Host Rece Davis, with analysts Jay Bilas, Seth Greenberg, Dick Vitale and Jay Williams took fans through the NCAA men’s tournament as the 68-team field was announced today, providing analysis and predictions. Quotes and reactions from SportsCenter (6 p.m.) and Bracketology presented by Lowe’s (7 p.m.), as well as top player and coaches interviews, are below.

East Region

Williams: R.J. Barrett is a guy that has held down the fort… the one guy that has been so consistent throughout the course of the year.

Greenberg: Michigan State is a team who can win the national championship. They just have to get through Duke to do it.

Bilas on Belmont: Dylan Windler is a great basketball player.

Greenberg on Duke: They’re a good team with R.J. Barrett. They’re a great team with Zion Williamson. Without Zion Williamson they [Duke] could go out in the first weekend.

Bilas on biggest threat to Duke: Probably Virginia Tech as a four seed [but] we all think Duke’s going to advance.

Bilas on Michigan State losing to double digit seed two of the last three years: I do not think Michigan State is going to lose this time. They are playing well. They have been banged up but they are playing with an edge they have not had in a while. I really like this team.

Greenberg on the Louisville Minnesota matchup: Are you kidding me!? Rick Pitino will fly back from Greece for that game. He will be in Minnesota’s practices. He will get Minnesota a little bit ready. Minnesota is pretty good. Minnesota can win that game and the Pitino family will throw a party.

Bilas on Belmont: Belmont will get by Temple. Belmont is legit.

Greenberg on Virginia Tech: Virginia Tech has a different personality with Justin Robinson back. It will change them moving forward.

South Region

Greenberg on Villanova: They can get past Saint Mary’s. It’s like looking in a mirror.

Davis: Cincinnati could be a hard team to beat.

Bilas: Rick Barnes and his staff will have their team’s complete attention after today.

Greenberg on Tennessee: They have an elite point guard. Grant Williams is a match-up nightmare. They’ve improved defensively and Schofield can take over a game. Tennessee is a very good basketball team.

Jay Bilas on Tennessee: This team will get out of the first weekend. I do think going home after a loss like they suffered against Auburn and practicing for a few days, Rick Barnes and his staff will have their team’s complete attention.

Greenberg on South Region: You’ve got big time defensive teams here.

Davis: Villanova has a puncher’s chance to get to the Elite 8.

Greenberg: They have a cause. We talk about needing a cause. Tennessee has the identity of teams that go to the final four.

Williams: Tennessee is a team that can beat UVA because of their size and the way they defend.

Vitale: Tennessee is the team to beat, when it’s all said and done, in that region.

Midwest Region

Greenberg: Utah State is a great passing team. The freshman post player is ridiculous. They have a shot against Washington.

Bilas on Utah State: They may beat Washington, but they won’t beat North Carolina.  UNC moves on to the second weekend.

Williams on region: Midwest region is absolutely loaded.

Williams on Houston: This is a team that can beat anybody. They play hard and they play fast.

Bilas on Kentucky: Kentucky, even though they lost to Tennessee in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament, has played really well the last half of the season. Tyler Herro is a guy that is knocking down shots at a high rate and  he is going to be a big difference maker in the NCAA Tournament for Kentucky. If you’re Kentucky you would rather play against North Carolina than Virginia.

Greenberg: This is a good draw for Kentucky. Getting knocked out isn’t the worst thing. You get a chance to take a step back, rest, refocus, NO one creates a cause better than John Calipari.  he can get his team locked in. On the top half, you’re talking about games they can win.

Greenberg on Seton Hall: Seton Hall is going to be the team that gets the upset and knocks Wofford out.

Greenberg on potential Utah State or Washington upset of North Carolina: Utah State is a great passing team. They run as good of offense as any team in the country. The freshman post player is ridiculous. He blocks out the sun. Utah State is a really great basketball team.  I expect them to beat Washington.

Williams on potential Kansas: North Carolina matchup in Kansas City in the Sweet 16: I don’t think KU is going to get by Auburn. I love the play of Auburn and their guard play. That Auburn-North Carolina game, if it happens, that pace is going to be out of control.

Bilas on Kansas: Kansas may not get past Northeastern.

Greenberg on the Seton Hall-Wofford matchup: Seton Hall is playing at a high level right now.  this a bad matchup for Wofford. As good of a year that they have had, except for South Carolina, they really haven’t beaten anyone.

Williams on Seton Hall-Wofford matchup:  I actually disagree –  Wofford can beat Seton Hall. You have to stop Myles Powell. You have to stop him. He is the one guy that can really go.  Wofford has some players defensively that can do that. And offensively, they have the pieces – they can make a lot of 3s. They can get hot.  they could be one of the hottest teams in the tournament.

West Region

Williams: Gonzaga could win a national championship – they are that good. Their front court is formidable. With their resume, I was just surprised to see them on the one line.

Greenberg on Gonzaga Their eyeball test is real simple – they had beaten the best team in college basketball at this moment in time when they were at full strength. Right now – at this moment in time – they (Michigan State) are better than Gonzaga.

Greenberg: Texas Tech could get to the Final Four. They have multiple guys who can make shots and a toughness.

