SOUTHEAST REGIONAL
No. 3 BYU (32-4) vs. No. 2 Florida (28-7)
5:27 p.m., TBS: The most famous player in this matchup is BYU’s Jimmer Fredette, the long-range gunner/playmaker who led the nation in scoring during the regular season (28.5) and then went off for 66 points in two games in Denver.
BYU beat Florida in the tourney’s opening round a year ago. All five Gators starters from that game return. Their front line of 6-foot-10 Vernon Macklin, 6-9 Chandler Parsons and 6-8 Alex Tyus will be a load for BYU, without dismissed forward Brandon Davies. Plus, Florida has a terrific backcourt in Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton. BYU will need a big game from Fredette and clutch performances from Jackson Emery and Noah Hartsock to have a chance.
No. 8 Butler (25-9) vs. No. 4 Wisconsin (25-8)
7:57 p.m., TBS: Butler might not be able to get away with playing the role of David anymore, but the Badgers are accurately typecast as Goliath. The Badgers’ front line boasts 6-10 Jon Leuer and 6-9 Keaton Nankivi, who is 240 pounds and has a black eye. Butler has lived a charmed tournament life, winning two games by a total of three points, and has two of its top three players back from the team that reached the title game a year ago: postman Matt Howard and swingman Shelvin Mack. All-American Gordon Hayward is now in the NBA with the Utah Jazz.
WEST REGIONAL
No. 2 San Diego State (34-2) vs. No. 3 UConn (28-9)
5:15 p.m., KCNC-4: For Connecticut, and for its opponents, it’s all about Huskies guard Kemba Walker. Heaven help UConn foes who allow the 6-1 junior to reach or surpass his scoring average (23.6) or, worse yet, let the All-American take over at the end of a game. Walker has hit game-winning or go-ahead shots during the final three minutes of six games this season. And he seems to save his best for the best. His heroics came against the likes of Pittsburgh, Villanova, Texas and Michigan State.
“My teammates,” Walker said, “always give me a certain look, like, ‘Kemba, win this game; just make this shot!’ ”
Defensively, San Diego State might start with 6-1 senior D.J. Gay on Walker. But the Aztecs also have 6-8 forward Billy White to give it a try if Gay can’t handle the assignment.
Said Aztecs coach Steve Fisher: “We’ve got to keep (Walker) on the outside, minimize his number of 3s and layups he gets. That’s easy to say, hard to do.”
No. 1 Duke (32-4) vs. No. 5 Arizona (29-7)
7:45 p.m., KCNC-4 It’s not often a top college basketball coach, especially during the NCAA Tournament, will acknowledge the first few minutes of a game will be the key.
But Arizona’s Sean Miller did just that Wednesday.
“Duke, I give them amazing credit for how hard they play; it is year in, year out,” Miller said. “Part of how we do (against Duke) is to be able to handle that first wave.”
Once things settle down, the key matchup will be Arizona All-America forward Derrick Williams (6-8, 241 pounds) against whatever Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has planned. Expect Duke to open with 6-10 sophomore Mason Plumlee on Williams, but savvy senior Kyle Singler (6-8, 230) is sure to take a turn, as could 6-11 Ryan Kelly.
“We have to stay disciplined . . . keep him off the boards and prevent him from getting second-chance opportunities,” Plumlee said.
Mike Klis and Tom Kensler, The Denver Post
