Memphis, Texas, MSU all pepper Pitt’s region

Here’s a look at Pitt’s region, the South region, which will hold its title game in Houston,… Here’s a look at Pitt’s region, the South region, which will hold its title game in Houston, Texas, by seed:

No. 1 Memphis: The only blemish on the Memphis resume was a four-point loss to the East Region’s No. 2 seed Tennessee. The up-tempo Tigers are led by likely All-American wing Chris Douglas-Roberts and freshman phenom Derrick Rose, a supremely talented point guard. Pitt wouldn’t face Memphis until the Sweet 16, once again making its chances of finally advancing past the third round seem very dim.

No. 2 Texas: The Longhorns are led by three outstanding guards. Sophomore D.J. Augustin is averaging a shade fewer than 20 points per contest, followed closely by A.J. Abrams (16.1) and Damion James (13.2).

No. 3 Stanford: The Cardinal is led by tall-order twins, Robin and Brook Lopez. The 7-foot sophomores are first and third on the team in scoring, respectively, and they make smaller opponents think twice about slicing to the paint.

No. 5 Michigan State: The Spartans have struggled through bouts of inconsistency, but a decent run in the Big Ten tournament following a tough stretch to close out the regular season seemed to right the Spartans’ ship. Guard Drew Neitzel, who is second on the team in scoring, is a seasoned tournament veteran. He has played in three consecutive tournaments.

No. 6 Marquette: Pitt has already faced the Golden Eagles twice this season. After being blown out in Milwaukee, the Panthers avenged the loss with a second-round upset of the Golden Eagles in the Big East tournament.

No. 7 Miami (Fla.): The Hurricanes made an early exit from the ACC tournament at the hands of Virginia Tech, which ended up being excluded from the Big Dance. Wins over Duke, Clemson, Mississippi State and Maryland, however, proved enough to grant the 22-win squad a seventh seed in the tournament.

No. 8 Mississippi State: The surprising Bulldogs went 12-4 in the SEC behind the inside-outside tandem of Jamont Gordon and Charles Rhodes. Mississippi State fell one win short of the SEC championship. As for the regular season, however, the Bulldogs have few impressive wins over ranked teams. In fact, the last ranked team they beat was Ole Miss on Jan. 26. Ole Miss did not make the field.

No. 9 Oregon: The Ducks surprised many fans and analysts by earning a No. 9 seed, despite posting only 18 wins this season. Wins over Kansas State, Arizona and Stanford proved to go a long way with the selection committee. The Ducks are led by highly heralded senior guard Malik Hairston.

No. 10 Saint Mary’s: The Gaels finished one game back of Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference regular season and then lost to San Diego in the conference championship game. Still, the Gaels should be considered dangerous. They average 76 points per game.

No. 11 Kentucky: After one of the worst starts in program history, the Wildcats finished 12-4 in the SEC with wins over Tennessee, Vanderbilt and two wins over eventual conference champion Georgia. Kentucky will be without Patrick Patterson, who was first on the team in rebounding and second in scoring, but the Wildcats are still paced by do-everything-forward Joe Crawford and sharp-shooting Ramel Bradley.

No. 12 Temple: The Owls were 20 minutes away from elimination before turning a seven-point halftime deficit around against St. Joseph’s in the Atlantic 10 championship game. Dionte Christmas is the only player in the entire region to average over 20 points per contest.

No. 13 Oral Roberts: Pitt’s first round opponent finished with 24 wins and the Summit Conference title. Junior guard Robert Jarvis, who averages 16.1 points per game, leads the Golden Eagles into their third consecutive Tournament.

No. 14 Cornell: The Ivy League champion went undefeated in conference play but failed to notch any impressive non-conference victories against the likes of Duke, Syracuse or even Bucknell.

No. 15 Austin Peay: The Ohio Valley Conference champion boasts five players who average double-figures in scoring.

No. 16 Texas-Arlington: Despite posting a sub-.500 conference record, the Mavericks won the Southland Conference tournament and have four players averaging more than 12 points per contest.