NCAA tournament West Region: Dream and nightmare scenarios

(Play Tourney Pick'em | Fill out your bracket | Print it | Celebrity Challenge)

What are the wildest dreams and darkest nightmare scenarios for every team in the NCAA tournament West Region? Yahoo Sports has answers.

More best-/worst-case scenarios from Pat Forde: Midwest | South | East

WisconsinRecord: 31-3 (16-2 Big Ten)

Last 10 games: 9-1
Best wins: Okla., G'town, MSU x2
Key losses: Duke, Rutgers, Maryland
Leading scorer: Frank Kaminsky (18.2)

No. 1 WISCONSIN

Best Case: In the ultimate refutation of changing times, the program that develops players for four (or five) years, never fouls and never turns the ball over wins it all. This triumph of patience and fastidiousness in an impatient and unruly era makes a hero of Bo Ryan to hoops purists, makes lottery picks of Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker, and makes fried cheese curds the Official Snack of March Madness. With injured guard Traevon Jackson back and contributing, the Badgers methodically and remorselessly dismantle Coastal Carolina and Oklahoma State and exploit the laissez-faire defense of North Carolina in the round of 16. That sets up their Rematch Tour in the latter half of the tourney. They meet up with Arizona for the second straight year in a regional final and again emerge victorious – this time by more than a point in overtime. Then comes the payback the Badgers have been dreaming of – Kentucky in the national semifinals. This time Josh Gasser doesn’t react a step late, gets a hand up on Aaron Harrison and the Wildcats’ winning shot clangs off the iron. And that sets up a title-game rematch of a December loss to Duke. Wisconsin does a better job on Tyus Jones this time, Kaminsky and Dekker shine, and the Badgers claim their first national title since 1941. Entire state reacts as if the Packers had just won the Super Bowl and goes on a weeklong bender. Ryan declares that he’s ready to coach 10 more years, goes back to recruiting three-stars and turning them into five-stars.

Worst Case: To Wisconsin fans’ dismay, it’s readily apparent in Omaha that the Badgers’ overtime slugfest Sunday with Michigan State in the Big Ten tournament title game has taken something out of them. After wheezing past Coastal Carolina in a 1-16 game that Ryan afterward says anyone who knows basketball could see would be trouble, Wisconsin runs into a talented Oklahoma State team at the wrong time. Traevon Jackson still isn’t ready to contribute, the Badgers guards are worn down, and the team that struggled to score 20 in the first half at Maryland hits long scoring droughts against the Cowboys. A dream season dies a premature March death in the round of 32 with Kaminsky in tears. Devastated state goes on a weeklong bender. Ryan figures he’ll never have another team this good and hangs it up so he can be a know-it-all TV analyst.

Coastal CarolinaRecord: 24-9 (12-6 Big South)

Last 10 games: 8-2
Best wins: Aub., Charles. So., Win.
Key losses: UCLA, Miss.
Leading scorer: Warren Gillis (13.1)

No. 16 COASTAL CAROLINA

Best Case: Cliff Ellis charms media leading up to game against Wisconsin by singing songs and telling tales of his days as an ostrich farmer. With basically the same cast that had its NCAA tournament game tied with Virginia as a No. 16 seed last year back, the Chanticleers are ready. They swarm around Frank Kaminsky, and the Badgers miss enough shots to let Coastal hang around until halftime. Around this time Cliff starts coaching and the jig is up, but the roosters had something to crow about for a while. And going home to the South Carolina beaches beats going back to, say, Buffalo.

Worst Case: Ellis coaches like an ostrich farmer from the opening tip, and a team that played only two NCAA tournament opponents all year (and lost to both) quickly realizes it’s not in the Big South anymore. Kaminsky dunks on their heads, and the Chanticleers cannot get any open looks at the basket. Game becomes a rout early and that never changes. Weather turns lousy at the South Carolina beaches upon the team’s return home.

OregonRecord: 25-9 (13-5 Pac-12)

Last 10 games: 8-2
Best wins: UCLA, Utah x2
Key losses: 'Zona x3, VCU, Ole Miss
Leading scorer: Joseph Young (20.2)

No. 8 OREGON

Best Case: The chuckin’ Ducks can fill it up, and Oklahoma State plays directly into their up-tempo hands as Joseph Young continues his roll from the Pac-12 tournament. The guy who scored 29 on Wisconsin last year in the NCAA round of 32 leads a major upset of the Badgers in a revenge game this time around, marking Oregon’s biggest basketball victory since beating Bill Walton and UCLA in 1974. Phil Knight saunters into postgame news conference and kisses Young like Dick Vitale smooched Ashley Judd. Ducks then knock off North Carolina in the Sweet 16, then get a break when Baylor knocks off nemesis Arizona. Oregon beats Baylor and threatens to win its first Final Four since the first Final Four, in 1939. With Marcus Mariota in attendance, Ducks finally are dispatched by Kentucky in Indianapolis. Knight orders a new luxury add-on to the school’s basketball arena.

