Marcus Fuller's five things to watch in the NCAA men's basketball tournament

Upset alert

The 5-12 seed games seem to deliver doozies each year, including probably the most surprising run last year with Oregon State upsetting Tennessee and eventually reaching the Elite Eight. Imagine the heartache in Iowa City if the Big Ten tournament champion Hawkeyes fall to Richmond in the 5-12 opening game Thursday in the Midwest Region. The Spiders went to the Sweet 16 as a No. 12 seed in 2011.

Breakout star

Gonzaga's freshman standout and Minnesotan Chet Holmgren arguably is the best player on the best team, but March Madness is usually ruled by great guard play. The last eight Final Four Most Outstanding Player awards went to guards since Anthony Davis led Kentucky to the national title in 2012. This year's top breakout backcourt star could be Kansas' Ochai Agbaji, the Big 12 player of the year.

Sister Jean sighting

It's been four years since Loyola-Chicago's magical Final Four run behind the backing of Sister Jean, who became everyone's favorite team chaplain. Amazingly, she still plans to be courtside at 102 years old for her team's game Friday vs. Ohio State in Pittsburgh. Former Ramblers coach Porter Moser (now at Oklahoma) was replaced by his 30-year-old ex-assistant Drew Valentine.

Easiest road

The NCAA tournament selection committee didn't do No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga any favors with the Zags potentially facing Arkansas (Elite Eight team last year) in the Sweet 16 and ACC regular-season champion Duke in the Elite Eight. The easiest path appears to be for South Region top-seed Arizona, which could get to the Elite Eight without facing any opponent ranked in the top 14 in the final Associated Press poll.

Winning streaks

South Dakota State (21), Murray State (20), Colgate (15), and Georgia State (10) are all heading into the NCAA tourney with double-digit win streaks. The Jackrabbits, the only team ever to go undefeated in Summit League play, haven't lost since Dec. 15 at Missouri State. They're a popular upset pick in the 4 vs. 13 game vs. Big East champion Providence. But No. 7 Murray State's more likely to extend its streak opening vs. 10^th-seed San Francisco.