Get to know the men’s basketball teams headed to Charlotte for the NCAA Tournament
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Eight teams will be headed to Charlotte later this week to play in the first two rounds of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Play is set for Thursday and Saturday at the Spectrum Center.
We know who six of the teams will be. The other two will be decided in Tuesday’s two opening-round games in Dayton, Ohio.
The opening round schedule on Thursday:
Mississippi State vs. Michigan State, 12:15 p.m. (CBS)
North Carolina vs. Howard/Wagner winner, 2:45 p.m. (CBS)
Texas vs. Virginia/Colorado State winner, 6:50 p.m. (TNT)
Tennessee vs. Saint Peter’s, 9:20 p.m. (TNT)
Here’s a quick scouting report on the teams headed to Charlotte — along with a little information about the various schools and their well-known alumni.
NET rankings are as of March 16. Enrollment figures are undergraduate figures from U.S. News & World Report, as of October 2022 (the most recent available). Teams are arranged according to their seeding:
North Carolina Tar Heels
Region, seed: West, 1
Location: Chapel Hill
Enrollment: 20,200
Conference: ACC
Record: 24-8
NET ranking: 8
Record vs. Quad 1 opponents: 9-3
Record vs. Quad 2 opponents: 7-4
Scouting report: The Tar Heels have been among the nation’s strongest and most consistent teams over the past six weeks. With R.J. Davis (21.2 ppg) and Armando Bacot (10.2 rpg), they have a strong presence both inside and out. Some have compared this team to the one that reached the national finals in 2022.
Best victory: 100-92 over Tennessee, Nov. 29
Worst loss: 74-73 to Georgia Tech, Jan. 30
Famous alumni: Actor Andy Griffith; basketball player and businessman Michael Jordan; President James K. Polk; newsmen David Brinkley and Charles Kuralt.
Tennessee Volunteers
Region, seed: Midwest, 2
Location: Knoxville, Tenn.
Enrollment: 28,900
Conference: SEC
Record: 24-8
NET ranking: 7
Record vs. Quad 1 opponents: 8-7
Record vs. Quad 2 opponents: 5-1
Scouting report: The Volunteers are known for their rugged defense, but they have a real scoring threat this season in Northern Colorado transfer Dalton Knecht, who is averaging 21.1 points a game and shooting 41 percent from 3-point range. The Vols’ three-game losing streak in November against high-profile teams (Purdue, Kansas, North Carolina) raises some questions.
Best victory: 103-92 over Kentucky, Dec. 9
Worst loss: 85-69 to Texas A&M, Feb. 10
Famous alumni: Quarterback Peyton Manning; retired astronaut Scott Kelly; author Kurt Vonnegut.
Texas Longhorns
Region, seed: Midwest, 7
Location: Austin, Texas
Enrollment: 41,300
Conference: Big 12
Record: 20-12
NET ranking: 30
Record vs. Quad 1 opponents: 5-9
Record vs. Quad 2 opponents: 3-2
Scouting report: The Longhorns were an Elite 8 team last season and feature graduate student Max Abmas, whose 3,109 college career points are tops among active players. Their losses have come against high-quality teams like UConn, Houston and Marquette. One troubling point: Texas hasn’t won more than two in a row since late December.
Best victory: 75-73 over Baylor, Jan. 20
Worst loss: 76-73 to West Virginia, Jan. 13
Famous alumni: Actor Matthew McConaughey (will he be in Charlotte?); newsman Walter Cronkite; musician Janis Joplin.
Mississippi State Bulldogs
Region, seed: West, 8
Location: Starkville, Miss.
Enrollment: 18,300
Conference: SEC
Record: 21-13
NET ranking: 31
Record vs. Quad 1 opponents: 4-9
Record vs. Quad 2 opponents: 4-3
Scouting report: The Bulldogs’ 4-9 record against Quad 1 opponents is troubling, but they feature the nation’s No. 21 defense, and that usually keeps them in games. Guard Josh Hubbard has connected on 105 3-pointers this season and is shooting 36 percent from long distance.
Best victory: 77-72 over Tennessee on Jan. 10, and 73-56 on March 15
Worst loss: 60-59 to Southern on Dec. 3
Famous alumni: Author John Grisham; former U.S. Sen. John C. Stennis; baseball star Rafael Palmeiro.
Michigan State Spartans
Region, seed: West, 9
Location: East Lansing, Mich.
Enrollment: 39,200
Conference: Big Ten
Record: 19-14
NET ranking: 24
Record vs. Quad 1 opponents: 3-9
Record vs. Quad 2 opponents: 6-5
Scouting report: What happened to the team that started the season ranked No. 4, with most key players back from a Sweet 16 team in 2023? The Spartans have shown signs at times this season of that strength, but they’ve been inconsistent, especially offensively. Still, the pieces are there, and coach Tom Izzo is still on the sidelines.
