Vying for a spot in the NCAA tournament championship game, Kansas is scheduled to face Villanova and Loyola University Chicago will go up against Michigan on Saturday, March 31. Here's what you should know about the physicians keeping the players in top shape.
Loyola
The No. 11 seed Ramblers' Team Physician Pietro Tonino, MD, is an orthopedic surgeon and director of Loyola sports medicine.
Dr. Tonino and his colleagues, including Loyola Sports Medicine Medical Director Nathaniel Jones, MD, and orthopedic surgeon Douglas Evans, MD, treat foot fractures and anterior cruciate ligament injuries, as well as colds and minor illnesses.
Dr. Tonino also helps motivate the Ramblers: he's been bringing a backpack given to Loyola after the team won the 1963 championship to games as a good luck charm.
"When they made the playoffs, I decided to bring it with me," he said in an interview with CBS. "I wanted it to be there so they would see it and use that as a last thing to motivate them before they go on the court."
Dr. Tonino graduated from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and completed a residency at Northwestern University McGaw Medical Center, both in Chicago. He underwent fellowship training at the Los Angeles-based Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic.
Michigan
Portage, Mich.-native Asheesh Bedi, MD, serves as head orthopedic team physician for the No. 3 seed Michigan Wolverines. He was hired by the university's athletic department in 2009.
Dr. Bedi is a professor of orthopedic surgery and an assistant professor of sports medicine and shoulder surgery at the University of Michigan and MedSport Program in Ann Arbor.
With research interests including ACL injuries, hip injuries in athletes and rotator cuff tears, Dr. Bedi has written more than one hundred articles, chapters and peer-reviewed publications. He is involved with the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine and Arthroscopy Association of North America.
Dr. Bedi attended Evanston-based Northwestern University for undergraduate education before earning his medical degree from the University of Michigan Medical School, where he also completed a residency. Dr. Bedi underwent fellowship training at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.
Kansas
Larry Magee, MD, is head team physician for the Jayhawks, who are also a No. 1 seed. He works alongside head team orthopedic surgeon Jeffrey Randall, MD, and athletic trainer Bill Cowgill.
Dr. Magee has been a team physician for Kansas since 1988, helping athletes have a faster and safer return to competition. He supervises the departments of sports medicine, strength and conditioning and sports nutrition, and is associated with Lawrence (Kansas) Memorial Hospital.
The Jayhawks are also treated by Assistant Team Orthopedic Surgeon Douglas Stull, MD, and team physicians Stephan Pro, MD, and Luis Salazar, MD.
Villanova
Villanova University (Pa.) alum and former student-athlete Michael Duncan, MD, is head team physician for the No. 1 seed Wildcats. He joined the university in 2012.
Dr. Duncan played baseball at Villanova, where he majored in biology. He earned a medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., and completed the Bryn Mawr Family Practice Residency Program at Bryn Mawr (Pa.) Hospital.
While completing the Drexel University sports medicine fellowship program in Philadelphia, Dr. Duncan served as assistant team physician for two Division I universities, one Division II university and two high schools.