Action begins tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. MT with Michigan State and Temple.

Michigan St was the preseason favorite in the Big Ten but ended up finishing a disappointing fourth. The Spartans really struggled away from home this year, especially in conference play. Drew Neitzel and Raymar Morgan were both inconsistent offensively this season, but freshman Kalin Lucas really came into his own. Actually, that may have been a bad thing because the Spartans' chemistry seemed to suffer for it.

MSU is as usual a very good rebounding team but surprisingly a poor three point shooting team.

Temple is led by a pair of outstanding guards. Dionte Christmas hopes to make his presence felt (get it! PRESENCE-PRESENTS! I just kill myself sometimes). Christmas averages over 20 points and six rebounds a game and his running mate Mark Tyndale adds 16 points and almost seven boards

Of obvious concern for the Owls is keeping Michigan State off the glass and that is not going to be easy. Temple starts a 7-footer at center, Sergio Olmos, but he's not exactly a force inside. Each guard pulls in three times the rebounds per game that he does. He is going to need to bring some toughness and aggression to this game.

Game two features Big East champ Pittsburgh against Summit champion Oral Roberts.

Pitt struggled some with injuries this year, losing Mike Cook for the season and Levance Fields for part of it. With Fields the Panthers have wins over No. 2 seeds Duke and Georgetown on a neutral floor (Madison Square Garden in both cases).

Sam Young was the MVP of the Big East tournament and is the Panthers leading scorer at 18 per game. He can beat you inside or step out and hit the three. The key to Pitt's success though is freshman center DeJaun Blair. Blair had a strong Big East Tournament and averaged 12 points and 9.5 rebounds on the season, but like many freshmen, he disappeared at times. The Panthers are also the Pitts at the line, but that won't matter unless they get into a close game.

Oral Roberts' leading scorer, Robert Jarvis, averages 15.4 points per game, but gets them coming off the bench. Moses Ehambe pitches in over 12 per game and both Jarvis and Ehambe shoot over 85 percent from the line. Center Shawn King, who will try to control Blair, is an effective shot blocker averaging two per game.

Our nightcap gets started with Washington St taking on Winthrop. The Cougars finished third in the mighty Pac 10 and have two key ingredients to a good run in the NCAA tournament: a stifling defense and ball security. Washington State is third nationally in points allowed at 57 per game and fourth in the country in turnovers with 10.3.

Despite having two 6-foot-10 guys Wazzu is a perimeter oriented team led by senior Derrick Low's 14 points per game.

Winthrop was a rare upset winner last year that ironically beat Notre Dame, who is here also. The Eagles could get another shot at the Irish if they get by Washington St. They are lead in scoring by Michael Jenkins, who averages 14.3 points per game and put up 33 in the Big South title game against UNC Asheville. However, Winthrop is the worst free throw shooting team in the field - yes even worse than Memphis. That's a bad quality when you are trying to pull an upset.

The Eagles are also an outstanding defensive team that gives up only 58 points per game, so this game could be first one to 60 wins.

We finish the day with Notre Dame taking on George Mason.

The Irish hope they have learned from last year's experience and can use that to avoid the problems that led to the loss to Winthrop. ND is led by Big East Player of the Year Luke Harangody and his 21 points and 10 boards per game. Kyle McAlarney missed last year's tournament because of a suspension but is back this year looking to stretch the defense with his long-range shooting. The Irish will need him because Harangody cannot do it all by himself. That is a lesson they learned when he went off for 40 in a loss at Louisville late in the season.

Mason makes its first appearance since its 2006 Final Four run. Much of that team is still around, including two starters, Folarin Campbell and Will Thomas.

Thomas may very well be the key to the game as he battles Harangody inside. He too averages a double double and will need to keep Harangody at bay somewhat to give the Patriots a chance. Campbell will also have to be on his A game, and Mason will have to do good job taking care of the ball. That is typical of the Patriots which are ninth in the nation in turnovers.

Mason will be playing in front of the big cheese, Tom O'Connor, the chairman of the selection committee, who is here in his role as the George Mason Athletic Director.

The pick here is Temple, Pittsburgh, Washington State and George Mason. That's good news for Michigan State, Oral Roberts, Winthrop and Notre Dame.