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Seeking Sweet Success

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By JOEY JOHNSTON

jjohnston@tampatrib.com

Published: March 26, 2009

So long, Siena. Thanks, Cleveland State. Good job, Western Kentucky.

The NCAA Tournament's first weekend has concluded. Now it's on to the non-Cinderella Sweet 16 - the basketball equivalent of colliding battleships.

For the first time, all top-three seeded teams made it to the region semifinals. In all, 14 of the top 16 seeded teams are here (and the others, No. 5 Purdue and No. 12 Arizona, are definitely household names).

Here are some things to watch as we shift forward on the Road to Detroit:

WEST REGION (GLENDALE, ARIZ.)

No. 1 Connecticut (29-4)

vs. No. 5 Purdue (27-9);

Tonight, 7:07 (CBS, Ch. 10)

KEY PLAYER: Connecticut senior guard A.J. Price, who tore his ACL during a first-round loss to San Diego last season in Tampa, has 47 points (and nine 3-pointers) in the Huskies' first two NCAA games.

NOTABLE: UConn's only two national titles (1999, 2004) occurred after the Huskies emerged from the West Region. Purdue is 4-0 against UConn, but the last meeting was 1992.

No. 2 Memphis (33-3) vs.

No. 3 Missouri (30-6);

Tonight, 9:37

KEY PLAYER: Memphis freshman Tyreke Evans, whose penetrating and play-making ability must be respected by Missouri's aggressive defense. The Tigers have a 27-game winning streak since Evans shifted to point guard.

NOTABLE: Missouri, which has never made the Final Four, is seeking its fifth appearance in a region final (1944, 1976, 1994, 2002).

EAST REGION (BOSTON)

No. 1 Pittsburgh (30-4)

vs. No. 4 Xavier (30-6);

Tonight, 7:27

KEY PLAYER: Pittsburgh senior forward Sam Young, who had 32 points in the second-round win against Oklahoma State, offers a tantalizing second option to DeJuan Blair, co-Big East Player of the Year.

NOTABLE: Pittsburgh hasn't reached a region final since 1974 (losing to David Thompson's N.C. State juggernaut). Xavier is seeking its second straight region final appearance (and second in the last six seasons).

No. 2 Duke (30-6) vs.

No. 3 Villanova (28-7);

Tonight, 9:57 (CBS, Ch. 10)

KEY PLAYER: Duke junior guard Gerald Henderson had 24 points (making 10 of 13 free-throw attempts) and six rebounds in the second round against Texas.

NOTABLE: Duke hasn't reached the Final Four since 2004. Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski hasn't gone five consecutive seasons without a Final Four appearance since the beginning of his Duke career (1981-85).

FRIDAY'S GAMES

South Region (Memphis)

No. 2 Oklahoma (29-5) vs. No. 3 Syracuse (28-9), 7:27 p.m.: It will be fascinating to see Syracuse's patented 2-3 zone operate against OU's Blake Griffin, who is favored to claim national player of the year honors.

No. 1 North Carolina (30-4) vs. No. 4 Gonzaga (28-5), 9:57 p.m.: Tar Heels point guard Ty Lawson, playing for the first time since suffering a toe injury in the regular season, delivered the second-round knockout blow against LSU. Is Gonzaga ready for this big occasion?

Midwest Region (Indianapolis)

No. 1 Louisville (30-5) vs. No. 12 Arizona (21-13), 7:07 p.m.: Louisville coach Rick Pitino is 8-0 in region semifinals (with Louisville, Kentucky and Providence). His final game at Kentucky was an 84-79 overtime defeat against Arizona in the 1997 national title game.

No. 2 Michigan State (28-6) vs. No. 3 Kansas (27-7), 9:37 p.m.: Kansas has a tall task. Since the NCAA Tournament field expanded to 64 teams in 1985, the only defending national champions to reach the Final Four were Georgetown (1985), UNLV (1991), Duke (1992), Kentucky (1997), Michigan State (2001) and Florida (2007).

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