Atlanta Regional
No. 2 Texas (30-6) vs. No. 4 LSU (26-8)
Time: 3:40 p.m. (WBBM-Ch. 2).
How Texas got here: beat No. 15 Penn 60-52, No. 10 NC State 75-54, No. 6 West Virginia 74-71.
How LSU got here: beat No. 13 Iona 80-64, No. 12 Texas A&M 58-57, No. 1 Duke 62-54.
The buzz: A big-time matchup of big men — Texas’ LaMarcus Aldridge, P.J. Tucker, Brad Buckman and Mike Williams against LSU’s Glen “Big Baby” Davis, Tasmin Mitchell, Tyrus Thomas, Darnell Lazare and Magnum Rolle. Texas outrebounds foes by almost 11 per game; LSU outrebounds foes by almost nine per game. LSU’s defense was magnificent in an upset of Duke on Thursday night; on Saturday, though, the emphasis for the Tigers will be on mucking things up in the low post, not the perimeter. Darrel Mitchell is the only LSU guard who can score. Texas has the advantage in the backcourt, so the Longhorns need to make sure guard play decides the outcome. One way is with defensive pressure. LSU commits a lot of turnovers and the Longhorns need to turn them into transition baskets.
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TEXAS CATEGORY LSU
75.6 Points per game 74.1
60.0 Opp. pts per gm 64.1
15.6 Point margin 10.0
46.6 Field goal pct. 47.0
38.3 Opp. FG pct. 40.2
37.4 3-point FG pct. 33.5
32.6 Opp. 3-pt. pct. 34.6
7.2 3-ptrs per gm 4.2
6.8 Opp. 3-pt (gm) 6.4
72.7 Free-throw pct. 69.8
10.9 Rebound mar. 8.6
0.7 Turnover diff. -0.5
8.0 Steals per game 8.3
5.0 Blocks per game 6.5
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Oakland Regional
No. 1 Memphis (33-3) vs. No. 2 UCLA (30-6)
Time: 6 p.m. (WBBM-Ch. 2)
How Memphis got here: beat No. 16 Oral Roberts 94-78, No. 9 Bucknell 72-56. No. 13 Bradley 80-64.
How UCLA got here: beat No. 15 Belmont 78-44, No. 10 Alabama 62-59, No. 3 Gonzaga 73-71.
The buzz: These teams met in November in the semifinals of the Preseason NIT, with Memphis winning 88-80. If the score again is in the 80s, Memphis will win. UCLA needs to slow the pace and keep the game in the high 60s or low 70s. The Bruins need a solid game from guards Arron Afflalo and Jordan Farmar; they also could use a big game offensively from someone in the frontcourt, but no one in the frontcourt really is a scorer. Memphis forces almost 18 turnovers per game, and that has to worry UCLA coaches: The Bruins have two more turnovers than assists this season. Backup guard Michael Roll may be a wild card for the Bruins; he is a dangerous three-point shooter. Memphis comes after you with waves of athletes, and in forward Rodney Carney, the Tigers have one of the best players in the nation. Watch center Joey Dorsey, a load in the low post who is foul-prone. The Tigers’ poise could be a factor: UCLA is the first BCS-league opponent for Memphis since Jan. 18 (a span of 18 games) and just the second this calendar year.
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MEM. CATEGORY UCLA
81.0 Points per game 68.8
65.9 Opp. pts per gm 59.0
15.1 Point margin 9.8
45.5 Field goal pct. 48.1
38.0 Opp. FG pct. 42.0
35.9 3-point FG pct. 35.4
30.3 Opp. 3-Pt. pct. 34.1
7.6 3-ptrs per gm 6.3
5.4 Opp. 3-pt (gm) 4.7
68.4 Free-throw pct. 70.0
6.7 Rebound mar. 4.6
2.3 Turnover diff. 0.1
9.8 Steals per game 5.8
6.5 Blocks per game 2.9
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