Each day, some of our college hoops experts discuss the biggest issues, trends and themes in and around college basketball.

1. Butler doesn't have a player on its roster taller than 6-foot-8. Texas has six. How do the Bulldogs overcome that disadvantage?

Andy Katz: The Bulldogs are going to have to rebound the way they did against North Carolina in their win over the Tar Heels in the Bahamas on Nov. 26. Butler needs to be the tougher team. Texas has the size advantage but hasn't been able to finish games consistently. The Longhorns' win over Baylor may not have been the norm.

Dana O'Neil: Butler coach Chris Holtmann talked about his team needing to be smart in its shot selection, and that's exactly the right answer. The Bulldogs have to find the balance between being aggressive and picking their spots. The good news is that Butler is pretty good from outside -- 36 percent from the arc -- and can drive and kick out when the opportunity presents itself. And really, it doesn't necessarily matter that the Bulldogs are smaller, so long as they play tougher, which has been Butler's trademark all season.

Eamonn Brennan: Yeah, the Bulldogs will definitely have to make perimeter shots. That's Part 1. There are two ways to look at Part 2: Either Butler was fortunate to land a team whose offense relies on doing the one thing (rebounding misses) that the Bulldogs are especially good at denying opponents ... or Butler was really unfortunate to get a team whose offense can get to the offensive glass against (almost) any team in the country, regardless of size. I could go either way. The best answer to the question is probably "by identifying marginal advantages and being really smart in exploiting them," which is, you know, not exactly the Longhorns' strong suit.

2. There was talk that UCLA didn't deserve an NCAA tournament bid. Would beating SMU prove those doubters wrong?

Katz: No. Winning in March doesn't mean the selection committee was right or wrong. Selection should be based on the résumé and body of work, not solely on a hunch.

O'Neil: It certainly would help, yes. SMU is in the tourney on merit as much as on the backbone of an American tourney title. People are waiting to say, "See? I told you so," about the Bruins, and a one-game visit would only reaffirm those doubts. Now, one win doesn't necessarily erase everything -- SMU is not exactly Kentucky -- but it beats the alternative.

Brennan: What Andy said. What happens after the committee seeds the field is utter anarchy, which is why the NCAA tournament is awesome, and also why VCU's 2010-11 trip to the Final Four doesn't change the fact that their pre-selection résumé wasn't deserving of a bid. If UCLA wins, bully for UCLA, but the Bruins didn't deserve to get in. At the very least, they should have been in Dayton.

3. Ole Miss has already won a tournament game. Will the momentum from the Rebels' strong second half against BYU give them momentum against Xavier?

Katz: Yes. Sorry, X. I don't have much faith. I had BYU beating Xavier, and now I'm sticking with the winner of that First Four game advancing.

O'Neil: Momentum, and if Stefan Moody plays the way he did against BYU. The Rebels are a dangerous team, regardless. When they ramp it up on defense -- as they did against the Cougars in the second half -- they become a much different group. Plus, I do think there is something to be said for knocking out the jitters in Dayton.

Brennan: So here's a fun fact, which the ESPN Stats & Information folks passed along Wednesday morning: No First Four team to win on Tuesday has gone on to win in the round of 64. You could say that doesn't bode well for Ole Miss, but no team to win on Wednesday has lost in in the round of 64 ... so let's just enjoy that statistical oddity without assigning it too much importance. At the end of the day, Ole Miss has to make shots to win. It did so against BYU's nonexistent defense, and if it does so against Xavier -- a great offensive team with a good-but-not-great defensive core -- the Musketeers will have a serious challenge on their hands.

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Former Louisville guard Kevin Ware leads Georgia State into the NCAA tournament. The Panthers face a Baylor team that feasts on the offensive glass. The Bears rebound 42 percent of their misses, best in the nation, and average 13.5 second-chance points per game.

Ohio State will have to contend with VCU's trademark Havoc defense -- the Rams force a turnover on 24 percent of their opponents' possessions. The Buckeyes are led by freshman guard D'Angelo Russell, one of two players in the nation to average 19 points, five rebounds and five assists per game.

Few players are as singularly important to their teams as Delon Wright is to Utah. The Utes face a tricky opponent in Stephen F. Austin. The Lumberjacks average 79.5 points per game and assist on 66 percent of their field goals, fourth-best in the nation.

LSU does its best work in the paint, and forwards Jordan Mickey and Jarell Martin have combined for 29 double-doubles this season. But NC State allows just 24.8 points in the paint per game, second-fewest in the ACC.

Dayton's Dyshawn Pierre laughing off his wardrobe malfunction in second half. "If my pants are down and we win the game, I'm happy."

— Austin Ward (@AWardESPN) March 19, 2015

Courtesy of NCAA

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