NCAA tournament Sweet 16: Observer projections

Early NCAA projections:

East Rutherford regional
1. North Carolina (21-3): Duke victory keeps Tar Heels a No. 1.
2. Pittsburgh (21-3): Best of Big East, which is having a down year.
3. Butler (23-2): At always-tough Wright State today for Horizon supremacy.
4. Vanderbilt (16-7): Let Gators off the hook (blew double-digit lead).

San Antonio regional
1. Florida (22-2): Big test Saturday at Kentucky.
2. Memphis (20-3): Tigers haven’t lost since Dec. 20.
3. Washington State (20-4): First 20-win season since ’93-94.
4. Nevada (22-2): G Marcelus Kemp strong No..2 to star Nick Fazekas.

St. Louis regional
1. Wisconsin (23-2): Easy schedule until Feb. 25 game at Ohio State.
2. Texas A&M (20-3): Biggest court logo on earth (map of Texas).
3. Oregon (20-4): Rebounded from UCLA, USC losses to beat Arizona State.
4. Kentucky (18-5): Wildcats recovered from two-loss blip (Vandy, Georgia).

San Jose regional
1. UCLA (21-2): Gov. Schwarzenegger watched Bruins beat USC.
2. Ohio State (21-3): High school teammates Oden, Conley getting it done in college.
3. Kansas (20-4): Done in last week by Texas A&M’s Acie Law.
4. Marquette (21-4): Tough one Saturday at Georgetown.