FOX Sports analyzes at all four regions in the 2015 NCAA tournament. Here, a look at the South:
NO. 1 VS. THE FIELD: Duke has the lowest RPI (6) of the four No. 1 seeds but has the most favorable draw to reach the Final Four in Indianapolis. The Blue Devils will face either San Diego State or St. John’s in the second round and share a region with Gonzaga, one of the weakest No. 2 seeds on the bracket. The wild card in Duke's way? Big 12 champion Iowa State, an offensive juggernaut that reached the Sweet 16 a year ago before falling to eventual national champion Connecticut.
MORE BRACKET ANALYSIS: Midwest | East | West
BEST FIRST-ROUND MATCHUP: SMU (6) vs. UCLA (11). Both teams have plenty to prove. SMU was a controversial snub a year ago after finishing the regular season as top 25 team. This season, it won The American to earn its first tourney bid since 1993. Mustangs coach Larry Brown has coached six NBA teams since then. UCLA, meanwhile, is a controversial inclusion in this year's field with a short resume thin on quality wins. The Bruins were just 2-8 against teams in the RPI top 50, but remember back in 2011 when VCU went all the way from the First Four to the Final Four? Beware of the team fans and media spend the week scolding for its inclusion.
BRACKET BUSTER: Stephen F. Austin (12). The Lumberjacks ought to sound familiar. As a rookie coach last season, Brad Underwood went undefeated in the Southland Conference and knocked off VCU in the first round. This year, the team from Nacogdoches, Texas, went 29-4 and 17-1 in the Southland, has an RPI of 38 and drew a Utah team that lost four of its final seven games.
STARTING FIVE (the South's best players): 1. Jahlil Okafor, C, Duke. (17.7 ppg, 9.0 rpg); 2. Kyle Wiltjer, F, Gonzaga. (16.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg); 3. Delon Wright, G, Utah. (14.9 ppg, 5.3 apg); 4. Kevin Pangos, G, Gonzaga. (11.5 ppg, 5.0 apg); 5. Georges Niang, F, Iowa State. (15.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg). Okafor has established himself as the nation's best player (with apologies to Wisconsin's Frank Kaminsky) in just one season as a Blue Devil. The polished big man has bullied opponents in the paint all season to shoot 66.9 percent from the field. The 6-foot-11, 270-pound Chicago native won't have to wait long to hear his name called in this summer's NBA Draft; he's a sure-fire top-five pick.
MATCHUP WE'D LOVE TO SEE: Gonzaga vs. Iowa State in the Sweet 16 is one to watch for. Duke may waltz into the Elite Eight, but these two teams could meet in a fist fight for the right to play the Blue Devils. The Bulldogs and Cyclones are deep, balanced teams with powerful offenses. Gonzaga’s Kevin Pangos and Iowa State’s Monte Morris are two of the nation's best point guards, and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Jameel McKay could draw the assignment of slowing the Bulldogs’ Kyle Wiltjer in the paint. The game would match two teams with a combined 11 players who average at least 9.5 points a game.
MORE: FULL SOUTH REGION TV SCHEDULE