Best victory: 88-64 over Baylor, Dec. 16
Worst loss: 59-56 to Minnesota, Feb. 6
Famous alumni: Basketball’s Magic Johnson; actor James Caan; the late Dick Martin, comedian of “Rowan and Martin” fame.
Colorado State Rams
Region, seed: Midwest, 10
Location: Fort Collins, Colo.
Enrollment: 26,000
Conference: Mountain West
Record: 22-10
NET ranking: 36
Record vs. Quad 1 opponents: 6-7
Record vs. Quad 2 opponents: 3-2
Scouting report: The Rams got off to a 9-0 start, stumbled a bit early in their conference season, but righted the ship nicely against rugged Mountain West competition. They shoot 58 percent from 2-point range and are led by one of the country’s top point guards, Isaiah Stevens (16.0 ppg, 7.5 apg).
Best victory: 69-48 over Creighton, Nov. 23
Worst loss: 79-76 to Wyoming, Jan. 27
Famous alumni: Actor John Amos; Pulitzer poet Yusef Komunyakaa; Jonathan Rubinstein, key developer of the iPad.
Virginia Cavaliers
Region, seed: Midwest, 10
Location: Charlottesville, Va.
Enrollment: 17,400
Conference: ACC
Record: 23-10
NET ranking: 54
Record vs. Quad 1 opponents: 2-7
Record vs. Quad 2 opponents: 8-3
Scouting report: There were some analysts who thought the Cavaliers were headed to the NIT, due in large part to a chronic anemic offense. They compensated for that with one of the nation’s best defenses, led by Reece Beekman. Ryan Dunn averages 7.0 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.
Best victory: 66-65 over Clemson, Feb. 3
Worst loss: 77-54 to Memphis, Dec. 19
Famous alumni: President Woodrow Wilson; actress Tina Fey; South Carolina basketball coach Dawn Staley; author Edgar Allan Poe.
Saint Peter’s Peacocks
Region, seed: Midwest, 15
Location: Jersey City, N.J.
Enrollment: 2,100
Conference: Metro Atlantic Athletic
Record: 18-13
NET ranking: 189
Record vs. Quad 1 opponents: 0-1
Record vs. Quad 2 opponents: 0-2
Scouting report: The Peacocks were the surprise winner of their conference tournament, evoking memories of the program’s Sweet 16 run two years ago. Saint Peter’s is a young team, led by sophomore Corey Washington (16 ppg).
Best victory: 62-60 over Quinnipiac, March 15 in conference tournament semifinals
Worst loss: 62-57 to Rider, Jan. 25
Famous alumni: Legendary high school basketball coach Bob Hurley, father of former Duke star Bobby Hurley; Joseph Patrick Tumulty, personal secretary to President Woodrow Wilson; U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J.
Howard Bison
Region, seed: West, 16
Location: Washington
Enrollment: 9,800
Conference: Mid-Eastern Athletic
Record: 16-16
NET ranking: 273
Record vs. Quad 1 opponents: 0-1
Record vs. Quad 2 opponents: 0-3
Scouting report: Former duke standout Kenny Blakeney has guided the Bison to their second straight NCAA berth. They feature one of the nation’s oldest players, Seth Towns, 26. He played at Harvard and Ohio State, battling injuries at every stop. Towns is averaging 14.2 points a game.
Best victory: 80-74 over Norfolk State, March 15 in MEAC semifinals
Worst loss: 85-79 to Morgan State, Jan. 27
Famous alumni: Vice President Kamala Harris; former Supreme C.ourt Justice Thurgood Marshall; the late actor Chadwick Boseman; singer Roberta Flack.
Wagner Seahawks
Region, seed: West, 16
Location: Staten Island, N.Y.
Enrollment: 1,500
Conference: Northeast
Record: 14-15
NET ranking: 290
Record vs. Quad 1 opponents: 0-2
Record vs. Quad 2 opponents: 0-0
Scouting report: The Seahawks finished sixth in the Northeast Conference, but got hot and raced to the conference tournament championship. They will try to replicate the feat of Fairleigh Dickinson, which last year became the first Northeast team to win an NCAA game.
Best victory: 66-56 over Central Connecticut, March 9 in conference semifinals
Worst loss: 69-67 to Long Island, Jan. 4
Famous alumni: The late James Carroll, author of “Basketball Diaries”; the late actor Robert Loggia; former Mississippi State and Florida football coach Dan Mullen.