Worst Case: Indifferent defensive team is lit up by an Oklahoma State unit that doesn’t mind running with the Ducks, who are accustomed to slow-down Pac-12 opponents. Cowboys force Young to take 30 shots to get his 20 points, and nobody else can pick up the slack. Phil Knight blows off postgame news conference and rushes to Louisville to back a winner like Kentucky. Marcus Mariota barely notices his school was even in the tournament. Nike goes back to building stuff for the football program.

Okla. St.Record: 18-13 (8-10 Big 12)

Last 10 games: 4-6
Best wins: Texas x2, Kansas, Baylor x2
Key losses: Md., ISU, Kansas, OK x3
Leading scorer: Le'Bryan Nash (17.1)

No. 9 OKLAHOMA STATE

Best Case: Phil Forte’s jumper comes back in the nick of time, as he and Le'Bryan Nash form a one-two tandem that Oregon cannot handle. After a season of non-stop battles in the Big 12, battle-hardened Cowboys are ready for Wisconsin and shock the Badgers. Forte hits the game-winner at the buzzer and coach Travis Ford runs on the floor and tackles him for delivering Ford’s first Sweet 16 of his career. People stop talking about Ford’s five-game losing streak to Lon Kruger. Nash stars in a Sweet 16 upset of North Carolina, and the Pokes draw a Baylor team in the regional final they have beaten twice. Oklahoma State beats the Bears again to make the Final Four, and Ford throws a scare into his alma mater, Kentucky, before submitting. Malevolent mascot Pistol Pete also throws scares into a lot of people in Indy. Meanwhile, Oklahoma flames out in the round of 64.

Worst Case: Team that has beaten only TCU since early February isn’t exactly peaking at the right time. Forte’s jumper remains AWOL, and Nash cannot score enough to replace the missing offense against Oregon. The Ducks eliminate the Pokes, running Travis Ford’s postseason losing mark to 1-4 in the last two years. His five-game losing streak to Lon Kruger becomes a bigger topic than ever as Kruger leads Oklahoma to the Final Four.

ArkansasRecord: 26-8 (13-5 SEC)

Last 10 games: 7-3
Best wins: SMU, Dayton
Key losses: Iowa St., UK x2
Leading scorer: Bobby Portis (17.5)

No. 5 ARKANSAS

Best Case: Sophomore big man Bobby Portis launches an early entry salary drive, elevating his game and his draft stock by dominating Wofford and Cinderella Harvard in Jacksonville. From there the Razorbacks travel West and throw some full-court chaos on orderly Wisconsin with the desired result – the Badgers don’t handle it well and are upset. In the regional final against Arizona, a Michael Qualls tip-in sends the Hogs to Indianapolis on the 20th anniversary of their last Final Four. Corliss Williamson and Scotty Thurman show up in plastic pig hats to bask in the warm glow of nostalgia. Unfortunately, Kentucky is there to slap down the Hogs for the third and final time this season, but the program is rekindled and the SEC is grateful to have anyone other than UK or Florida do anything.

Worst Case: Arkansas played two of its three slowest games of the season in the SEC tournament semifinals and final, which plays into round-of-64 opponent Wofford’s wheelhouse. The Razorbacks’ press is unable to rattle the Terriers, and Portis continues the struggles that led him to go 4-for-21 from the field in the last two games in Nashville. Arkansas is one-and-done, and still looking for its first NCAA tournament victory since 2008. Portis expectedly turns pro and Qualls unexpectedly joins him. SEC brass remains miffed at Arkansas for having become irrelevant.

