Picking first- and second-round upsets may you help win your NCAA pool, but think long and hard before you drop any of these eight teams from your bracket. Why? Because they're the top eight contenders to win the entire tournament.

Memphis Tigers, No. 1, South
33-1 (16-0 Conference USA)

Picking first- and second-round upsets may you help win your NCAA pool, but think long and hard before you drop any of these eight teams from your bracket. Why? Because they're the top eight contenders to win the entire tournament.

Memphis Tigers, No. 1, South
33-1 (16-0 Conference USA)

Key Wins: vs. UConn, vs. Notre Dame, West Virginia (twice), vs. Louisville Losses: at Memphis, Pittsburgh (twice), at Louisville, at Syracuse Top Player: C Roy Hibbert 13.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.3 bpg

Along with UCLA, the Hoyas have one of the best defenses of any tournament team. The Hoyas are fifth in the nation in scoring defense, holding opponents to 57.5 points per game. They're tops in the country in opposing field goal percentage, holding opponents to a paltry 36.3 percent from the floor. Despite losing to Big East champion Pittsburgh twice, the Hoyas have a better overall resume than Pitt, and the Hoyas reached the Final Four last year.

North Carolina Tar Heels, No. 1 East
32-2 (14-2 ACC)

Key wins: Clemson (three times), at Duke
Losses: vs. Maryland, vs. Duke
Top Player: Tyler Hansbrough 23.1 PTS, 10.3 REB, 1.5 SPG

The Tar Heels have arguably the best player in the country this year in Tyler Hansbrough, and they use his production to lead a potent offense that averages 89.7 points a game and has topped the 100-point mark six times this season. The Tar Heels also own the glass, leading the nation in rebounding margin. North Carolina's pro-level lineup is well coached by Roy Williams, and the Heels ended the regular season on a 10-game winning streak and ranked No. 1 overall, making them a go-to pick to win the title next month.

Kansas Jayhawks, No. 1 Midwest
31-3 (13-3 Big 12)

Key wins: at USC, Oklahoma, Texas
Losses: at Kansas St., at Texas, at Oklahoma State
Top Player: F Darnell Jackson 11.9 ppg, 63.9 FG%, 6.9 rpg

The Jayhawks are a model of balance. Four players average double-digit points, and seven average over seven points. Kansas ranked third in the nation in field-goal percentage offense, and fourth in field-goal percentage defense. They've won high-scoring games (on Feb. 9 vs. Baylor, 100-90), and defensive struggles (on Dec. 22 at USC, 59-55). The Jayhawks are versatile enough to react well to any opponent's style of play -- and important quality during a seat-of-the-pants tournament. Despite a tough draw, they appear to reach their first Final Four since 2002.

Texas Longhorns: No. 2 South
28-6 (13-3 Big 12)

Key Wins: Tennessee, at UCLA, Oklahoma (three times), Kansas
Losses: at Michigan State, Wisconsin, at Missouri, at Texas A&M, at Texas Tech, Kansas
Key Player: G D.J. Augustin 19.8 ppg, 5.6 apg, 3.0 rpg

Few teams have as many elite wins or as many puzzling losses as do the Longhorns. Tennessee, Kansas and UCLA are three of the top teams in the U.S. and Texas has beaten them all. On the other hand, elite teams shouldn't lose to Missouri and Texas Tech. The Longhorns have three fine scorers in D.J. Augustine (19.8 ppg), A.J. Abrams (16.1), and Damion James (13.2). James doubles as a powerful rebounder (10.7 rpg), and shot-blocker (1.4 bpg). Memphis, the South Regional's top seed, should fear Texas at th bottom of their bracket.

Wisconsin Badgers, No. 3 Midwest
29-4 (16-2 Big Ten)
Key wins: at Texas, Indiana (twice), Michigan State (twice)
Losses: at Duke, Marquette, Purdue (twice)
Top player: C Brian Butch 12.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 0.8 bpg

The Badgers stock-in-trade is suffocating defense. The Badgers only give up an average of 54.3 points, best in the country. In a Dec. 29 win at Texas, they contained high-scoring Longhorns for a 67-66 result. The concern with Wisconsin is whether or not they can score enough to win in the tournament. When Duke, Marquette, and Purdue managed to score more than 70 points, the Badgers struggled to keep up. What's more, Georgetown is the Badgers' potential third-round opponent in the Midwest Regional.

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