What’s on tap in NCAA Sweet 16
action Thursday night?
*Memphis gets to demonstrate that
all of those Conference USA blowouts actually were an indication of how
strong the Tigers are.
*We’ll get to see who has improved
more in a little more than two months, Ohio State or Tennessee.
*A stingy defensive team with a
high-octane offense will try to hold off a team a club with an equally stout
defense but more methodical offense?
*Ben Howland of UCLA and
Jamie Dixon of Pittsburgh get to quit answering questions about their
friendship and put their teams on the floor against one another for the
opportunity to move a step closer to a trip to Atlanta.
Fire up!
All tip-offs are Eastern
Time
SOUTH REGIONAL
At San
Antonio
No. 2 Memphis (32-3) vs. No. 3
Texas A&M (27-6), 7:15 p.m.
How they got here: Memphis
(North Texas, 73-58; Nevada, 78-62); Texas A&M (Penn, 68-52; Louisville,
72-69)
Records vs. tournament field:
Memphis 5-3, Texas A&M 5-4
Keys for Memphis: What kind
of shape will Chris Douglas-Robert’s ankle be in? How many turnovers can
the Tigers force against an Acie Law-led team that is so steady with the
basketball against all types of pressure?
Keys for Texas A&M: Can
the Aggies’ contain the Tigers’ transition offense? Can they wall off the
board-crashing Tigers?
Frank Says: Coach John
Calipari’s team has reeled off 24 wins in a row but beat just one NCAA
Tournament team (Gonzaga) over the final 22 of those games in the regular
season. The Aggies are the best team they have played this season. And there is
just too much Law for Memphis to circumvent in order to advance to Saturday’s
final.
No. 1 Ohio State (32-3) vs. No. 5
Tennessee (24-10), 9:45 p.m.
How they got here: Ohio
State (Central Connecticut, 78-57; Xavier, 78-71, OT); Tennessee (Long Beach
State, 121-86; Virginia, 77-74)
Records vs. tournament field:
Ohio State 13-3, Tennessee 8-6
Keys for Ohio State: The
Buckeyes have to immediately focus on making Greg Oden the focal point of
their half-court offensive attack, even if it means that some players will have
to pass on “early” jump shot opportunities. And they have to do a much better
job with their half court defense than they did against Xavier.
Keys for Tennessee: The Vols
must do everything they can to keep the ball out of OSU point guard Mike Conley’s hands in both full- and half-court situations. And they have to be
aggressive and attack Oden and not let him roam, float and become a help-side
shot blocker.
Frank Says: The Buckeyes
were fortunate to pull out the game against the Musketeers in Lexington on
Saturday. If they don’t play much better in this one, at both ends of the floor,
the Volunteers will play against Aggies in the title game on
Saturday.
WEST
REGIONAL
At San
Jose
No. 1 Kansas (32-4) vs. No. 4
Southern Illinois (29-6), 7 p.m.
How they got here: Kansas
(Niagara, 107-67; Kentucky, 88-76); Southern Illinois (Holy Cross, 61-51;
Virginia Tech, 63-48)
Records vs. tournament field:
Kansas 7-3, Southern Illinois 6-3
Keys for Kansas: Trying to
create as many transition opportunities as possible against a team that is as
difficult to score against in the half court as any club in the tournament.
Staying disciplined on defense when the Salukis occupy the ball for long
stretches of the shot clock
Keys for Southern Illinois:
Protecting the ball and not allowing the Jayhawks easy opportunities off of
turnovers. Finding a way to generate some offense inside the lane if 6-7 Matt Shaw still can’t go or has limited effectiveness because of the ankle he
sprained against Holy Cross.
Frank Says: If we were
confident enough the Salukis could generate enough offense of their own, we
would like their chances of scoring what would be a stunner in most eyes. Look
for Kansas to hang on despite barely (if at all) cracking the 70-point
barrier.
No. 2 UCLA (28-5) vs. No. 3
Pittsburgh (29-7), 9:30 p.m.
How they got here: UCLA
(Weber State, 70-42; Indiana, 54-49); Pittsburgh (Wright State, 79-58; VCU,
84-79, OT)
Records vs. tournament field:
UCLA 15-2, Pittsburgh 7-6
Keys for UCLA: That’s simple
– scoring points. Other than in the first-round blowout of Weber State, the
Bruins’ perimeter threats, Arron Afflalo, Darren Collison and Josh Shipp, have struggled with their jump shots of late, while forward Luc
Richard Mbah a Moute hasn’t finished as consistently inside the
lane.
Keys for Pittsburgh: Seeing
Aaron Gray react well when he’s double-teamed by either finishing quickly
or pitching the ball out before the defense can rotate to whichever of his
teammates have been helped off of.
Frank Says: The Bruins are
slightly better, defensively, with the Panthers getting a narrow edge on
offense. Going on the assumption that Afflalo is due for a breakout shooting
performance, UCLA gets to the Elite Eight.
Inducted into the USBWA Hall of
Fame in April, 2005, Frank Burlison is Scout.com’s national basketball expert and is
also a columnist for the Long Beach (Calif.) Press-Telegram. He can be reached at
frank.burlison@presstelegram.com. Read more of Burlison’s pieces at
www.frankhoops.com