South Regional: Duke in familiar position as a No. 1-seeded team

Top-seeded teams

No. 1 Duke: The committee might have been generous with this seeding, but there’s some serious history with a team that just won its 18th Atlantic Coast Conference tournament title and grabbed a No. 1 regional seeding for the 11th time.

No. 2 Villanova: Another unexpected seeding. The Wildcats (24-7) have lost five of their last seven games and went 3-5 against teams in the top 25 in the RPI this season.

No. 3 Baylor: The Bears amassed a 25-7 record that includes victories over Xavier, Texas and Texas A&M. They took Kansas down to the wire before losing in late January.

No. 4 Purdue: Junior forward Robbie Hummel is gone for the season with a knee injury, but the Boilermakers can feel good about earning a share of their first Big Ten Conference title since 1996 and winning 13 of their last 15.

Cinderella search

As the No. 13-seeded team, Siena has a strong rebounder in forward Ryan Rossiter and a guard, Ronald Moore, who takes care of the ball. That’s a good combination in tournament play.

Top players

Scottie Reynolds, guard, Villanova: Though he lost out on Big East player of the year, Reynolds was the only unanimous pick on the all-conference team, averaging 18.5 points and 3.3 assists.

Omar Samhan, center, St. Mary’s: Samhan does it all for the Gaels, averaging 20.9 points and 11 rebounds.

Tweety Carter, guard, Baylor: The 5-foot-11 senior ranks sixth in the nation with 6.2 assists a game and provides tons of leadership. Besides, how can you resist a guy named Tweety?

Rim shots

— Duke will live and die by the heart of its lineup. Upperclassmen Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith average between 17.3 and 18.6 points a game.

— California will play the percentages: Guard Jerome Randle makes 92.8% of his free throws (second best in the nation) and forward Jamal Boykin shoots 59.8% (also second best) from the field.

— Villanova limped into the tournament with an inconsistent finish, but the Wildcats won 20 games for the sixth consecutive season and Coach Jay Wright is 11-5 in NCAA tournament play.

— Not many teams can begin the season 0-11 and still make the tournament. Arkansas Pine Bluff did, winning 13 of its last 16, including the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament title.