Assembling pieces of bracket puzzle

Key teams, players in what’s likely to be wide-open tourney.

College basketball fans thought picking the bracket was tough last season. Wait till this NCAA Tournament really gets going.

With no clear favorites and seemingly a dozen teams that could take down the nets in Houston, this March could be the mother of madness.

Regardless of whether you have to shred your bracket early, it figures to be a fantastic road to the Final Four, so we’ve got a rundown of the top matchups, players and other tidbits:

Top teams

Kansas: Bracket’s No. 1 overall seed. No need to say more.

North Carolina: Preseason No. 1 has the talent to be there at the end.

Oregon: Frenetic on defense, filled with get-tothe-rim players.

Virginia: Cavaliers guard like the rim is a pot of gold.

Michigan State: Guessing Tom Izzo will use being bumped to a No. 2 as motivation.

Marquee players

Buddy Hield, Oklahoma: Scores in bunches, rises up under pressure.

Denzel Valentine, Michigan State: Does everything except drive the Spartans’ bus.

Tyler Ulis, Kentucky: Ulis’ size may have held him back in national player-of-the-year con- versations. The 5-foot-9 sophomore is one of the nation’s best.

Malcolm Brogdon, Virginia: Shoots, drives, shuts his man down. Can’t ask for much more.

Jakob Poeltl, Utah: Doesn’t get as much exposure in West, but one of the nation’s best big men.

Under-radar players

Gary Payton II, Oregon State: Like his pops, the Glove, GPII thrives on the defensive end and does it all for the Beavers.

A. J. English, Iona: Senior was 10th nationally with 22.4 points per game, led Gaels to MAAC Tournament title.

Domantas Sabonis, Gonzaga: Kyle Wiltjer gets most of the attention, but the son of Arvydas is a crafty big man.

Scoochie Smith, Dayton: Great name, great all-around player.

Isaiah Whitehead, Seton Hall: 70 points, 19 rebounds and 17 assists in three days while leading Pirates to first Big East title since 1993.

Cinderellas

Gonzaga: The Zags weren’t the same when Przemek Karnowski was injured. Their guards were good at the end of the season, though.

Wichita State: The Shockers sneaked into the First Four. With Fred Van Vleet healthy and teaming with Ron Baker, this team that could make a run.

Purdue: Boilermakers are considered one of the most underseeded teams at No. 5 in the Midwest.

Hawaii: Rainbow Warriors force turnovers and make a lot of 3s, a good combination if they get hot in the tourney.

VCU: Havoc causes opponents problems, and the Rams can get to the rim.

JOE ROBBINS / GETTY IMAGES Denzel Valentine leads second-seeded Michigan State, which will open Friday against Middle Tennessee State in the Midwest Region.