The Arizona offense will again go through T.J. McConnell 

Never mind the season stats, because T.J. McConnell is now playing a much larger role in the Wildcat offense. He shot just 1-of-6 on his 3s and committed four turnovers against Xavier, but he still tied Matt Stainbrook for game-high scoring honors with 17 points.

Once a pure pass-first point guard on hand simply to set the table for the likes of Nick Johnson and Aaron Gordon, McConnell is now a multi-dimensional lead guard more akin to, say, Utah's Delon Wright. For one thing, at a listed height of 6-1, the senior is pulling down 16 percent of opponents' missed shots during his tournament minutes.

On possessions where McConnell is being guarded by Josh Gasser, the collision promises to be spectacular. Gasser is a defensive specialist, and at 6-4 he would have a size advantage over McConnell. True, Ryan's senior will likely be called upon to help out against the 6-6 Johnson as well, but when he's guarding McConnell, the scout is pretty straightforward. Arizona's point guard is shooting just 20 percent on his 3s in the tournament, but he's been killing opponents by getting to the rim and converting on 68 percent of his 2-point attempts. Gasser and Wisconsin will try to deny the lane to McConnell.

The pick: Arizona

I identified the Wildcats as my pick to win it all back in the preseason, and I'll stick with Sean Miller's team here. Now, would I feel better about what I said in November if Arizona were not allowing tournament opponents to make nearly half their 2s in March? Yes, yes I would. Nevertheless I envision the Cats getting just enough offensive boards to eke out the win in what sets up as this program's latest Elite Eight nail biter. In the last nine tournaments Arizona has played three regional finals that came down to the final possession in regulation, and for their troubles the Wildcats have gone 0-3. This time, finally, Miller's guys will pull out the win.