No guarantees for NCAA's top-seeded teams

Here are five things to watch for in the Sweet 16, and five backward glances at the first two rounds.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

1. UCLA's friendly trail

UCLA earned the No. 1 seeding in the West, and now only 12th-seeded Western Kentucky and either No. 3 Xavier or No. 7 West Virginia remain between the Bruins and the Final Four.

But are all the officiating calls -- and no-calls -- that keep going UCLA's way a coincidence? Or have the Bruins become the new Duke Blue Devils, sweethearts of the whistle-wearing set?

2. Hello, darling

Davidson, the 10th-seeded team that takes on Wisconsin in a Midwest Regional semifinal Friday after upsetting second-seeded Georgetown, has an undergraduate enrollment of only 1,700 -- including one very sweet-shooting sophomore in Stephen Curry. The son of former NBA player Dell Curry, Stephen Curry had 40 points against Gonzaga and 30 against Georgetown.

3. Your pace or mine?

North Carolina, the top-seeded team overall, scored 113 points against Mount St. Mary's and 108 against Arkansas, becoming the first team to break the century mark in its first two NCAA tournament games since Loyola Marymount in 1990.

But slow down: North Carolina's opponent in an East Regional semifinal on Thursday is Washington State, which held Winthrop to 40, and Notre Dame to 41.

Something's got to give.

4. Now that's what we call foul shooting

Can the Memphis Tigers possibly win the NCAA title if they can't make free throws?

They're shooting only 59% from the line this season -- and they made only 47% in a three-point victory over Mississippi State, sinking a mere 15 of 32. Since 1985, only one team has shot less than 65% from the line and won the national championship: Connecticut, in 2004.

5. Ultimate conference test

After some early stumbles, the Pacific 10 Conference has three teams in the Sweet 16 -- UCLA, Stanford and Washington State. The Big East also has three in Louisville, Villanova and West Virginia. But credit former Michigan and Arizona State coach Bill Frieder with this concept: The Pac-10 won't have proved its mettle until it puts two teams in the Final Four in the same year -- something the other five major conferences have all done.