Tell Asmussen what he's missing here

Bob Asmussen's East Region breakdown

Team to beat: Kentucky

If it was just John Wall, the Wildcats might be beatable. Or, if it was just Wall and DeMarcus Cousins, you might be able to figure out a way to beat Kentucky. But with Wall, Cousins and Patrick Patterson, Kentucky has the best threesome in the tournament. Eric Bledsoe is the fourth Wildcat averaging in double figures. In John Calipari's first season, Kentucky has managed to exceed the outrageous expectations of its fans. The Wildcats enter the tournament on a giant roll, winning 13 of their last 14. The lone loss came at Tennessee late in the regular season. The Wildcats had little motivation in the SEC tournament, knowing they had locked up a No. 1 seed. Still, they ripped Tennessee by 29 in the semifinals (in case the Vols forgot the earlier loss) and knocked Mississippi State out of the NCAA field with a win Sunday. The draw is cottony soft, with underachieving Texas or Wake Forest in the second round and Wisconsin or Cornell in the third.

Team in trouble: Wisconsin

The Badgers didn't seem to care during the first 35 minutes of the Big Ten quarterfinal against Illinois. They woke up in time to give the Illini a game. A better plan would have been to try to actually win and force the committee to keep them out of the No. 3 line. The opener against Wofford is no gimme. The Terriers beat Georgia and lost to Pitt by three. They have won 13 in a row. Survive the first round and Wisconsin will likely face Atlantic 10 champion, which has won nine consecutive games. Then, it's Kentucky. If the Badgers make it to the Elite Eight, Bo Ryan deserves football coach money.

Dark horse: Marquette

While the team from down the road got the nasty draw, the Golden Eagles like their view. They open against worn-out Washington, which had to win the Pac-10 to even get into the field. Next up will be New Mexico, which had us believing until it got scared by Air Force and lost to San Diego State in the Mountain West tournament. To say the Lobos are the shakiest No. 3 seed is to say that Steve Alford has nice hair. Marquette's got a star player you've never heard of (Lazar Hayward) and a talented swingman (Jimmy Butler) who makes 54 percent of his shots.

Sentimental favorite: Cornell

Be honest, you always root for the Ivy League. Be it Princeton back in the Pete Carril days. Be it Penn in the Fran Dunphy days. The problem with most Ivy League teams is the stay is usually short. Maybe not this time. Led by Ryan Wittman, the Big Red has a legitimate shot to get to the second weekend. If you don't believe, put in a call to Kansas coach Bill Self, who squirmed for 40 minutes in a 71-66 home win against Cornell. The Big Red was 13-1 in the Ivy. Almost as impressive, the team was 14-3 outside the league, playing a string of power conference schools.

Best first-round matchup: Clemson vs. Missouri

Both teams enter the tournament on the sheepish side. Clemson lost its last two games, including an ACC tournament clunker against North Carolina State. Missouri did Clemson one better (or one worse), getting blown out by last-place Nebraska in the first round of the Big 12 tournament. Figure Mike Anderson and Oliver Purnell spent the bonus days reminding their teams how important it is to be ready. Embarrassed teams seem to play well the next time out (see Illinois-Wisconsin).

Worst first-round matchup: New Mexico vs. Montana

The Lobos are second on the "team in trouble" list. But not in the opener against Montana. The Grizzlies are a nice story, rallying from 20 down in the Big Sky final to beat Weber State. At Weber State. But a team that lost to 15-14 Montana State, twice, isn't going to hang with Team Alford.

Local connection: Chas McFarland, Wake Forest

The 7-footer from Lovington is in his final season with the Demon Deacons. While his scoring average has dropped about a point to 7.3, he is playing more minutes and grabbing more rebounds (7.1) than ever before. He's had five double-doubles this season – and Wake Forest won four of those five games. The Demon Deacons are going to need him in the opener against Texas. Wake Forest enters the game with five losses in its last six games.

National reaction

n "These guys played well enough over a four-month period to be in a pretty good position in the NCAA tournament. And that's how it's judged – it's judged on your entire body of work. So I'm very proud of these guys and extremely excited about the fact that they get a chance to play again. And I'm sure they're pretty excited to play again, too." – Wisconsin coach Ryan.

n "A lot of people said we'd be in the NIT and finish last in the Big East. I think we've shown that we're definitely a hungry team." – Marquette star Hayward.

n "Someone said last week that the committee was not at all interested in how you finished. There's no better examples of that than Temple and Villanova. That might be true." – Temple athletic director Bill Bradshaw on his disappointment in the Owls earning a No. 5 seed.

n "We've just got to try to get our bodies in shape, get proper rest and eat right. Everybody's body gets bruised. We've been playing hard the last few days. We're just going to try to keep it going." – Kentucky's Bledsoe about the rugged SEC tournament.