How they got in: At-large bid

Basically: Fla-keee. After a nice 25-win season and a Sweet 16 run, the Trojans were supposed to overcome some NBA losses with top freshman O.J. Mayo coming to town. And then the tone was set for the season with a 96-81 loss to Mercer in the opener. While there were tough battles in losses to Kansas and Memphis, when Tim Floyd's club proved it could play with anyone in the nation, there were blowout losses to Washington State, a home blasting from Arizona, and an ugly road performance against Arizona State. Just when the team appeared to be the working definition of "on the bubble," it blew out Stanford. This is one of the tournament's most athletic teams, and it's not just Mayo, but while it could beat anyone, it could also get bounced right away.

Strengths: Getting to the basket. This isn't a bad mid-to-outside shooting team, and it hits the threes when it chooses to take them, but the offense revolves around getting in close and making things happen. While this might seem like a fun offensive team, and it is, its bread is buttered on defense with an aggressive style that doesn't take the ball away, but it doesn't commit fouls, either.

Weaknesses: Passing. There's a lot of one-on-one offense with little extra passing to make things happen. Since this isn't necessarily an outside shooting team, crisp passing isn't quite at a premium, but if the defense isn't generating points off transition, and if Mayo isn't on, the offense struggles.

Players you should care about: No, he's not Kobe Bryant, but Mayo has been a consistent scorer who can score inside and out, and while he's hardly a banger, he's a slippery rebounder who always seems to be around the ball. UCLA was able to shut him down late in the year with a four-point outing in 40 minutes, but that was his only game under 12 points. Yes, he's the real deal who has gotten better as the season has gone on.

Like Mayo, Davon Jefferson will be off to the NBA next year. After initially signing with UNLV, he had academic troubles before coming to USC, and while he hasn't been a consistent scorer, he's been a good rebounder and a key inside playmaker.

Best wins: at UCLA 72-63; Stanford 77-64

Worst losses: Mercer 96-81; at Arizona State 80-66