The region is littered with stars, with National Player of the Year candidates Frank Mason III of No. 1 Kansas and fourth-seeded Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan. There is fifth-seeded Iowa State floor general Monte Morris, No. 3 Oregon superstar Dillon Brooks and sixth-seeded Creighton’s 7-foot freshman Justin Patton, a likely one-and-done lottery pick.

The star power extends to the bench, with Rick Pitino and No. 2 Louisville, John Beilein and No. 7 Michigan, and Tom Izzo’s No. 8 Michigan State. The region sells itself.

Best player: Caleb Swanigan, Purdue. The field’s premier big man became a playmaker this season, in addition to an elite scorer and rebounder, leading Purdue to its first Big Ten regular-season crown since 1996. Swanigan shot an efficient 53 percent from the field.

Unsung player: Monte Morris, Iowa State. One of the top pure point guards in the country, Morris led the nation in assists-to-turnover ratio at 5.71, and is also averaging a career-best 16.3 points per game.

Best first-round matchup: No. 5 Iowa State vs. No. 12 Nevada. If you like your basketball fast and your defense at a minimum, this is the game for you. This will be a track meet, featuring two of the highest-scoring teams in the tournament, both of whom won’t hesitate to fire from long range.

First-round upset watch: No. 13 Vermont over No. 4 Purdue. Don’t look past Vermont. It hasn’t lost since Dec. 21, and has the depth — seven players average between 12.6 and 6.5 points per game — needed to pull off the shocker. Purdue, remember, was upset a year ago by Arkansas Little Rock, and enters the tournament with two losses in its last four games.

Bracket buster: Rhode Island. It wasn’t a mistake that the Rams were ranked in the preseason. This is an experienced team with power-conference talent that is finally healthy. Rhode Island won’t be in awe, not after testing itself the last few years in big early-season tournaments.

By the numbers
18: Years since Rhode Island last reached the NCAA Tournament
9.4: Turnovers per game by Michigan, tied with Notre Dame for the fewest in the country

Champion: Louisville. The Cardinals don’t have any individual talents quite like the other contenders in the region, but Louisville is the best team. The most depth, the stingiest defense, and the size to overwhelm Iowa State — yes, the Cyclones knock off Kansas in the Elite Eight — after surviving Rhode Island in the Sweet 16. Donovan Mitchell of Elmsford, N.Y., is the region’s Most Outstanding Player, hitting enough shots from the perimeter to loosen up the paint for Pitino’s crew of physical bangers.

Big 12
PPG: 82.7 | OPP: 72.4
With senior Frank Mason, a national player of the year candidate, and possible lottery pick Josh Jackson, Kansas should be a Final Four favorite despite a loss with Jackson suspended in the Big 12 Tournament.

Sr. G Frank Mason
(20.8 PPG, 5.1 APG)
Fr. G Josh Jackson
(16.4 PPG, 7.2 RPG)
Jr. G Devonte’ Graham
(13.1 PPG, 4.3 APG)

MEAC
PPG: 75.4 | OPP: 63.5
The Eagles, in the field for just the second time, feature four senior starters who engineered a massive 12-win turnaround from a year ago and are led by conference player of the year Patrick Cole.

Sr. G Patrick Cole
(19.5 PPG, 7.0 RPG)
Sr. G Dajuan Graf
(14.2 PPG, 5.3 APG)
Sr. G Rashaun Madison
(9.7 PPG, 2.2 RPG)

Big West
PPG: 71.1 | OPP: 69.6
The Aggies, who will be making their first NCAA Tournament appearance after joining the Division I ranks 13 years ago, caught fire late, winning six of their past seven games.

Sr. G Brynton Lemar
(16.0 PPG, 3.3 RPG)
Sr. G Chima Moneke
(14.5 PPG, 9.5 RPG)
Sr. G Siler Schneider
(10.6 PPG, 3.5 RPG)

ACC
PPG: 69.4 | OPP: 63.7
The football school is still better at basketball. Despite returning just two starters from last year’s Sweet 16 team, the Hurricanes won at least 20 games for the fifth time in coach Jim Larranaga’s six seasons.

Sr. G Davon Reed
(15.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG)
Jr. G Ja’Quan Newton
(13.4 PPG, 3.4 APG)
Fr. G Bruce Brown
(11.9 PPG, 5.8 RPG)

Big Ten
PPG: 72.0 | OPP: 69.1
The RPI (47) is better than the record for fading MSU. Young Sparty secured its bid much later than usual. Lottery hopeful Miles Bridges needs to hone his jumper to make another patented Tom Izzo run.

Fr. G Miles Bridges
(16.7 PPG, 8.3 RPG)
Fr. F Nick Ward
(13.7 PPG, 1.6 BPG)
Fr. G Cassius Winston
(6.7 PPG, 5.1 APG)

Big 12
PPG: 80.9 | OPP: 72.0
The Cyclones are in their sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament and boast a rare senior-laden lineup capable of making a run deep into March, already having beaten Kansas and fresh off winning the Big 12 Tournament.

