Marquette draws Quinnipiac in NCAA Tournament opener (AUDIO)

MANNING’S RIVALS: Danny Manning earned a permanent place in March Madness lore when he led a sixth-seeded Kansas team to a surprising run to the national title in 1988 – which included a win against instate rival Kansas State in the Elite Eight.

For two straight winters, UNC has come away from its first game against Duke thinking it should have won.

North Carolina had an undefeated season in Chapel Hill, with all seven of its defeats coming either on the road or at a neutral site-including a pair of losses to Duke. The teams that are supposed to receive the biggest regional advantage – North Carolina, the No. 1 seed in the South Regional, and Duke, the No. 2 seed in the East Regional – are both about 240 miles from Greenville. UNC has played in a NCAA-record 19 Final Fours.

The Gamecocks announced Tuesday that Coates has been ruled out from competing in the NCAA tournament because of an ankle injury.

Last year, the Gamecocks thought they would make the NCAA tournament field because they’d won 25 games, but they were not chosen.

It’s a mistake UNC can’t afford to repeat now that tournament time has arrived and there’s no longer any margin for error. And Kentucky, a No. 4 seed, was again placed in the Lexington Regional where it could win four games without having to leave campus. Louisville captured the 2013 NCAA Championship under Pitino’s watch and also claimed national championships in 1980 and 1986.

The Gamecocks won’t even have to leave the state to play at the start of this week’s tournament. The Seminoles are 15-14 in 14 previous NCAA appearances and will be making their fifth trip to tournament under current head coach Leonard Hamilton. The Golden Eagles will open against 12th-seeded Quinnipiac in Coral Gables, Florida.

The Badgers and the Hokies tip-off on Thursday, March 16 in Buffalo.

THE TURNAROUND VS. UPSET VETS: Last year, Minnesota had an 8-23 season that had plenty of people questioning the program’s direction under Richard Pitino.

SC celebrated as raucously as it did the past three years Monday when it received its fourth consecutive No. 1 bid for the NCAA tournament, players erupting at the front of a packed room all gathered for a “FAMdemonium” event.

This year’s team will begin its run from the top line of the South Region bracket, where it will face 16th-seeded SWAC champion Texas Southern on Friday at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C. Game time is approximately 4 p.m. The Tigers lost to Arizona in the First Round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament by a score of 93-72. Monk, the SEC Player of the Year, has scored in double figures all but one game and he has 17 scored 20 or more points. The Demon Deacons are 28-22 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.

Graves had six victories at Gonzaga when his team was seeded No. 11 or lower – the most of anyone on the women’s side.

#5 Virginia vs. #12 UNC Wilmington Orlando, Fla. No. 10 Wichita State.

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