WoffordRecord: 28-6 (16-2 Southern)

Last 10 games: 9-1
Best wins: N.C. St., Furman
Key losses: Stan., W&M, W.Va., Duke
Leading scorer: Karl Cochran (14.6)

No. 12 WOFFORD

Best Case: Everyone knows the 5-12 upset dynamic, and this year it’s time to fear the Terrier. Veteran team that was here last year gets its highest seed in school history and takes advantage of the opportunity. Handling Arkansas’ pressure with aplomb, Wofford gets timely 3s to build a lead. Defensively, the Terriers frustrate the Razorbacks into taking bad shots and capture the first NCAA tourney win in school history. When they get Harvard in a bracket-busting round of 32 game, school’s entire enrollment of 1,600 road trips to Jacksonville to see the Terriers advance to the Sweet 16. Suddenly everyone knows where Wofford is (Spartanburg, S.C.) and who Mike Young is (an underrated coach). After loss to Wisconsin, Southern Conference commissioner John Iamarino offers Wofford preferential scheduling for the next five years in gratitude for salvaging league pride after Davidson and three other schools left in 2014.

[Yahoo Sports Tourney Pick'em: Fill out your bracket and get a free Big Gulp Drink]

Worst Case: The Bobby Portis matchup isn’t pretty for a team with no one taller than 6-foot-7. Nor do the Terriers handle the Arkansas pressure with much aplomb. Razorbacks jump on Wofford early and stay on them for 40 minutes of NCAA tourney hell, and the little school remains 0-for-history in the Big Dance. Terriers aren’t around long enough for anyone to figure out where their school is located, but Charlotte snatches up Young as its next coach.

North CarolinaRecord: 24-11 (11-7 ACC)

Last 10 games: 6-4
Best wins: Louisville x2, Virginia
Key losses: UK, Duke x2, ND x2, Virginia
Leading scorer: Marcus Paige (13.9)

No. 4 NORTH CAROLINA

Best Case: Team that performed really well for the first 152 of 160 minutes in the ACC tournament carries that level of play into the Big Dance. Carolina’s length overwhelms Harvard, and then it waylays Arkansas on the offensive glass to reach the Sweet 16. Marcus Paige plays like a star against Wisconsin, and Justin Jackson hits a game-winning 3 to carry the Heels to their first Final Four since 2009. Ol’ Roy dadgum poormouths his way through the week before springing an upset on Kentucky, which is overconfident after beating Carolina rather easily in December. Heels find the gift of Northern Iowa awaiting them in a you-must-be-joking national title game and win going away for the least-likely championship in school history. Meanwhile, Duke flops in the second round against San Diego State. In the biggest upset of the year, NCAA investigation into academic fraud yields no allegation.

Worst Case: After a withering, week-long blast of wisecracks about the ironic matchup of Harvard vs. AFAM U., Tar Heels no-show on the court the way their athletes did for years in the classroom. Brice Johnson is passive, Justin Jackson misses a bunch of 3-pointers, Ol’ Roy plays too many guys and Marcus Paige cannot carry his teammates past the Crimson. Ol’ Roy has a good cry, especially when Paige and Johnson go pro. Duke charges to its fifth national title, tying North Carolina’s total. Then the NCAA drops the hammer and Carolina’s national championship total is reduced.

HarvardRecord: 22-7 (11-3 Ivy)

Last 10 games: 8-2
Best wins: UMass, N'eastern, Yale x2
Key losses: Virginia, ASU
Leading scorer: Wesley Saunders (16.3)

No. 13 HARVARD

Best Case: With its band yelling insults about the Wainstein Report at North Carolina, a confident Crimson program now accustomed to NCAA tournament success isn’t scared of the Tar Heels. Harvard slows them down and tenaciously holds a lead all game. Armed with a scouting report from old coach Mike Krzyzewski, Tommy Amaker counters every Roy Williams move and Harvard scores its biggest win in school history. Catching Wofford in a bracket-collapse round-of-32 game, Crimson moves to the Sweet 16 for the first time. Media spends a week bedazzled after interviewing student-athletes smarter than they are, all of whom are going pro in something other than sports. Various lawyers, doctors, Wall Street titans, politicians and atom-splitters materialize to tell the basketball players, “good show, carry on.” Then they go back to running the country after Crimson lose to Wisconsin in Sweet 16. Meanwhile, Harvard students send condescending condolences to Yale on NIT snub.

Worst Case: Harvard lost to Boston College this year. North Carolina beat Boston College twice by double digits. That’s the first hint that this is a bad matchup for the Crimson, and the second, third, fourth and fifth hints are length and width of Brice Johnson, Kennedy Meeks, Isaiah Hicks and Joel James. Things get worse when Marcus Paige plays like an All-American, and a team that also lost to Holy Cross and Cornell is booted from the tourney rather easily. It happens so quickly that the lawyers, doctors, Wall Street titans, politicians and atom-splitters fail to notice their alma mater is in the tournament.

