Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, Syracuse, headline NCAA March Madness

Wednesday, 17 March 2010 05:02 PM Adrian Dy

65 teams, 1 champion, and Kansas, Kentucky, Duke and Syracuse have the inside track.

Selection Sunday aired last March 15 (March 14, 7pm EST in the U.S.), and the above four teams were named the number one seeds in this yearly, single-elimination tournament to determine who reigns supreme in American Division I collegiate basketball.

Overall no. 1 Kansas seeks to raise another championship banner after just winning their last title in 2008. That team, which features current NBA players Mario Chalmers, Darrell Arthur and Brandon Rush, beat Memphis in overtime, 75-68. The team's current stars, Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich, were part of that championship team, and their experience will no doubt play a huge role in the tournament. Along with top high school recruit, Xavier Henry, the Jayhawks went 32-2 and are ranked #1 in the AP poll. They also won the Big 12 tournament and have won 59 straight games on their home court, an NCAA Division I record.

Despite their lofty status, the NCAA selection committee did the team no favors, placing them in a region with a who's who of college coaches such as Tom Izzo (Michigan St.), John Thompson III (Georgetown), Gary Williams (Maryland), and Thad Matta (Ohio St.). In all, including their coach, Bill Self, that's a combined four national titles and 15 Final Four berths.

First-year Kentucky coach John Calipari on the other hand, brings with him a team that's bristling with NBA-ready talent, in the hopes of returning Kentucky to its former glory, after missing out on the tournament last season. The team leads with the devastating one-two punch of point guard John Wall and forward DeMarcus Cousins, backed up ably by veteran Patrick Patterson and versatile fellow freshman Eric Bledsoe.

The Kentucky Wildcats won the SEC tournament in overtime, beating Mississippi State 75-74 and were last ranked #2 by the AP. They too finished 32-2, but while they are a Final Four favorite, the team can still be immature at times and might play to impress the pro scouts, and not win the tournament. They also project to face off against West Virginia in the Elite 8, a team many thought would be a #1 seed in the tournament, so their way is by no means clear.

The Syracuse Orange stumbled down the stretch, going 9-3, to finish 28-4 but were still the #3 seed in the last AP poll. They lost in the first round of the Big East tournament against Georgetown, but as Big East regular season champs, they got the nod by the committee and the number one seed. Possibly the best defensive team in the tournament, coach Jim Boeheim is the master of the zone defense and on its own, the zone can disrupt a ton of offenses. But don't say they can't score, as the 'Cuse in fact, feature one of the most spread-out offenses in the league, where anyone, from established players Azinze Onuaku and Andy Rautins to transfer student Wes Johnson is a threat to explode.

Lastly, there is the decorated Duke Blue Devils, who are both ACC regular season co-champions and winners of the ACC tournament. Led by Mike Krzyzewski, who coached the US Men's Basketball team to a gold medal in Beijing, the team finished with a 29-5 record and was ranked #4 in the AP poll. The team goes in with perhaps the best scoring trio of the tournament, namely Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith, who together average 53.4 points a game. The problem with the Blue Devils? History is not on their side as Duke hasn't advanced into the Elite Eight since 2004. That said, many feel that their region is the weakest of the four and they could well make a run at the Final Four, as long as they get out of their second round match-up versus Louisville.