March Madness men’s tournament analysis: Teams and players to watch

No. 1 Michigan: The Wolverines, who recorded 24 double-digit victories, are a top seed for the fourth time in program history. They will play the winner of the First Four matchup between Baltimore, Maryland County and Howard. Michigan finished the regular season by winning its final 15 Big Ten games, setting victory records for both the program and conference.

No. 2 Iowa State: The Cyclones started hot and at one point were ranked second in the country. They cooled at midseason, however, before hitting their stride again as they headed into the tournament. Iowa State opens against Tennessee State in St. Louis, which is a five-hour drive from Ames, Iowa, but is still a quasi-home game.

No. 3 Virginia: Virginia lost by four to Duke in the ACC tournament championship, but it was an improvement over a 26-point loss to the Blue Devils two weeks earlier. Playing for first-year coach Ryan Odom, the Cavaliers improved by 14 wins from last season, a school record. The matchup is a tall order for Wright State, which won a First Four game in 2022 by beating Bryant.

No. 4 Alabama: The Crimson Tide is the highest-scoring team in the country at 91.7 points per game. Alabama won 23 games and lost to Mississippi in the SEC quarterfinals. Hofstra, which has won seven in a row, could be a tough first-round matchup. Outstanding junior guard Labaron Philon Jr. leads Alabama and averages 21.7 points.

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Texas Tech is hobbling into the tournament without star forward J.T. Toppin, who suffered a season-ending knee injury. Opportunity awaits for the No. 12 Akron Zips, who won 20 of their final 21 games and have four players averaging double-figures in scoring.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Yaxel Lendeborg, forward, Michigan: A 6-foot-9 standout, Lendeborg withdrew from the NBA draft last May and chose to play his final season in Michigan after playing at Arizona Western and Alabama Birmingham earlier in his career. He was Big Ten Player of the Year.

Christian Anderson, guard, Texas Tech: After the Red Raiders lost Toppin, Anderson helped pick up the scoring slack. The point guard was named the Big 12’s most improved player and is coming back from a groin injury he suffered last Thursday against Iowa State.

Ugonna Onyenso, center, Virginia: The 7-foot player from Nigeria is a shot-blocking machine, with a record nine blocks in the ACC championship game against Duke and 21 over three tournament games. The previous record of 14 for the tournament was set 31 years earlier by Tim Duncan of Wake Forest.

RIM SHOTS

• Nolan Smith, a former Duke guard, took the Tennessee State coaching job in July and led the school to its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1994.
• It has been 30 years since Santa Clara got an invite to the tournament: That was back when the Broncos had a dazzling Canadian point guard named Steve Nash.
• Miami (Ohio) is the first Mid-American Conference school to receive an at-large bid since 1999.

— Sam Farmer