XavierRecord: 21-13 (9-9 Big East)

Last 10 games: 6-4
Best wins: SFA, Butler x2, G'town x3
Key losses: Nova x3, Butler
Leading scorer: Matt Stainbrook (12)

No. 6 XAVIER

Best Case: Given the gift of a No. 6 seed despite being the same seed in the Big East tournament and owning a 9-9 Big East record, the Musketeers take advantage of bewildering selection committee charity. They handle play-in winner Mississippi, led by former Bearcat interim coach Andy Kennedy, then surprise Baylor in the round of 32. After several days of charming stories about leading scorer Matt Stainbrook’s job as an Uber driver, Xavier then shocks Arizona and former coach Sean Miller in the Sweet 16 before bowing out to Wisconsin in the regional final. It marks the third Elite Eight appearance by Xavier since 2004 under three different coaches, a record that compares rather favorably to rival Cincinnati’s zero Elite Eights since 1996. Which Musketeers fans point out to Bearcats fans already sulking after their round-of-64 loss to Purdue.

Worst Case: Musketeers prove unworthy of bewildering selection committee charity right away, being bounced by play-in winner BYU. Team that has lost to Auburn, Long Beach State, UTEP, DePaul, Seton Hall and Creighton proves completely capable of losing to good teams, too, as the Cougars get open jumpers against Xavier’s occasionally lax defense and bury them. Musketeers’ streak without an NCAA tournament win stretches to three years, longest since 1999-2001. Meanwhile, Cincinnati rules the town after beating Purdue, and Bearcats fans wonder how their team can have a better season without the head coach than Xavier can have with its head coach. Busken Bakery sends special Bearcat cookie production into overdrive.

BYURecord: 25-9 (13-5 WCC)

Last 10 games: 8-2
Best wins: Gonzaga, Saint Mary's
Key losses: SDSU, Utah, Gonzaga x2
Leading scorer: Tyler Haws (21.9)

No. 11 BYU

Best Case: Kyle Collinsworth is racking up more triple doubles. Tyler Haws is scoring from everywhere. Chase Fischer is bombing in 3s. And the chuck-and-duck Cougars play just enough defense to beat Ole Miss in the play-in round and Xavier in the round of 32. Baylor pulls a Baylor and falls flat in the next round, and BYU is off to the Sweet 16. Showtime ends against Arizona there, but it was fun while it lasted – and it lasted longer than expected. Provo grocery stores celebrate the run with commemorative Jell-o salad molds and half-off Snapple. Meanwhile, Utah is bounced by Stephen F. Austin and Gonzaga does its usual early disappearing act. Dave Rose signs another contract extension.

Worst Case: Team that was swept by Pepperdine is fully capable of losing in Dayton to Ole Miss, and does. Rebels take advantage of quick-shooting Cougars and punish them in transition, as BYU plays matador defense. BYU football players who made trip to Dayton to support the basketball team engage in postgame brawl. Utah and Gonzaga meet for the right to play in the Final Four and the Utes advance, noting the softness of the West Coast Conference. No commemorative Jell-o salad molds are sold in Provo. Rose decides it’s time for a fresh start somewhere else and bails.

Ole MissRecord: 20-12 (11-7 SEC)

Last 10 games: 5-5
Best wins: Oregon, Ark., Florida x2
Key losses: UK, Ark.
Leading scorer: Stefan Moody (16.3)

No. 11 MISSISSIPPI

Best Case: Team that came the closest of anyone to winning in Rupp Arena all year is up for the challenge of the Big Dance. With Marshall Henderson back from Qatar and getting his crazy on in the stands, Rebels run past BYU in Dayton and then take down Xavier in Jacksonville. Ole Miss beats Baylor on a putback at the buzzer by M.J. Rhett, and it’s on to the Sweet 16 in Los Angeles. With Henderson, Bo Wallace and 200 Ole Miss frat boys holding court all week in the Viper Room, Rebels are the toast of the town. Run ends in a loss to Arizona, but by then it’s time to pay attention to spring football anyway.

Worst Case: As Stefan Moody is racing in for the winning layup against BYU with the Rebels down a point, he pulls a LaQuon Treadwell and gets hurt as he’s going up. Ball hits rim, shot misses, Ole Miss loses. Henderson and Wallace look on in horror from the stands, then return to the Viper Room. Back in Oxford, frat boys reach for the Fireball and turn their attention to spring football the next day.

