A brief overview of the local teams' first round opponents:

XAVIER
Thur, Mar 20 - approx. 12:20 p.m. EDT - Wasgington, D.C.
No. 14 Georgia (17-16, 4-12 SEC): This team won as many conference games during the season as they did in the unbelievable weekend in Atlanta for the SEC tournament. After winning two games on Saturday over Kentucky and Mississippi State, the Bulldogs finished business by beating Arkansas on Sunday afternoon in the finals.  Guard play always rises to the top come tourney time and the Bulldogs are led by their point guard Sundiata Gaines. The senior leads the team in most of the key stat categories. The Bulldogs have made a miracle run and have come a long way since the Jim Harrick era left a black cloud over the program. This team dropped 6 of 7 to end the regular season, but they are already the media darlings and being tagged as Cinderellas.

KENTUCKY
Thur, Mar 20 - approx. 2:30 p.m. EDT - Anaheim, CA
No. 6 Marquette (24-9, 11-7 Big East): The Golden Eagles won 7 of 9 to finish the regular season and knocked off Notre Dame before falling to Pitt in the Big East tournament. They finished the season ranked No. 24 in the Coaches' Poll and No. 25 in the AP.  Kentucky gets a tourney rematch against a team that broke their hearts just a few short years ago in the Elite Eight. While Marquette no longer has Dwayne Wade, Jerel McNeal is no slouch. He leads a powerful backcourt attack that is going to present a challenge for the Wildcats. The Golden Eagles don't have much in the paint though and may have a tough time handling the surging Perry Stevenson. The sophomore will have to put up a Florida-type effort if UK is going to have a chance to advance.

LOUISVILLE
Fri, Mar 21 - approx. 9:40 p.m. EDT - Birmingham, AL
No. 14 Boise State (25-8, 12-4 WAC): The Broncos are coming off a tenacious victory in the WAC championship game, edging New Mexico State 107-102 in triple overtime.  Boise State has proven they can win away from home (14-3) and the team can put points on the board (81.2 ppg, 12th in DI). The WAC's leading scorer and rebounder, Reggie Larry (14 double-doubles), leads a powerful frontcourt attack. The Cards are tough to match up with themselves, but they better not overlook this capable 14-seed.