School
University of Kentucky

Enrollment
28,928

Star Player
Karl-Anthony Towns, Forward, 9.7 PPG

Last Tourney Appearance
2014, lost to UConn in National Championship.

Key Stat
West Virginia shot just 24.1 percent from the field against the Wildcats, who jumped out to an 18-2 lead at the start of the game and never looked back.

Why They Advanced
Three words: Daxter Miles Jr. The Mountaineers freshman guard called Kentucky out before the game, predicting that the undefeated Wildcats would be "36-1" after their Sweet 16 matchup with West Virginia. That seemed to light a fire up under Kentucky with several players later admitting that they wanted to beat WVU by 50.

School
University of Notre Dame

Enrollment
12,126

Star Player
Jerian Grant, Guard, 17.3 PPG

Last Tourney Appearance
2013, lost to Iowa State in the round of 64.

Key Stat
The Fighting Irish shot 75 percent from the field in the second half against Wichita State to turn a close game into a double-digit win.

Why They Advanced
With 16:37 remaining in the second half, Wichita State hit a layup to take their first lead, and it looked like the Shockers were going to give Notre Dame a game. But after a timeout, the Irish went on a 38-18 run thanks to some timely three-point shooting and a series of impressive passes. They'll need to put together an entire game like that to knock off Kentucky. But if nothing else, they proved that they can shoot with anyone in the country against Wichita State.

School
University of Wisconsin

Enrollment
43,275

Star Player
Frank Kaminsky, Forward, 17.5 PPG

Last Tourney Appearance
2014, lost to Kentucky in Final Four.

Key Stat
The Badgers made 87 percent of their free throws against North Carolina—and sank all eight of the free throws they attempted in the final minute of the game—to hold off a pesky Tar Heels team.

Why They Advanced
Wisconsin didn't look like a team that was destined to make another Final Four run against UNC. Their leader Frank Kaminsky got off to a slow start. They struggled against UNC's perimeter defense. And they trailed by seven points midway through the second half. But junior guard Sam Dekker proved to be too much for the Tar Heels to handle and finished with a career-high 23 points.

School
University of Arizona

Enrollment
40,621

Star Player
Stanley Johnson, Forward, 14.5 PPG

Last Tourney Appearance
2014, Lost to Wisconsin in Elite Eight.

Key Stat
The Wildcats prevented Xavier from scoring a field goal for more than eight minutes late in the game and used a 19-7 run to rally and beat the Musketeers.

Why They Advanced
After blowing by Texas Southern and Ohio State in the first two rounds of the tournament, Arizona got its first real test against Xavier. And while it took them awhile to come to life, they responded to the challenge in the second half and got a huge effort from senior guard T.J. McConnell, who scored 13 of his 17 points after halftime. They won't be able to start as sluggishly as they did against Wisconsin in the Elite Eight and expect to win. So look for a much more inspired effort from Arizona in the next round.

School
University of Louisville

Enrollment
22,293

Star Player
Terry Rozier, Guard, 18.0 PPG

Last Tourney Appearance
2014, lost to Kentucky in Sweet 16.

Key Stat
14 rebounds—the number guard Terry Rozier had against NC State.

Why They Advanced
Sophomore guard Terry Rozier only stands 6'1", but he hauled in a game-high 14 rebounds against NC State. Grabbing those boards proved to be critical, as Louisville needed every possession they could get against an NC State team that rained on Louisville from three-point range, nailing 9 of 20. A late scoring spark from Anton Gill (7 points) and Montrezl Harrell's star scoring performance (24 points) sealed a Sweet 16 win for Louisville. Harrell and Rozier will have to keep balling out at efficient levels if Louisville, a poor three-point shooting team, will advance against Michigan State's trigger-happy offense.

School
Michigan State University

Enrollment
50,085

Star Player
Denzel Valentine, Guard, 14.7 PPG

Last Tourney Appearance
2014, lost to UConn in Elite Eight.

Key Stat
100 percent free throw shooting in the last minute and a half against Oklahoma.

Why They Advanced
With 1:34 left on the clock against Oklahoma, Michigan State was hanging on to a three-point lead, and was 3 of 10 from the free-throw line. The Spartan's toughest losses this season have come in games where they couldn't hit freebies down the stretch, and Oklahoma sensed blood in the water. Tom Izzo's upperclassmen-led squad got their ish together though, hitting the final six free-throws to close out the game. They've now beaten the East's 2 and 3 seeds. Will 4-seed Louisvile be the next team Michigan State upsets?

School
Duke University

Enrollment
14,600

Star Player
Jahlil Okafor, Center, 17.9 PPG

Last Tourney Appearance
2014, lost to Mercer in 1st round.

Key Stat
3—the amount of shots Jahlil Okafor made against Utah (and Duke still won!).

Why They Advanced
Justise Winslow is that dude. Utah did an effective job of bodying and doubling Jahlil Okafor (he had more turnovers than buckets against the Utes), forcing Duke's wings and perimeter players to find a way to win. Winslow answered the call in a breakout 21 point, 10 rebound effort. He hit Duke's only three-pointers of the night, and simply took over the game with his power and aggressiveness on both ends of the floor.

School
Gonzaga University

Enrollment
7,764

Star Player
Kyle Wiltjer, Forward, 16.4 PPG

Last Tourney Appearance
2014, lost to Arizona in round of 32.

Key Stat
Przemek Karnowski scored a game-high 18 points against UCLA.

Why They Advanced
Anytime Gonzaga doesn't shoot the ball well from outside, they're going to find themselves in serious trouble. Against UCLA, they were 3 of 19 from downtown—a far cry from the 40 percent three-point average they have as a team. The Bulldogs owe much of their Sweet 16 victory to 7'1" center Przemek Karnowski, the team's only real big-man. He scored 18 points and grabbed 9 of the Zag's 50 rebounds, providing the punch inside that they dearly needed on a cold-shooting night. Karnowski versus Duke's Jahlil Okafor in the next round will be one of the tournament's best matchups thus far.