One team is busing from 100 miles away. Three others are flying more than 2,300 miles. One plays here every year. One has a fan base that visits every year. And the other two are coming from the Midwest, one with a history that began with the coach who invented basketball.
They will all gather for free public workouts Thursday and four sold-out games Friday at Viejas Arena, to be played as follows:
Arizona vs. Long Island, 10:35 a.m. (TNT)
Villanova vs. Utah State, 1:10 p.m. (TNT)
St. John’s vs. Northern Iowa, 4:10 p.m. (CBS)
Kansas vs. Cal Baptist, 6:45 p.m. (CBS)
Here’s a look at the eight teams, in alphabetical order:
Arizona
Seed: West No. 1
Record: 32-2, won Big 12 regular season and tournament.
Player to watch: Senior guard Jaden Bradley was the conference player of the year, averaging 13.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. He hit a buzzer-beater against Iowa State on Friday in the Big 12 Tournament, then was injured Saturday but finished the game with his wrist and left finger wrapped.
Fun fact: This might not be so fun for Arizona fans to read, but the Wildcats have not been past the Sweet 16 since 2015. Their last trip to the Final Four was in 2001, four years after they won the last national championship by a team west of Waco, Texas.
Cal Baptist
Seed: East No. 13
Record: 25-8, second in WAC, won conference tournament.
Coach: Rick Croy
Player to watch: Dominique Daniels Jr., a 5-foot-10 guard, was the WAC’s player of the year after leading the conference in scoring at 23.2 points a game, including a 47-point night against league regular-season champion Utah Valley.
Fun fact: Cal Baptist, which only became a Division I school in 2018, will be playing its first NCAA Tournament game Friday. Its opponent, Kansas, played its first tournament in 1940, and will be appearing in No. 166.
Kansas guard Darryn Peterson (22) gets past Houston guard Emanuel Sharp (21) to dunk the ball during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the semifinal round of the Big 12 Conference tournament Friday, March 13, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Kansas
Seed: East No. 4
Record: 23-10, tied for third in Big 12.
Coach: Bill Self
Player to watch: Freshman guard Darryn Peterson was considered by some to be the favorite to be the top overall pick in the NBA Draft, but he’s missed a lot of time this season with injuries. He still averaged almost 20 points a game, and if healthy — he said last weekend he’s feeling better now than he has in months — he can carry the Jayhawks.
Fun fact: According to the school, the “Rock Chalk” chant has been heard at Kansas games for more than 100 years. Originated by a chemistry professor at the school, it was “Ray, Rah, Jay Hawk, K.U.,” until an English professor suggested “Rah Rah” be replaced by “Rock Chalk” because it rhymed with Jayhawk. The student newspaper reported it was adopted as the official yell of the school on Nov. 4, 1887.
Long Island
Seed: West No. 16
Record: 24-10, won Northeast regular season and tournament.
Coach: Rod Strickland
Player to watch: The Sharks’ top four scorers are all listed at 6-4 or 6-5. The leader is Jamal Fuller, who is averaging 16.4 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting 52.5% — including 43.8% from 3-point range.
Fun fact: Long Island basketball began in 1928 at its Brooklyn campus, and except for two years during World War II, the coach from 1931 to 1951 was the legendary Clair Bee, who won 83% of his games, still a Division I record. Then known as the Blackbirds, LIU won NIT titles in 1939 and 1941 (when the NIT was bigger than the fledgling NCAA Tournament).
Northern Iowa
Seed: East No. 12
Record: 23-12, tied for sixth in the Missouri Valley, won conference tournament.
Coach: Ben Jacobson
Player to watch: The Panthers don’t score much — their hallmark is a defense that held all but two opponents to 75 points or fewer — but when they do, the leader is guard Trey Campbell, who is averaging 13.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game.
Fun fact: Northern Iowa is best known for its Sweet 16 run in 2010, which included an upset of No. 1 overall seed Kansas in the second round. The star of that team, Ali Farokhmanesh, is now the coach at Colorado State.
St. John’s coach Rick Pitino walks by the bench during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Villanova, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/John Munson)
St. John’s
Seed: East No. 5
Record: 28-6, won Big East regular season and tournament.
Coach: Rick Pitino
Player to watch: Zuby Ejiofor, a 6-9 senior power forward who played his freshman year at Kansas, was the unanimous choice as Big East Player of the Year and also was named the conference’s defensive player of the year. He led the Red Storm — who have won 19 of their last 20 games — in points (16.3), rebounds (7.1), assists (3.5), blocks (2.1) and field goal percentage (.554).
Fun fact: St. John’s changed its nickname from the Redmen to the Red Storm in 1994. A fan vote chose the Thunderbird as the new mascot in 2009. The costume for Johnny Thunderbird was created by the same company that designed outfits for Ronald McDonald and Tony the Tiger.
Utah State
Seed: West No. 9
Record: 28-6, won Mountain West regular season and tournament.
Coach: Jerrod Calhoun
Player(s) to watch: As San Diego State fans know all too well, guards MJ Collins and Mason Falsev are equally dangerous. Collins averaged more points per game (17.6), but Falsev was close behind (16.1) and also pulled down 5.8 rebounds a game.
Fun fact: The Aggies are appearing in their fourth straight NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.
Villanova
Seed: West No. 8
Record: 24-8, third in Big East
Coach: Kevin Willard
Player to watch: At 6-10, Duke Brennan averaged a double-double for the Wildcats, with 12.4 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. He has an extra burden after Villanova lost 6-8 forward Matt Hodge to a knee injury two weeks ago.
Fun fact: Villanova’s first two championships have been called “The Perfect Game” and “The Perfect Ending.” In 1985, the Wildcats shot 78.6 percent to beat Georgetown; in 2016 they beat North Carolina on a buzzer-beater by Kris Jenkins. Villanova also won the title in 2018. Maybe that’s known as “The Hat Trick?”