The Southeastern Conference is responsible for one-eighth of the NCAA men's basketball tournament field with 64 teams remaining for the first time since the March extravaganza expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
Three SEC teams in this year's tournament - Arkansas, Florida and Kentucky - have celebrated at least one national championship, while four more teams - Alabama, Auburn, Missouri and Tennessee - have been stopped one game short of the Final Four.
A look at this year's SEC representatives, including a few words from each head coach (all times EDT):
ALABAMA (19-15)
» On deck: Tonight at 9:20 against Virginia Tech (21-11) in Pittsburgh
» NCAA appearance: 20th
» Tournament record: 18-19
» Deepest run: Elite Eight in 2004
» Quoting Avery Johnson: "Virginia Tech is an outstanding team, and Buzz Williams is a terrific coach. They can cause a lot of problems with their backcourt with guys who can make plays off the dribble. We're going to have to guard the 3-point line and be ready to get back in transition, and hopefully we can take care of the ball to where we can give ourselves a chance to score."
ARKANSAS (23-11)
» On deck: Friday at 3:10 against Butler (20-13) in Detroit
» NCAA appearance: 32nd
» Tournament record: 42-31
» Deepest run: National champion in 1994
» Quoting Mike Anderson: "The narrative now is to take it to the next level. We want to do some damage in this NCAA tournament, and we're excited to play against a Butler team that has its share of tradition and is used to playing in this tournament. It should be a great, great ballgame with two teams just looking to survive and advance."
AUBURN (25-7)
» On deck: Friday night at 7:27 against Charleston (26-7) in San Diego
» NCAA appearance: Ninth
» Tournament record: 12-8
» Deepest run: Elite Eight in 1986
' Quoting Bruce Pearl: "Our challenge is trying to get that mojo back. We had a nine-man rotation all season long, and then we lost Anfernee McLemore and didn't have him for our last six games. We struggled, because we missed his shot-blocking ability and his rim protection. We always played small ball. Now we're just going to play smaller ball."
FLORIDA (20-12)
» On deck: Tonight at 9:57 against St. Bonaventure (26-7) in Dallas
» NCAA appearance: 19th
» Tournament record: 42-16
» Deepest run: National champion in 2006, '07
» Quoting Mike White: "Last year's (Elite Eight) group was special. We were elite defensively, and we had great leadership. We had a bunch of edge to us, and we were very consistent. We understood who we were defensively and on the glass. This current Gator team is very, very different, and we struggled with those consistencies and being as good as we could possibly be night in and night out."
KENTUCKY (24-10)
» On deck: Tonight at 7:10 against Davidson (21-11) in Boise, Idaho
» NCAA appearance: 57th
» Tournament record: 124-50
» Deepest run: National champion in 1948, '49, '51, '58, '78, '96, '98, 2012
» Quoting John Calipari: "We used the (SEC) tournament like we like to use it, which is, 'Let's get our stuff together, and let's get more confident and a little fight going.' Davidson is a really good basketball team, and to play them in the opening game? Wow. They're a team that can make 25 3s on you. They're a senior-laden team, which is exactly the kind of team that can hurt us."
MISSOURI (20-12)
» On deck: Friday night at 9:50 against Florida State (20-11) in Nashville
» NCAA appearance: 27th
» Tournament record: 22-26
» Deepest run: Elite Eight on four occasions
» Quoting Cuonzo Martin: "Physically and mentally, Michael (Porter Jr.) is fine. He was 5-of-17 from the field, but I don't think he took any bad shots - maybe one with the turnaround from the baseline, because that was his first one, and maybe he should have gotten more into the flow of the game. I didn't think he rushed any shots. I thought it was more of him just not having his legs up under him, and Georgia had some size and length, which I think made it tougher for him."
TENNESSEE (25-8)
» On deck: Today at 12:40 against Wright State (25-9) in Dallas
» NCAA appearance: 21st
» Tournament record: 19-20
» Deepest run: Elite Eight in 2010
» Quoting Rick Barnes: "We can overanalyze all this. Anybody who is in this tournament is either playing really well right now or played well enough at some point in time, so that means everybody can play. If you're not ready to play up to the best of your ability, you will get hurt by it, obviously."
TEXAS A&M (20-12)
» On deck: Friday at 12:15 against Providence (21-13) in Charlotte, N.C.
» NCAA appearance: 14th
» Tournament record: 10-14
» Deepest run: Sweet 16 on four occasions
» Quoting Billy Kennedy: "Providence is a veteran team that just lost in overtime to Villanova in the Big East tournament championship game. We're going to have to play our best basketball. I think we're playing well, but we're going to have to play better against Providence. We have a freshman point guard (T.J. Starks), but he got his first start at Kansas and did some good things there, and he played really well in the SEC tournament. Hopefully that has prepared him for the magnitude of this game."