Best point guard: Sherron Collins, Kansas. He doesn't start but Self calls him Kansas "fire starter". Collins is inner-city Chicago tough and the fastest thing on two wheels.
Best post player: Hibbert, Georgetown. Considering how few teams have true post players and that Hibbert already has Final Four experience, don't be surprised if he blows up over the next couple of weeks.
Best coach: OK, Floyd is the best coach in this region.
Best reputation: Kansas. Hard to be original on this one.
Five stars on display
1. Beasley, F, Kansas State: He'll get his 25 and 10. The question is whether the Wildcats around him turn into dogs. It happened too many times this season.
2. Shan Foster, swingman, Vanderbilt: SEC Player of the Year.
3. Stephen Curry, G, Davidson: Scores 25 per game, shoots 90 percent from the free-throw line. Along with Jason Richards, who leads the nation with eight assists per game, this is one of the best backcourts in the country.
4. Mayo, G, USC: Leading the Trojans in scoring, assists and turnovers.
5. Pick-a-Jayhawk: Kansas in insanely balanced. The top four scorers are within three points of each other. Three players average at least five rebounds. Brandon Rush had a Big 12 tournament that will make NBA scouts drool (more). Mario Chalmers is coming off a career-high 30 against Texas. Who do you target?
Five random notes
1. Davidson has won 22 in a row. Maryland-Baltimore County has had a Division I program for 22 years.
2. Five-foot-six Portland State point guard Jeremiah Dominguez represents the Lollipop Guild.
3. Gonzaga is 4-5 against teams from major conferences. How many teams in the country play that many major-conference opponents outside its conference?
4. Clemson has some of the best athletes in the country. But it will be vulnerable each time out because of 62 percent free-throw shooting.
5. So was No. 12 Villanova the last at-large team in? We'll never know. The selection committee's lips are sealed on this question every year.