BaylorRecord: 24-9 (11-7 Big 12)

Last 10 games: 6-4
Best wins: WVU x3, Okla., ISU x2
Key losses: Kansas x3, Okla., Texas
Leading scorer: Taurean Prince (13.8)

No. 3 BAYLOR

Best Case: Baylor not gonna Baylor. A team that this season has kicked the habit of inexplicably bad losses crushes Georgia State and Xavier on the glass to reach the Sweet 16. Once there, Taurean Prince and Kenny Chery blitz Arizona with 3-pointers in an upset victory. Bears take the Final Four step for the first time since 1950 by beating Wisconsin. In Indianapolis, Scott Drew works his voodoo on John Calipari once more, beating him for the third straight season to end Kentucky’s unbeaten run. Bears cap off national title run by beating Iowa State for the third time this year, in an all-Big 12 title game. Art Briles shows up in Indy for the Final Four but maintains a discreet distance from Bob Bowlsby. School president Kenneth Starr declares that he hasn’t had this much fun since he tried to get Bill Clinton impeached.

Worst Case: Oh, who are we trying to kid? Of course Baylor gonna Baylor. The fact that these Bears have avoided it this long makes a round-of-64 dud against Georgia State inevitable. Panthers foul Rico Gathers every time he grabs an offensive rebound, and he goes 6-for-15 from the line. Zone defense is ineffective. Guards throw the ball away too much against Georgia State’s quickness. Drew looks perplexed, and is ultimately embarrassed to lose to a coach wearing a walking boot. Kenneth Starr ponders impeaching his basketball coach.

Georgia St.Record: 24-9 (15-5 Sun Belt)

Last 10 games: 9-1
Best wins: Ga. So. x2
Key losses: Iowa St., CSU
Leading scorer: R.J. Hunter (19.8)

No. 14 GEORGIA STATE

Best Case: Four days after saving the Panthers from a ghastly gag job in the Sun Belt Conference final, Kevin Ware makes a triumphant return to the sporting event that made him a nationally sympathetic figure. After gruesomely fracturing his leg as a Louisville Cardinal in the 2013 tournament and sitting out last year as a transfer, Ware keeps raising his play in leading upsets of Baylor and Xavier. Utterly indifferent Atlanta market jumps on bandwagon. Georgia State eventually taps out against Arizona in the Sweet 16, but it’s the best run in program history by a mile, and Calamity Ron Hunter succeeds in not further injuring himself after either big victory in Jacksonville.

Worst Case: From the coach’s Achilles' tendon on down, stressful Sun Belt tourney victory on Sunday took a lot out of the Panthers. Faced with a four-day turnaround against physical Baylor, a team that does not fare well on the glass is pummeled by Rico Gathers. Kevin Ware goes back to single-digit scoring. Down 20 and hating his walking boot, Calamity Ron hits the pain meds at halftime. Atlantans remain blissfully unaware that Georgia State exists, as its NCAA tourney appearance is over by mid-afternoon Thursday.

VCURecord: 26-9 (12-6 A-10)

Last 10 games: 7-3
Best wins: Davidson, Oregon, N. Iowa
Key losses: Nova, Virginia, Davidson
Leading scorer: Treveon Graham (16.3)

No. 7 VCU

Best Case: Havoc is back, dangerous as ever. After losing guard Briante Weber to injury and six of their last 11 regular-season games, Rams reignited in the Atlantic-10 tournament with four straight wins – and now that carries over to the Big Dance. Athletic and relentless team that owns six victories over NCAA teams (Oregon, Northern Iowa, Belmont, Cincinnati and Davidson twice) is more than prepared for Ohio State. VCU found its shooting range at the A-10 tournament, and like the 2011 Final Four team it carries over to the NCAAs and fuels an upset of Arizona. Rams then beat Baylor to reach the regional final, where they shove Wisconsin out of its comfort zone and pull one more upset. Run ends against Kentucky in Indy, but by then Shaka Smart and the VCU pep band have further established themselves as superstars in their fields. Smart continues to turn down overtures for other jobs. Pep band continues to bring the funk.

Worst Case: Glory reignited at A-10 tourney is too hard to sustain without Weber and without 3-point bombs falling in clusters. Rams fritter away late lead against Ohio State by missing six of their last eight free throws, and that’s that. Havoc is not back, at least not back as an NCAA tournament weapon of mass destruction. NCAA tourney record drops to 1-3 over last three seasons. Pep band only brings 40 minutes of funk before being dismissed.

