Region breakdowns: East | Midwest | West

Welcome to Winthrop's nightmare.

And Notre Dame's. And Charlotte's. And Southern Cal's.

Jason Williams and Mike Krzyzewski hope to lead Duke to a second consecutive national title. (AP)

The South region happens to be where Duke was placed this year. That's a little like putting a radioactive isotope in a dinner salad. The prospects aren't appetizing.

You know the numbers but we'll go through them again: Three championships in 17 years under Mike Krzyzewski; nine Final Fours; a 56-14 tournament record under Coach K, 16-3 over the past four years.

This year's first-round sacrificial lamb is the Eagles of Winthrop, the only Big South team above .500. Swallow hard, Eagles, and enjoy that trip to Greenville, S.C.

Frankly, the prospects don't look good for the rest of the bracket. No. 2 seed Alabama isn't exactly streaking. No. 3 seed Pittsburgh lost the Big East final to Connecticut, and No. 4 Southern Cal is 3-3 in its past six.

The only question seems to be, is Duke's continued dominance going to have a New York Yankees effect on television ratings? You know, the Devils win so much that it gets boring.

Two losses in the last five regular-season games has done nothing but refocus the Blue Devils on the prize. They vaulted to No. 1 in the coaches poll Sunday night. Duke is on a roll again and should roll through this region.

Three story lines

• Soothing the wounds of Alabama's native sons. Let's face it, it hasn't been a good year so far for 'Bama. The football program is in NCAA jail and, well, not much else matters. The basketball team could at least distract from the woes for a little while. Has it really been seven years since the Crimson Tide were in the dance?
• Breying for a victory. Krzyzewski hates playing former assistants. He did it last year and almost got beat by Quin Snyder and Missouri. If Notre Dame wins its first-round game, Mike Brey would face his old boss. Brey, in his second year with the Irish, isn't ready to beat Duke yet.
• Any time Indiana plays in the tournament it's like Alabama in a bowl game, so strap it on. The Hoosiers won a Big Ten title (shared) for the first time since 1993. Coach Mike Davis sometimes feels persecuted in his second year since taking over for Bob Knight but definitely has the team headed in the right direction. Indiana hasn't been past the first weekend of the tournament since 1994 so a Sweet 16 berth would be, well, sweet.

Who will win

It seems like a toss-up now that Kansas has lost. Duke or the Jayhawks?

We're not talking about the South Region, we're talking about the whole thing. Jason Williams, Carlos Boozer and Mike Dunleavy have played in nine career tournament games, winning eight. All three average more than 17 points.

This is a team that dictates on both ends of the floor, scoring almost 90 points per game while forcing 20 turnovers.

If you picked anyone other than Duke out of this region, you ought to have your bracket examined. The region is weak. Duke is not.

Darkhorse pick: Southern Cal. The Trojans have size, toughness, athleticism and emerged this year as a Pac-10 contender. Their entertaining style of play harkens back to those old Louisville teams.

Coach Henry Bibby is just now starting to show what a strong tactician he is. He is the only coach in school history to have a winning NCAA record (OK, so it's only 3-2). The Trojans reached the Elite Eight last year and have an idea what it takes after beating Oklahoma State, Boston College and Kentucky in that stretch.

"We're not done yet," power forward Sam Clancy said after losing to Arizona in the Pac-10 title game. "We've got the real tournament coming up."

If you prefer to go out on a real limb, check out No. 10 Kent State. The Flashes were 17-1 in the MAC and have won 18 in a row. Hey, it's happened before. The last No. 10 seed to reach the Sweet 16 was Georgetown last year.

Best mascot: Oklahoma State's Pistol Pete. Looks like a Mardi Gras float. His habit of shooting off blanks from his six-guns got so annoying that the Big 12 banned it.

Best point guard: Duke's Jason Williams. If you've got someone better, let's head out to a playground somewhere.

Best school colors: Florida Atlantic's blue and red are ordinary but who cares? It's Boca Raton!

Best coach: Rick Majerus, Utah. Give him Coach K's talent and he'd win too. Salt Lake City is not Tobacco Road, L.A. or the Big Ten. Majerus has had to recruit to a place that is far away from major urban areas with a small African-American population base.

What he does with sometimes sub-standard talent is amazing.

Best reputation: Penn. Sorry, Duke. We know Ivy League schools and you're no Ivy League school. Try to match actress Candice Bergen and 60-minute man Chuck Bednarik for variety of alums.

Five stars

Jason Williams, G, Sr., Duke -- Otherwise known as God.

Sam Clancy, Southern Cal, Sr., F -- Pac-10 player of the year. Eleven consecutive double-doubles at one point.

Trevor Huffman, Sr., G, Kent State -- No Division I offers out of high school. Leads what some are calling the best MAC team in history.

Brandin Knight, Jr., G, Pittsburgh -- It all starts with him. If he gets hot, the Panthers will be in the Sweet 16.

Mike Dunleavy, Jr., F, Duke -- A matchup nightmare. A big man with shooting guard skills.

Notes

• Bet the tournament committee didn't catch this: The state of North Carolina has a distinct advantage in this region if gang warfare ever breaks out. In a year when the Tar Heels don't participate, Duke, Charlotte and UNC-Wilmington are all in this region from North Carolina.
• Central Connecticut State has the tournament's longest winning streak, 19 games.
• No Cal player made the 10-man All-Pac team.
• Florida Atlantic's football coach is Howard Schnellenberger, who led the Owls through their first year in Division I-AA in 2001.
• Florida Atlantic was also the first team in the tournament this year. The previous two years the Owls were a combined 9-52.
• Last year, Oklahoma State failed to get out of the first round under Eddie Sutton.
• Winthrop is in the tournament for the fourth straight year. The prospects aren't good. No Big South team has ever won a tournament game. The Eagles were the only team above .500 in the conference.