It’s tournament time!

A look at who’s left

Already, we have witnessed history at the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, an event that has thus far been more about brass knuckles than magic moments. It has run to form – ridiculously so – as 14 of the 16 top-four seeds have advanced to the region semifinals. The Big East has a record five teams through to the Sweet 16 – and it was nearly six after Marquette pushed Missouri to the limit.
Now, let’s look ahead. Here are the Sweet 16 matchups.

EAST REGION

No. 2 DUKE vs. No. 3 VILLANOVA

* The Upshot: Duke is seeking its first Final Four appearance since 2004. Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski hasn’t gone five straight seasons without making the Final Four since …his first five seasons at Duke (1981-85).

* History: Duke is 7-3 against Villanova with five straight victories, including wins at the NCAA Tournament in 1964 and 1978.

* Notable: Villanova reached the Sweet 16 for the second straight year. Last season, as a No. 12 seed, the Wildcats won its first two NCAA games at Tampa.

No. 1 PITTSBURGH vs. No. 4 XAVIER

* The Upshot: Pittsburgh, which hasn’t reached a region final since 1974, is seeking its first NCAA Tournament victory against a team seeded higher than No. 5.

* History: Xavier coach Sean Miller once played point guard for the Panthers.

* Notable: Pittsburgh’s 56-48 victory at Florida State on Dec. 21 marked back-to-back victories against eventual NCAA Tournament teams (along with Siena) during the Panthers’ 16-0 start.

WEST REGION

No. 1 CONNECTICUT vs. No. 5 PURDUE

* The Upshot: Connecticut emerged from the West Region in 1999 and 2004 – when Jim Calhoun’s Huskies won their only two national titles.

* History: Purdue is 4-0 against Connecticut. The last meeting was a 73-69 Boilermaker victory on Nov. 28, 1992 in Springfield, Mass. UConn hasn’t faced a Big Ten team in the NCAA Tournament since defeating Ohio State 64-58 in the 1999 national semifinals at St. Petersburg.

* Notable: Boilermakers junior guard Keaton Grant attended Kissimmee Gateway High.

No. 2 MEMPHIS vs. No. 3 MISSOURI

* The Upshot: This could be the most entertaining region semifinal. Both teams play frantic defense and like to push the ball.

* History: Memphis has a 61-game winning streak against Conference USA foes. When the Tigers last lost to a C-USA opponent – March 3, 2006 – Missouri coach Mike Anderson led the Blazers to an upset of Memphis.

* Notable: Missouri, which never has reached the Final Four, is seeking its fifth appearance in a region final (1944, 1976, 1994, 2002).

MIDWEST REGION

No. 1 LOUISVILLE vs. No. 12 ARIZONA

* The Upshot: Louisville, the NCAA Tournament’s overall No. 1 seed, won the regular-season title and tournament championship for what must be considered the nation’s best conference, the Big East. Arizona, meanwhile, struggled to reach the NCAA Tournament after an up-and-down season in the Pac-10.

* History: Louisville coach Rick Pitino is 8-0 in region semifinals (at Louisville, Kentucky and Providence). His final game at Kentucky was an 84-79 overtime defeat against Arizona in the 1997 national-championship game.

* Notable: Arizona interim coach Russ Pennell, stepping in after the resignation of long-time coach Lute Olson, wasn’t the school’s first choice for Olson’s replacement and even now, his future status with Arizona is a flip of the coin.

No. 3 KANSAS vs. No. 2 MICHIGAN STATE

* The Upshot: Michigan State is two victories away from reaching the Final Four in Detroit – a home-state dream. But first, the Spartans must deal with the defending national champions.

* History: Kansas coach Bill Self is trying to reach his sixth region final in the past 10 seasons (the first two were with Tulsa in 2000, then Illinois in 2001).

* Notable: No team has reached a home-state Final Four since Duke in 1994.

SOUTH REGION

No. 1 NORTH CAROLINA vs. No. 4 GONZAGA

* The Upshot: North Carolina appears on top of its game after the return of point guard Ty Lawson, ACC player of the year. Gonzaga, meanwhile, needed a last-second, length-of-the-court drive to upend No. 12-seeded Western Kentucky in the second round.

* History: Since Gonzaga basketball was “discovered,‘’ when it pushed Connecticut to the limit in the 1999 West Region final and barely missed its improbable spot in the Final Four, Gonzaga is 0-3 in region semifinals (2000, 2001, 2006).

* Notable: Next season, the Tar Heels will welcome John Henson, a 6-foot-10 player from Sickles High, as the centerpiece of their decorated freshman recruiting class.

No. 2 OKLAHOMA vs. No. 3 SYRACUSE

* The Upshot: Two of the nation’s most dynamic players – Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin, national player of the year contender, and Syracuse’s Jonny Flynn, who played 67 minutes in a six-overtime victory against Connecticut in the Big East Tournament – will be on display.

* History: Déjà vu? The last time Syracuse was a No. 3 seed at the NCAA Tournament, the Orange defeated a higher-seeded Oklahoma team in the 2003 region final. Syracuse then won the national championship.

* Notable: Looking ahead to a potentially neat region-final subplot, if it’s Oklahoma vs. North Carolina, Sooners coach Jeff Capel might have some added incentive. He once played point guard for Duke.