Ohio St.Record: 23-10 (11-7 Big Ten)

Last 10 games: 6-4
Best wins: Indiana, Maryland
Key losses: L'ville, UNC, MSU x2
Leading scorer: D'Angelo Russell (19.3)

No. 10 OHIO STATE

Best Case: If anyone is prepared to handle an up-and-down game against VCU, it’s the Buckeyes and their backcourt of D’Angelo Russell and Shannon Scott. Russell thrives in the open court and drops a triple-double on the Rams, collecting his first offensive rebounds since March 1 (ahem, dude). Scott’s quickness is on full display as well. But the Buckeyes don’t stop there, as Russell channels his inner Shabazz Napier and beats Arizona nearly by himself. With dozens of Ohio State fans tearing themselves away from spring football to watch, Russell keeps it rolling against Baylor in the Sweet 16. Wisconsin finally roadblocks Thad Matta’s third Final Four appearance. Russell is nearly as popular as Ohio State’s third-string quarterback, and he shocks everyone by deciding to stay in school. Urban Meyer nods his approval and Columbus goes wild.

Worst Case: Late-season defensive slippage does not mesh well with VCU’s newfound ability to shoot, and the Buckeyes are bounced right away. Russell gets his triple-double, but one category is turnovers against the vigorous Rams press. Nobody else does much – least of all the Ohio State big men, who are merely out there for decorative purposes at this stage. Few fans who bothered to look up from spring football return to fixating on who will play quarterback. At The School Up North, Jim Harbaugh starts pulling in commitments.

ArizonaRecord: 31-3 (16-2 Pac-12)

Last 10 games: 10-0
Best wins: SDSU, Gonz., Oregon x3
Key losses: UNLV, OSU, ASU
Leading scorer: Stanley Johnson (14.1)

No. 2 ARIZONA

Best Case: Sean Miller doesn’t just shatter his personal Final Four ceiling, he keeps going and wins it all. With freshman Stanley Johnson on a salary drive, fully bought-in and playing as well as anyone in the country, Arizona has the star power to go along with the teamwork and relentless defense to be a champion. Wildcats steamroll to a regional final rematch with Wisconsin and turn the tables with a one-point victory. In the Final Four, Arizona has the requisite size and strength to combat Kentucky and makes enough perimeter shots to shock Big Blue – just as it did in 1997 en route to the school’s other national title. 'Zona beats Duke in the championship game in karmic payback for the 2001 title-game no-call on Jay Williams for body-surfing on Jason Gardner’s back. Johnson jumps up alongside Jahlil Okafor, Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell in the No. 1 draft pick debate. Lute Olson gets an all-time sidekick in Arizona annals in Miller. The Pac-12 gets its first title since ’97. And Arizona fans get one more compare-and-contrast piece of hardware in the trophy case to taunt Arizona State.

Worst Case: Miller’s sideline look of Willie Loman misery intensifies as his team once against puckers up at tournament time, this time in the round of 32 against VCU. Everything that came free and easy in the substandard Pac-12 is now laborious against a confident underdog. The loose Rams keep making shots, and the tight Wildcats keep short-arming them, and Kaleb Tarczewski fouls out after playing just 12 minutes. Arizona loses, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson joins Johnson in going pro, and Miller decides he needs a change of scenery, bolting to Texas. Arizona State fans point out that Miller leaves having been to every bit as many Final Fours as Herb Sendek.

Texas SouthernRecord: 22-12 (16-2 SWAC)

Last 10 games: 10-0
Best wins: Mich. St., K-State, Southern
Key losses: Gonzaga, SMU, Baylor
Leading scorer: Madarious Gibbs (14.1)

No. 15 TEXAS SOUTHERN

Best Case: When your team played 15 of its first 16 games on the road, you’re not going to be rattled by being an underdog in an unfavorable setting. When your team has beaten Michigan State and Kansas State, you’re not going to be scared of Arizona. When your team is on an 11-game winning streak, you believe you can shock the world. And so the Tigers do ... for 38 minutes. Arizona finally prevails late, but Mike Davis’ seventh NCAA tournament team at three different schools acquits itself nobly and upholds the honor of the SWAC. For their efforts, Texas Southern gets several comp boxes of Voodoo Donuts for the trip home from Portland.

Worst Case: The tough early season schedule and road upsets were nice and all, but that was so 2014. Here in 2015, the fact that Texas Southern hasn’t played anyone ranked higher than No. 272 by Ken Pomeroy means the Tigers aren’t quite ready for what Arizona throws at them. If Texas Southern can lose by 40 to Gonzaga, it can lose by more than that to a team that beat Gonzaga. Tigers get charged full price for Voodoo Donuts on their way out of town.