Davis on Hartford first and second Rounds: I was going to sit on my couch and watch but I might go over to Hartford to watch Markus Howard and Ja Morant.

Williams on Marquette’s Markus Howard and Murray State’s Ja Morant: Markus Howard can score against anyone and Ja Morant is considered to be a top two NBA draft pick.

Bilas on Vermont: Vermont is good. They can hang. They are physical. They are strong. Anthony Lamb is as complete a player as you are going to find in the country.

Greenberg on Anthony Lamb: He’s the Zion Williamson of the America East.

Bilas on West: Two of the best non-Power 5 teams are in the field are in the West – Buffalo as a six and Nevada as a seven.

Greenberg on Buffalo: That team can make a deep run.

Greenberg on Texas Tech: Texas Tech can get to the Final Four.

Davis on average age of Nevada’s starting five: Nevada is older than a lot of NBA teams.

Williams on biggest threat to the Zags: I would say Florida State. They have guard play, and they defend really well.

Greenberg: Florida State is a better shooting team then they have been in the past. On any given night, a different guy could step up and make plays.

Additional comments

Williams: I’m really shocked that Michigan State isn’t a one seed… Gonzaga passes the eye test by all means, but the Michigan State resume was stronger.

Greenberg on Gonzaga being No. 1 seed: They’ve beaten the best team in college basketball. When you looked at the resume, you make them No. 1 because of that.

Bilas on the No. 1 seeds: I don’t take any issue with the ones. The only problem I would have, and it may be because of bracketing principles, is I have Michigan State as the top two seed and they are in the same bracket as the No. 1 overall seed. I would rather put them with Gonzaga. I wouldn’t put them with the No. 1 overall seed.

Vitale on seeding: I don’t think it’s fair to put Michigan State with Duke. what’s the reward for winning the Big Ten? You get Duke.

Greenberg on the overall bracket:  the committee did a great job. Gave Belmont an opportunity, which  is really important. But left out teams that had a lot of wins against the field – teams that can win games in the NCAA Tournament but just lost too many games.

Bilas on overall bracket: At the end of the line, there were no polishing the cow pies that were there. Letting in Belmont was the absolute right thing to do and I’m glad to see they did it.

Bilas on No. 1 seeds:  I thought the four No. 1 seeds were exactly right. The only problem that I had was Michigan State as the top two seed in my view and in the view of most of us, and they are in the same region as Duke.  they should have been in with Gonzaga in the West. If you wanted to go by what the seeds should have been, I don’t think you put a team by all accounts could have been a No. 1 and is the first No. 2 with the overall No. 1 seed.

Bilas on seeding: The committee has to break one rule it has – not to bring historical precedent in. You are dragging it in with Gonzaga. Nobody but Gonzaga with their record would be on the one line.

Dick Vitale on seeding: I don’t have too much nitpicking for the committee. They went by what the system says.

Greenberg on preparation: Certain matchups are hard to play against. You can’t simulate that style of play in practice.

Quotes from Player and Coaches Interviews

Cam Johnson (UNC): We’re gonna fight, we’re going to keep pushing. We have that kind of resilience to grow and get the win.

Luke Maye (UNC): Coach always preaches to fight back. Moving forward, it’s helped us grow. We’re playing well at the right time… we just have to play one game at a time.

Jay Wright (Villanova): As long as we’re playing Villanova basketball and doing it for 40 minutes, we’ll be good. We were learning how to do it during the season. We did get there during the BIG EAST tournament, with consistency, and I hope that carries into the tournament.

Wright on lessons this season: We learned some patience this year. I learned some patience this year. You gotta adjust a little bit to the strengths of the guys you have, and keep giving them confidence.

Zion Williamson (Duke): It’s zero-zero now. It’s a new season.

Barrett (Duke) on how the team built good chemistry: We started a group chat about a year ago, and we got really close from there.

Barrett on Tre Jones: He’s the heart and soul of the team. He does everything out there for us.

Williamson on Coach K’s message to them: His message to us is to live in the moment, and not look ahead. Right now we’re just taking it day by day and game by game.

John Calipari (Kentucky): You have to defend first. We’ve become better defensively, and that made us better offensively.

Calipari on defining success: Just keep winning games. Keeping these guys in the moment. How this plays out, you don’t know.

Mark Few (Gonzaga): I thought there were 7 or 8 teams that I watched all year that were worthy of being on that top line. There were time s when we were playing unbelievable, and the last game weren’t very good. It was interesting that we ended up playing several of the teams under consideration.

Ja Morant (Murray State): It’s a great feeling for our name to be on that list with a lot of great teams.

Morant on heightened attention on him: As time went by, with help from my coaches and my family, it’s been good and a wild ride.

Final Four Predictions

Bilas

• Duke
• Michigan
• Virginia
• North Carolina (Winner)

Davis

• Duke (Winner)
• Gonzaga
• Tennessee
• North Carolina

Greenberg

• Duke (Winner)
• Texas Tech
• Virginia
• Kentucky

Vitale

• Duke (Winner)
• Gonzaga
• Tennesee
• Kentucky

Williams

• Duke
• Gonzaga
• Tennessee
• Kentucky (Winner)

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