All games Friday

No. 7 Ohio State

Tip time: 12:15 p.m. vs. Loyola Chicago

Record: 19-11

Coach: Chris Holtmann

Leading scorer: E.J. Liddell (19.6)

How they got here: A 71-66 victory against Duke on Nov. 30 helped lead Ohio State to a 9-2 start, but the Buckeyes have lost four of their past five games, including 71-68 to Penn State in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.

Layup lines: Ohio State is back in Pittsburgh for the first time since 2012 when it defeated Loyola Maryland and Gonzaga to reach the Sweet 16.

No. 10 Loyola Chicago

Record: 25-7

Coach: Drew Valentine

Leading scorer: Lucas Williamson (14.0)

How they got here: In its last season in the Missouri Valley Conference, the Ramblers defeated Bradley, Northern Iowa and Drake in the conference tournament.

Layup lines: Loyola Chicago is accustomed to playing power conference teams, and not just because it was in the 2018 Final Four. The Ramblers are 2-2 in such games this season, losing to Michigan State and Auburn by two- and nine-point deficits and defeating Arizona State and Vanderbilt by 18 and 11 points.

No. 2 Villanova

Tip time: 2:15 p.m. vs. Delaware

Record: 26-7

Coach: Jay Wright

Leading scorer: Collin Gillespie (15.9)

How they got here: The Wildcats won the Big East Tournament by defeating St. John’s, UConn and Creighton by a total of 10 points.

Layup lines: Villanova opened the season with a disappointing 7-4 record before winning 19 of its past 22 games.

No. 15 Delaware

Record: 22-12

Coach: Martin Ingelsby

Leading scorer: Jameer Nelson Jr. (13.7)

How they got here: Delaware took a three-game losing streak and a 10-8 conference record into the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament, but it won three in a row against Drexel, Towson and UNC Wilmington.

Layup lines: Pitt guard Ithiel Horton started his career at Delaware and was named to the CAA All-Rookie team in 2019 after averaging 13.2 points and shooting 40.9% from beyond the 3-point arc.

No. 4 Illinois

Tip time: 6:50 p.m. vs. Chattanooga

Record: 22-9

Coach: Brad Underwood

Leading scorer: Kofi Cockburn (21.1)

How they got here: The No. 16 Fighting Illini took a three-game winning streak into the Big Ten Tournament but lost to Indiana in the first round, 65-63.

Layup lines: Cockburn, a 7-foot center, is the only player in the NCAA averaging at least 21 points and 10 rebounds. … He also is the first player from a high-major conference in the past four years to average at least 21 points and 10 rebounds and just the ninth to do so in the past 20 seasons.

No. 13 Chattanooga

Record: 27-7

Coach: Lamont Paris

Leading scorer: Malachi Smith (20.3).

How they got here: The Mocs defeated The Citadel by five, Wofford by 23 and Furman by one in overtime in the Southern Conference Tournament.

Layup lines: Chattanooga was only 29-41 in conference games in the four previous seasons under Paris.

No. 5 Houston

Tip time: 9:20 p.m. vs. Alabama Birmingham

Record: 29-5

Coach: Kelvin Sampson

Leading scorer: Kyler Edwards (13.3 points per game)

How they got here: The No. 18 Cougars won nine of their past 10 games. … Lost twice to Memphis during the regular season in 10- and 14-point decisions. … But Houston avenged those defeats with a 71-53 victory against the Tigers in the championship game of the American Athletic Conference Tournament on Sunday.

Layup lines: Sampson, who was replaced by Pitt’s Jeff Capel at Oklahoma, is one of 16 coaches in NCAA history to lead two teams to the Final Four: Oklahoma in 2001 and Houston last season. … A long run in this year’s tournament will give Sampson 700 victories in 32 years as coach at Houston, Indiana, Oklahoma, Washington State and Montana Tech. He is 696-339.

No. 12 Alabama Birmingham

Record: 27-7

Coach: Andy Kennedy

Leading scorer: Jordan Walker (20.4)

How they got here: UAB has won seven in a row, including three in the Conference USA Tournament. … The Blazers defeated Florida Atlantic, Middle Tennessee State and Louisiana Tech in the tournament. The Middle Tennessee State game stretched into three ovetimes, with Jordan Walker scoring 40 points and Michael Ertel 26 while playing 54 of 55 minutes.

Layup lines: UAB is sixth in the nation in scoring (80.7 points per game), reaching triple digits four times.