Frank Burlison

No. 9 seed (West) Wichita State (30-8) vs. No.1 (Midwest) Louisville (33-5), 6:09 p.m. ET, CBS

Records vs. NCAA tournament field: Wichita State 6-2, Louisville 15-5.

Records vs. common opponents: Wichita State beat DePaul (75-62) and Pittsburgh (73-55); Louisville beat DePaul (79-58) and Pittsburgh (64-61).

Best individual matchups: Malcolm Armstead (6-0, Sr., WSU) vs. Peyton Siva (6-0, Sr., Louisville); Carl Hall (6-8, Sr., WSU) vs. Gorgui Dieng (6-11, Jr., Louisville).

Team strengths: Wichita State – 1. The Spartans’ half-court defense is as good any played by any team in this season’s tourney field of 68; 2.

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LAGUNA NIGUEL, CA – And then there was one . . . and eight.

Another No. 1 seed was sent packing Friday night, just minutes after it appeared as if it was comfortably scooting along to the South Regional Sunday in North Texas in the very big house that Jerry (Jones) built.

In the process, a sophomore guard from the University of Michigan pretty much closed any debate about the identity of the consensus National Player of the Year.

The “coolest” story of the tournament came to a close, too, Friday night as those quick-shooting and high-flying cats from Ft.

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LOS ANGELES – Maybe all of the folks who piled on the Gonzaga’s Bulldogs and their No. 1 seed in the West Regional after they were upset by Wichita State Saturday night in Salt Lake City should consider this:

In hindsight, the fact that the WSU Shockers needed a stunning shooting performance from long range – they dropped them in at a nifty .500 clip (14 of 28) from behind the arc – to record the upset is just another example of why the 32-3 Bulldogs are such a terrific club.

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LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca – Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to my 2012-13 high school boys All-CIF Southern Section and L.A. City squads . . .

Remember, these selections are NOT based upon “college potential” but upon how the players performed when I watched their high school teams and their accomplishments during the just-concluded season.

The “all-teams” are listed by seniors (20), juniors (15), sophomores (10) and freshmen (10), with Players of the Year for each class (separate from the all-teams).

My final Top 30 team ratings are also included, with – shockingly – California State Open Division champion Santa Ana Mater Dei topping the ratings as the “Team of the Year”.

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If your NCAA Tournament pool bracket had Wichita State, a No. 9 seed in the West Regional, advancing to a Sweet 16 game Thursday night in Los Angeles, take a bow.

If that same bracket sheet had La Salle, a 13 seed, knocking off Boise State in a First Four game last Wednesday night and picking up two more wins to join Wichita State as one of the four teams playing in L.A.’s Staples Center Thursday, raise both hands over your head and bask in the glory of your stunning skills of hoops prognostication.

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