The Edge

How they got here: At-large bid; East first round: def. No. 11 seed VCU 65-64.

They'll keep winning if ...: Their shots keep falling. UCLA lost 65-55 to rival USC in the Pac-10 tournament semifinals because it suffered through its worst shooting performance of the season -- 27.1 percent (19 of 70). That doesn't happen often to the Bruins, who usually work their half-court offense until Darren Collison, a superb decision-maker, finds them an open shot. The Bruins, in fact, ended the regular season leading the nation in field goal percentage at 50.6 percent. That's not because they have a monster inside who dunks everything, it's because they can spread the court with good shooters and get good looks.

Memorable moment: UCLA recorded its best victory with an 85-76 home triumph against eventual Pac-10 regular-season champ Washington. The Bruins led nearly the entire game and improved to 22-1 against the Huskies in Pauley Pavilion since the 1986-87 season. Washington tied the game at 55 about halfway through the second half, but hot-shooting UCLA -- 62.1 percent in the second half -- went on an 11-3 run, and the Huskies couldn't catch up. Starting with this game, UCLA won six of seven before falling to USC in the Pac-10 semifinals.

Darren Collison

Go-to guys: Senior Darren Collison is one of the best and fastest point guards in the nation, the catalyst for a highly efficient UCLA offense. Entering the NCAA tournament, he averaged 14.5 points per game, makes a stunning 51.9 percent of his shots and has a better than 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Just as important, he's a veteran of three Final Four appearances, so he knows how to win in March. Collison is surrounded by standout perimeter players -- 6-5 senior Josh Shipp (44 percent on 3-pointers), freshman Jrue Holiday (solid, if not spectacular as his recruiting clippings suggested) and designated bench shooter Michael Roll (48 of 94 3-pointers). Roll just needs a little bit of space to launch, and he's not afraid to shoot from anywhere.

Strengths: This is a Howland-coached team, so you know it buys into the principles of a hard-nosed man-to-man defense. The Bruins, without as much presence in the middle, haven't posted the lockdown defensive numbers they did during their three-year Final Four run, but they can still discombobulate careless opponents. UCLA led the Pac-10 in the regular season by forcing 14.7 turnovers per game, which, in turn, leads to fast breaks, which contributes to the Bruins' gaudy shooting percentage. Holiday often gets the assignment against the opponent's best wing player. How he holds up in the NCAA tournament will be key. UCLA's starting five excels at the free throw line, led by Collison and Shipp. Collison hits 91.4 percent and made a UCLA-record 43 in a row this season.

Weaknesses: Kevin Love was a one-and-done player, leaving the Bruins without a big man to run the offense through. Starting post Alfred Aboya has the size to play the part (6-9, 245) but he's more of a clean-up-the-messes kind of scorer rather than a primary low-post scorer. For sure, UCLA doesn't have the balance of previous seasons. Other than Roll, there isn't much scoring off the bench inside or outside. Collison was suffering from a tailbone injury late in the season that contributed to a horrible performance in the Pac-10 semifinals against USC -- 1 of 9 shooting, seven turnovers. If Collison is ailing (especially against guard-heavy Villanova), UCLA will need something off the bench from freshman guards Malcolm Lee and Jerime Anderson.

How they got here: Automatic bid (Atlantic Sun champion).

Memorable moment: The Bruins were 0-14 all-time vs. members of the Big East and the SEC before registering road wins at Cincinnati and Alabama during a tremendous 10-day stretch in November. Belmont shot 52 percent and snapped the Bearcats' streak of 42 consecutive victories in home openers and made 11 3-pointers in Tuscaloosa.

Justin Hare

Go-to guys: Justin Hare has made 14 baskets in his career that either won a game or forced OT, including a jumper with 2.2 seconds left at Alabama. Shane Dansby captured Atlantic Sun tournament MVP honors by knocking down 7-of-12 treys. At 6-foot-8, Matthew Dotson is a tough perimeter matchup and is shooting 42 percent from 3-point range.

They'll keep winning if: Taking care of the ball against Duke's perimeter pressure will decide whether Belmont is in the game beyond halftime. Accurate passing and methodical ball movement are the keys to the Belmont prolific perimeter offense. In the conference championship vs. Jacksonville, the Bruins had 21 assists on 28 field goals. They led the league in assists (17.4 per game) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.19) and were second in turnover margin (plus-1.8).

Strengths: Five different players made at least 40 3-pointers this season for Belmont, which attempted over 300 more 3-point shots than its opponents. As of March 10, they topped Division I in 3-pointers made (349). During their current 13-game winning streak, the Bruins have made nine or more threes in 12 games.

Weaknesses: Belmont is vertically challenged. The tallest members of the rotation -- 6-foot-9 Keaton Belcher and 6-8 Matthew Dotson -- score most of their points from the outside and rarely get to the charity stripe. Free-throw shooting is another sore spot. In their two league losses, the Bruins shot a combined 56 percent (20-of-36) from the line.