RALEIGH, N.C. — Back by popular (?) demand, this region-by-region bracket preview — in homage to late News & Observer sports columnist Caulton Tudor, who invented the format and lingo and produced this preview for decades — cuts to the meat of the bracket. After three straight years picking a whopping seven of the Sweet 16, it identified 10 in 2024.

MIDWEST

Houston — and everyone else — has a problem

— REGIONAL RATING: First

— FAVORITE: Houston (1) faces a deep and difficult region loaded with battle-tested SEC threats, the ACC’s most infuriating team to play and perhaps the most underseeded team in NCAA Tournament history, but the Cougars are good enough to survive.

— GOING SWEET: Houston (1), Tennessee (2), Clemson (5), Illinois (6)

— DARK HORSES: Gonzaga (8) is the ninth-best team in the country at KenPom, a land mine in the Cougars’ path so dangerous it almost violates international law. While there were bid thieves out of the Mountain West, Utah State (10) wasn’t one of them.

— MIGHT FLOP: Purdue (4) lost six of nine down the stretch and has one win over an NCAA Tournament team since Jan. 25. Don’t pick a team a year late. Tennessee (2) goes here until Rick Barnes proves otherwise in March.

— SENTIMENTAL FAVORITE: In two years at High Point (13), Alan Huss has built a Big South powerhouse in the Triad. The Panthers are one of the best-shooting teams in the country. Southern Illinois-Edwardsville (16) has the smallest athletic budget of any public school in the field.

— SYNOPSIS: Houston faces a brutal path to San Antonio, strewn with quality teams. This region is going to be a bloodbath. The first round might pass relatively quietly, but the second round will be Sweet 16 caliber. The Cougars can get it done, but will they have anything left if they do?

SOUTH

Don’t sweat Auburn’s late swoon

— REGIONAL RATING: Second

— FAVORITE: Auburn (1) stumbled to the finish, losing three of four, and that might normally be cause for concern, but the Tigers have proven themselves to be among the elite and there’s no reason to believe otherwise.

— GOING SWEET: Auburn (1), Michigan State (2), North Carolina (11), UC San Diego (12).

— DARK HORSES: Start with the Tritons of UCSD (12), making the field in only their first year eligible in Division I. But they can’t compare to those plucky Tar Heels, America’s underdog, finally getting some good luck on the basketball court! North Carolina (11) has been the third-best team in this region since Valentine’s Day.

— MIGHT FLOP: What does Michigan (5) have left in the tank after a hard-fought run to the Big Ten title? The Wolverines have a terrific one-two punch at forward but the guard play is suspect. Texas A&M (4) can’t shoot its way out of a wet paper bag but makes up for it on the offensive glass. That’s a boom-or-bust formula in March.

— SENTIMENTAL FAVORITE: It’s hard to get the ACC to root for Louisville (8), but the Cardinals deserved a better seed after giving Duke everything it could handle in the title game, and it’s good for college basketball to see a proud program come back from the dead. Yale (13) lost its best player to Michigan and could potentially pay Danny Wolf back in the second round.

— SYNOPSIS: With two upset-minded teams at different ends of the blue-blood spectrum as chaos agents in the other quadrants, it feels like Auburn and Michigan State (2) are safely above the fray. The Tigers have been building toward this moment all season.

EAST

Duke stays close to home(s)

— REGIONAL RATING: Third

— FAVORITE: With a cushy path through Raleigh and Newark — the latter closer to its prime alumni base than the former — Duke (1) can take its time with Cooper Flagg’s ankle.

— GOING SWEET: Duke (1), Wisconsin (3), Oregon (5), St. Mary’s (7)

— DARK HORSES: Love St. Mary’s (7) here, a team primed to capitalize on talented-but-erratic Alabama (2). Randy Bennett has won at least one game in four of the Gaels’ last eight NCAA appearances. Don’t sleep on Oregon (8), which handled the cross-country travel well in the Big Ten.

— MIGHT FLOP: Alabama and Arizona (4) are both major boom-or-bust candidates. Pick at your peril. While Duke says Flagg is fine — and he climbed the ladder to cut down the nets in Charlotte — the Blue Devils will still likely be missing Maliq Brown. That may not catch up with them, but it’s a consideration.

— SENTIMENTAL FAVORITE: Like a Rick Barry or George Mikan impersonator, Wofford (15) big man Kyler Filewich shoots his free throws underhand. Ryan Odom is at Virginia Commonwealth (11) now, not UMBC, but he knows a little about first-round upsets and may soon move from Richmond to Charlottesville.

— SYNOPSIS: Injury concerns aside, the Blue Devils showed in the ACC Tournament how deep and resilient they really are. If Flagg’s fully healthy, it’s going to take a Herculean effort to beat them. It certainly doesn’t seem like there’s a team equipped to do it in this region — unless Arizona advances and Caleb Love does Caleb Love things against Duke, again. More likely, Duke rolls.

WEST

Guns Up for the Red Raiders

— REGIONAL RATING: Fourth

— FAVORITE: Good teams at the top of this one, but not a lot of depth compared to other regions. None of the top eight seeds are from west of the Rockies, which will inject a healthy dose of randomness into a regional played in San Francisco no matter who advances. A year after a memorable first-round upset, Texas Tech (3) is back for revenge.

— GOING SWEET: Florida (1), St. John’s (2), Texas Tech (3), Maryland (4)

— DARK HORSES: Colorado State (12) and Grand Canyon (13) are no pushovers, and Memphis (5) and Maryland have to face them in Seattle. Weird things can happen when teams cross the country on short notice.

— MIGHT FLOP: Kansas (7) and Connecticut (8) have brand-name value, but the Jayhawks were 9-9 and the Huskies 11-7 down the stretch to close mediocre seasons. This hasn’t been their year. It’s not likely to change now.

— SENTIMENTAL FAVORITE: If you enjoy college basketball oddities, Omaha (15) celebrates victories by destroying garbage cans. Ben McCollum coached 15 years in Division II before getting his chance at Drake (11), where the best player transferred out to follow his coach/father and the Bulldogs didn’t miss a beat.

— SYNOPSIS: N.C. State (not pictured) bounced Texas Tech out of the tournament in the first round last year, but the Red Raiders returned three starters from that team and added a legit star in J.T. Toppin. Among four closely matched teams atop this region, Texas Tech makes a strong case to emerge.

FINAL FOUR

Duke def. Houston

Texas Tech def. Auburn

NATIONAL CHAMPION

Duke

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