A few weeks ago, basketball fans in Salt Lake City with tickets to the NCAA West Region finals at EnergySolutions Arena would have been pleased to hear the Syracuse Orangemen were likely coming to town.

The Orange still might be, but not with the same aura and look of invincibility they once had.

Syracuse, which was No. 1 in the country in late February before losing its regular-season finale to Louisville and its Big East Conference tournament opener to Georgetown, earned a No. 1 seed from the NCAA Tournament selection committee on Sunday.

However, the Orange were deemed the fourth-best of the top seeds, and it was pre-determined that the fourth No. 1 seed would be put in the West Region. Prior to the weekend, most analysts figured that the Orange would get the No. 3 overall ranking and be sent to the South Region.

Instead, ACC Tournament champion Duke leapfrogged Syracuse and was sent to the South, and the Orange will log some frequent flier miles in traveling to Salt Lake City, provided they get out of their first two rounds, which will be played in nearby Buffalo, N.Y.

"We're proud to be a No. 1 seed," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said after the announcement. "This team has worked extremely hard, been consistent all year. Obviously, the tournament is always going to be challenging. It'll be challenging right off the bat."

The 28-4 Orange open with Vermont, and with a win will face the winner of Gonzaga-Florida State in the second round.

The fact that Syracuse center Arinze Onuaku was injured in the Georgetown game is probably the reason the Orange fell behind Duke in the pecking order. Before that, it was looking like the West Region would land the Blue Devils or perhaps Big East tournament champion West Virginia.

"Once again, we're talking about the entire season," selection chairman Dan Guerrero said regarding the placement of the No. 1 seeds. "We place value on that. Obviously, the big center for Syracuse got banged up. That's an issue to some degree."

Other teams that fans can expect to see in Salt Lake City, if seedings play out, are 24-8 Vanderbilt (a No. 4 seed), 26-7 Kansas State (a No. 2) and 24-8 Pittsburgh (a No. 3).

Oh yeah, some fans might be interested in seeing the No. 7 seed advance out of the first two rounds in Oklahoma City, Okla.

That would be the 29-5 BYU Cougars, who could have been sent to either the West or the East regions (due to their no-Sunday play requirements) and are happy they "stayed" in the West. BYU must beat Florida and then either K-State or North Texas to make it back to EnergySolutions, where they usually play one game a year.

"We will see. I think it is a real challenge. You take it one challenge at a time," said BYU coach Dave Rose about the prospects of playing some 35 miles north of BYU's Provo campus. "But if you get past the first-round game and know that the second-round game will get you close to home, [it can't hurt]. Individual things that motivate guys, I am all for it."

Along with BYU, the West Region includes a preponderance of so-called mid-major teams: Butler, Xavier and UTEP, which routinely visited Utah for matchups with the Utes and Cougars back when it was in the WAC.

drew@sltrib.com

No. 1 Syracuse vs. No. 16 Vermont

Records » Syracuse (28-4), Vermont (25-9)

Conferences » Syracuse, Big East; Vermont, America East

Outlook » The Catamounts will be making their fourth trip to the tournament after winning the America East championship, but their reward is a showdown with a team that was ranked No. 1 in the country two weeks ago. Syracuse fans will take over Buffalo, too.

No. 2 Kansas State vs. No. 15 North Texas

Records » Kansas State (26-7), North Texas (24-8)

Conferences » Kansas State, Big 12; North Texas, Sun Belt

Outlook » The Mean Green get to stay close to home, relatively speaking, but in talent they are miles away from a Wildcats team that could beat every team in the Big 12 except in-state rival Kansas this season. And there's no answer for Kansas State's Jacob Pullen.

No. 3 Pittsburgh vs. No. 14 Oakland

Records » Pittsburgh (24-8), Oakland (26-8)

Conferences » Pitt, Big East; Oakland, Summit League

Outlook » The Panthers have four players averaging in double figures -- Ashton Gibbs, Brad Wanamaker, Jermaine Dixon and Gilbert Brown -- and should wear down the thin but talented Golden Grizzlies, champions of the Summit League tournament.

No. 4 Vanderbilt vs. No. 13 Murray State

Records » Vanderbilt (24-8), Murray State (30-4)

Conferences » Vanderbilt, SEC; Murray State, Ohio Valley

Outlook » The Commodores are another well-balanced team with plenty of firepower, but no big star. The Racers are not strangers to the NCAA Tournament, making their 15th appearance, and an upset here is not out of the realm of possibility.

No. 5 Butler vs. No. 12 UTEP

Records » Butler (28-4), UTEP (26-6)

Conferences » Butler, Horizon League; UTEP, Conference USA

Outlook » An intriguing matchup of teams from non-power conferences. UTEP won 16 straight before losing a lead late and falling to Houston in the Conference USA title game. Confident Butler enters the tournament on a 20-game winning streak.

No. 6 Xavier vs. No. 11 Minnesota

Records » Xavier (24-8), Minnesota (21-13)

Conferences » Xavier, Atlantic 10; Minnesota, Big Ten

Outlook » The Gophers played their way into the tournament by making a run to the Big Ten championship game. Xavier features Jordan Crawford, who averages 19.7 points per game and is one of the country's top guards. Look for a close game either way.

No. 7 BYU vs. No. 10 Florida

Records » Florida (21-12), BYU (29-5)

Conferences » Florida, SEC; BYU, Mountain West

Outlook » BYU's Jimmer Fredette and Florida's Erving Walker have a history, having competed against each other as high schoolers on the AAU circuit in New York. Both clubs are led by their guards, and a high-scoring, fast-paced game is expected.

No. 8 Gonzaga vs. No. 9 Florida State

Records » Gonzaga (26-6), Florida State (22-9)

Conferences » Gonzaga, West Coast Conference; Florida State, ACC

Outlook » Losing to St. Mary's in the WCC championship game probably cost the Zags a seed or two and dropped them into the dreaded eight-nine game. The Seminoles won five of their last six in the regular season before falling early in the ACC tourney.

-- Jay Drew