arizona lost a first-round game when Southern Illinois point guard Mike Glenn scored 35 points. Mike Glenn? He went on to play 10 NBA seasons.

2. Have your star go south. In a 1999 first-round elimination to Oklahoma, UA’s Jason Terry shot 4 for 17 from the field, which included just 2 for 12 from three-point range.

3. Put the other team at the foul line too often. In a 1992 first-round loss to East Tennessee State, the Wildcats committed 30 fouls and ETSU attempted 39 free throws in the 87-80 win over UA.

4. Have your worst shooting performance of the season. In a 1993 first-round flameout to Santa Clara, Arizona shot .309 (17 for 55) from the field even though it entered the game shooting .492.

5. The “Frank the Tank” Factor. Wisconsin’s Frank Kaminsky had a 28-point, 11-rebound performance to beat the Wildcats in the 2014 Elite Eight, taking on defensive efforts from Aaron Gordon and Kaleb Tarczewski.

One man's pick of the Portland regional's West pod — Arizona vs. Texas Southern

Arizona 83, Texas Southern 59: The journey begins. 

One man's pick of the Portland regional's West pod — VCU vs. Ohio State

VCU 66, Ohio State 63: Rams figure a way to limit Buckeye guard D’Angelo Russell just enough to win. 

One man's pick of the Portland regional's West pod — Arizona vs. VCU

Arizona 72, VCU 67: No one said it would be easy. 

How the Elite Eight brackets should go — West 

Wisconsin 67, Arizona 66. Did either team really want a rematch? 

How the Elite Eight brackets should go — South 

Iowa State 78, Duke 74. The Cyclones weathered the brutal Big 12 storm for three months. 

How the Elite Eight brackets should go — East 

Virginia 55, Villanova 54. Tony Bennett’s slow-and-slower system will pick up coaching disciples. 

How the Elite Eight brackets should go — Midwest 

Kentucky 78, Notre Dame 73. It won’t be total coronation for the Wildcats.