Sr. G Monte Morris
(16.3 PPG, 6.1 APG)
Sr. G Nazareth Mitrou-Long
(15.5 PPG, 4.7 RPG)
Sr. G Deonte Burton
(14.8 PPG, 6.2 RPG)

Mountain West
PPG: 80.0 | OPP: 70.9
The Wolf Pack rode a nine-game winning streak to their first NCAA Tournament berth in a decade, winning the Mountain West’s regular season and postseason titles as the top-scoring and rebounding team in the league.

Sr. G Marcus Marshall
(19.8 PPG, 3.6 APG)
So. F Cameron Oliver
(15.8 PPG, 8.7 RPG)
So. G Jordan Caroline
(14.8 PPG, 9.2 RPG)

Big Ten
PPG: 80.5 | OPP: 66.9
Purdue won the Big Ten regular-season crown behind efficient shooting and league player of the year Caleb Swanigan, whose incredible transformation from a 360-pound eighth-grader will be on display.

So. F Caleb Swanigan
(18.5 PPG, 12.6 RPG)
Jr. C Isaac Haas
(12.8 PPG, 5.1 RPG)
Jr. F Vince Edwards
(12.2 PPG, 3.2 APG)

America East
PPG: 73.6 | OPP: 61.6
The Catamounts, who completed just the third perfect regular season in America East history, enter their first NCAA Tournament in five years on a nation-best 21-game winning streak.

Fr. F Anthony Lamb
(12.6 PPG, 5.4 RPG)
Jr. G Trae Bell-Haynes
(11.1 PPG, 3.8 APG)
Jr. F Payton Henson
(11.4 PPG, 5.3 RPG)

ACC
PPG: 77.5 | OPP: 65.8
The Cardinals missed the tournament for the first time in a decade last season, due to a self-imposed postseason ban, but this year’s talented defense could fuel a deep run and make up for that missed opportunity.

So. G Donovan Mitchell
(15.7 PPG, 4.6 RPG)
Jr. G Quentin Snider
(12.7 PPG, 4.1 APG)
So. F Deng Adel
(11.9 PPG, 4.5 RPG)

Ohio Valley
PPG: 69.7 | OPP: 67.6
The Gamecocks, led by first-year head coach Ray Harper, were just two games over .500 until finishing with four straight wins to reach their second-ever NCAA Tournament.

Jr. G Malcolm Drumwright
(12.6 PPG, 3.8 APG)
Sr. G Greg Tucker
(11.3 PPG, 2.4 APG)
Sr. G Eric Durham
(11.1 PPG, 5.0 RPG)

Big Ten
PPG: 74.6 | OPP: 65.7
After a scare on their flight to the Big Ten Tournament, Michigan advanced to the title game despite being an 8 seed. The Wolverines struggled to start conference play, going 1-3 before turning it on in February.

Sr. G Derrick Walton Jr.
(14.6 PPG, 4.5 APG)
Sr. G Zak Irvin
(12.8 PPG, 2.9 APG)
Jr. F D.J. Wilson
(10.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG)

Big 12
PPG: 85.6 | OPP: 77.6
In his first season with the Cowboys, Brad Underwood revamped the offense into one of the nation’s best in offensive efficiency (125.1) thanks to rising point-guard star Jawun Evans.

So. G Jawun Evans
(19.0 PPG, 6.2 APG)
Jr. G Jeffrey Carroll
(17.4 PPG, 6.6 RPG)
Sr. G Phil Forte III
(13.3 PPG, .420 3-pt%)

Pac-12
PPG: 79.2 | OPP: 64.7
The Ducks boast experience and talent with a veteran group of upperclassman who reached last year’s Elite Eight. The loss of sixth man Chris Boucher this weekend to a knee injury could be devastating, though.

Jr. F Dillon Brooks
(16.3 PPG, .414 3-pt%)
Sr. G Dylan Ennis
(11.0 PPG, 3.1 APG)
So. G Tyler Dorsey
(13.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG)

MAAC
PPG: 80.5 | OPP: 76.4
The sharp-shooting Gaels — who shoot nearly 40 percent on 3-pointers as a team — are in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season, and fourth time in the past six years.

Sr. F Jordan Washington
(17.9 PPG, 7.4 RPG)
So. G Rickey McGill
(10.8 PPG, 5.2 APG)
Jr. G Deyshonee Much
(9.3 PPG, 3.6 RPG)

Big East
PPG: 82.1 | OPP: 72.5
The up-tempo Bluejays feature one of the country’s premier offensive attacks, and a likely one-and-done lottery pick in 7-foot freshman Justin Patton. Coming off a run to the Big East Tournament final.

Jr. G Marcus Foster
(18.3 PPG, 2.9 RPG)
Fr. C Justin Patton
(13.1 PPG, 6.2 RPG)
So. G Khyri Thomas
(12.4 PPG, 5.7 RPG)

A-10
PPG: 73.1 | OPP: 65.2
Hassan Martin (2.6 blocks) and Kuran Iverson (1.3) provide rim protection for a URI team that got off the bubble by winning the A-10 Tournament under former New Jersey prep coaching standout Dan Hurley.

Jr. G E.C. Matthews
(14.4 PPG, 4.1 RPG)
Sr. F Hassan Martin
(14.0 PPG, 7.1 RPG)
Jr. G Jared Terrell
(12.6 PPG, 2.7 APG)