ShareThisMatch-up capsules for Thursday's NCAA Sweet 16 East and West regional semifinals in Boston and Glendale, Ariz. All times Eastern. Seeds are indicated and statistics include all games.
WEST REGIONAL:
No. 1 CONNECTICUT (29-4) vs. No. 5 PURDUE (27-9), 7:07 p.m., CBS.
COACHES: Jim Calhoun (553-202 in 23rd year at UConn) and Matt Painter (83-49 in fourth year at Purdue).
HOW THEY GOT HERE: UConn beat No. 16 Chattanooga, 103-47, in the first round and No. 9 Texas A&M, 92-66, in the second round. Purdue beat No. 12 Northern Iowa, 61-56, in the first round and No. No. 3 Washington, 76-74, in the second round.
SERIES HISTORY: Purdue leads, 4-0.
LAST MEETING: Purdue won, 72-69 in 1992.
STATS THAT MATTER: Huskies were fourth in nation in scoring margin (15 ppg, average score of 78-63) and led nation with only 13 fouls per game called against them. Boilermakers were 14th in nation in scoring defense (59.4 ppg) while holding foes to 38.9 pct. shooting (13th in nation).
CONNECTICUT STARTERS: F Jeff Adrien (13.9 ppg, 10.2 rpg), F Stanley Robinson (8.0 ppg, 5.4 rpg), C Hasheem Thabeet (13.7 ppg, 10.7 rpg, second in nation with 4.4 blocks, 64.6 FG pct.), G A.J. Price (14.6 ppg, 4.9 apg, 41.7 pct. on 3-pointers), G Craig Austrie (7.0 ppg, 2.3 apg).
PURDUE STARTERS: F Robbie Hummel (12.4 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 38.6 pct. on 3-pointers), F E'Twaun Moore (14.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.0 apg), C JaJuan Johnson (13.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.1 blocks), G Chris Kramer (5.2 ppg), G Lewis Jackson (5.6 ppg, 3.5 apg).
OUTLOOK: This won't be pretty as both favor rugged defense. Key will be how Boilermakers handle Huskies brutes Thabeet and Adrien inside so Johnson must stay out of foul trouble. Look for Purdue to gang up and give suspect UConn shooters open looks.
No. 3 MISSOURI (30-6) vs. No. 2 MEMPHIS (33-3), 10:07 (approximate), CBS.
COACHES: Mike Anderson (64-34 in third year at Missouri) and John Calipari (253-68 in 9th year at Memphis).
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Missouri beat No. 14 Cornell, 78-59, in the first round and No. 6 Marquette, 83-79, in the second round. Memphis beat No. 15 Cal-Northridge, 81-70, in the first round and No. 10 Maryland, 89-70, in the second round.
SERIES HISTORY: Memphis leads, 7-4.
LAST MEETING: Memphis won, 61-59, in 2003.
STATS THAT MATTER: Mizzou is 25-0 when leading at halftime. Memphis is only school in nation to advance to last four Sweet 16s.
MISSOURI STARTERS: F DeMarre Carroll (16.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 56.3 FG pct.), F Leo Lyons (14.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg), G Matt Lawrence (9.0 ppg, 40.6 pct. on 3-pointers), G J.T. Tiller (8.0 ppg, 3.9 apg, 3.4 rpg), G Zaire Taylor (6.5 ppg, 3.3 apg).
MEMPHIS STARTERS: F Shawn Taggert (10.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg), F Robert Dozier (12.7 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.7 blocks), G Tyreke Evans (16.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg), G Antonio Anderson (10.0 ppg, 4.5 apg), G Doneal Mack (8.9 ppg, 64 3-pointers made).
OUTLOOK: Battle of Tigers should be entertaining. Winners of 27 straight, Memphis Tigers are 7-1 in NCAA play last two years and enjoy big experience edge over Mizzou Tigers who are making first Sweet 16 since 2002.Carroll and Lyons must hold their own inside vs. bigger, longer Taggert-Dozier duo. And Missouri can forget it if Memphis goes 10-of-19 from beyond arc and 17-of-22 on FTs as UM did vs. Maryland.
EAST REGIONAL:
No. 1 PITTSBURGH (30-4) vs. No. 4 XAVIER (27-7), 7:27, CBS.
COACHES: Jamie Dixon (162-44 in 6th year at Pitt) and Sean Miller (120-46 in 5th year at Xavier).
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Pitt beat No. 16 East Tennessee State, 72-62, in the first round and No. 8 Oklahoma State, 84-76, in the second round. Xavier beat No. 13 Portland State, 77-59, in the first round and No. 12 Wisconsin, 60-49, in the second round.
SERIES HISTORY: Pitt leads, 3-2.
LAST MEETING: Pitt won, 94-76, in 1998.
STATS THAT MATTER: Panthers are second in nation in rebounding margin (+10, 40-30). Musketeers are 22-0 when leading at the half and 10-5 in games decided by 10 points or less.
PITT STARTERS: F Sam Young (18.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg), F Tyrell Biggs (6.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg), C DeJuan Blair (15.8 ppg, fourth in nation with 12.3 rpg), G Levance Fields (10.6 ppg, second in nation with 7.6 apg), G Jermaine Dixon (8.7 ppg, 2.5 rpg).
XAVIER STARTERS: F Derrick Brown (13.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg), F C.J. Anderson (10.0 ppg, 5.4 rpg), C Jason Love (6.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg), G B.J. Raymond (14.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg), G Dante Jackson (6.6 ppg, 2.8 apg).
OUTLOOK: Panthers try to get to first Elite Eight ever while plucky Musketeers aim for third appearance there since 2004. This could be determined by referees, as in how much bullying under boards will Young and Blair get away with vs. Xavier, who also rebounds well (+8.5 rebound margin, 28th in nation in rebounds).
No. 2 DUKE (30-6) vs. No. 3 VILLANOVA (28-7), 10:27 (approximate), CBS.
COACHES: Mike Krzyzewski (760-214 in 29th year at Duke) and Jay Wright (176-89 in 8th year at Villanova).
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Duke beat No. 15 Binghamton, 86-62, and No. 7 Texas, 74-69, in the second round. Villanova beat No. 14 American, 80-67, in the first round and No. 6 UCLA, 89-69, in the second round.
SERIES HISTORY: Duke leads, 7-3.
LAST MEETING: Duke won, 98-95, in 2000.
STATS THAT MATTER: Krzyzewski's 71 NCAA wins are most of any coach while Duke is also 8-1 in East regional semifinals under Coach K. Since NCAA went to seeding system in 1979, Wildcats' 13 wins over a higher seed lead the nation as 'Nova is 13-12 all-time vs. higher seed.
DUKE STARTERS: G-F Gerald Henderson (16.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.5 apg), F Kyle Singler (16.5 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 39.1 pct. on 3-pointers), G Jon Scheyer (14.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 84.1 pct. on FTs), F Lance Thomas (5.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg), G Elliot Williams (4.2 ppg).
VILLANOVA STARTERS: F-C Dante Cunningham (16.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg), F Dwayne Anderson (8.8 ppg, 6 rpg), G Scottie Reynolds (15.1 ppg, 3.5 apg, 1.6 steals), F Shane Clark (5.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg), G Reggie Redding (6.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg).
OUTLOOK: Two questions. Will perimeter-oriented Blue Devils' 3-pointers be falling? They were in first two rounds (16-of-34). And which bunch of Wildcats shows up, the one that struggled mightily with American or blew out UCLA?
(E-mail John Lindsay at lindsayj(at)shns.com. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
