A Key to Florida St. vs VCU

Florida State continuing to score on the offensive end: Florida St. scores 69.3 points per game, which ranks 154th in the country. The Seminoles field goal percentage ranks 174th at .436. It isn't a secret that the Seminoles greatly struggle on the offensive end. All season Florida State has been able to defend and stifle teams with their length and athleticism. The Seminoles lead the nation in field goal defense at .360, which is better than last season when they lead the nation at .377. It was even more difficult for the Seminoles to score though when their leading scorer Chris Singleton missed 6 games with a foot fracture. He has only recently returned to play limited minutes in the Seminoles two NCAA tournament games. In their third round game against second seeded Notre Dame, the Seminoles used a balanced attack on the offensive end to score 71 points. As always, their defense was spectacular. Notre Dame only scored 23 points in the first half and 57 in the whole game. The Seminoles frustrated the Big East player of the year Ben Hansbrough the entire night. He only made 4 of the 10 threes he attempted during the game. Thus far in the NCAA tournament, Florida St. has limited Texas A and M and Notre Dame to .310 shooting from the field. Derwin Kitchen, who had 10 points and six rebounds said, "If we can stay consistent on the offensive end, I like our chances. We've just been so up and down and inconsistent on the offensive end, it allowed us to stumble at times and lose a few games. If we can stay consistent and execute on the offensive end, I like our chances because we play so well on the defensive end." The Seminoles should also get a boost in the sweet sixteen because Chris Singleton looks like he will be getting more minutes against the Rams. Leonard Hamilton, the coach of Florida St. said, "He's getting closer to kind of looking like his old self," Hamilton said. "I think it's just taking him a week or so just to gain his confidence back, starting and stopping and changing direction, things of that nature. So I want him being a little bit more involved in this game than he was the other games because I think he's feeling more comfortable."

A Key to Ohio St. vs Kentucky

The Kentucky freshmen against the number one overall seed: In most peoples minds, the Ohio St. Buckeyes have been the most consistent team this season and have everything a team needs to win a national championship. They have scorers on the perimeter with William Buford and David Lightly, a deadly three point shooter with Jon Diebler, and a dominant big men with Jared Sullinger. The question that all Buckeye fans are wondering is how will the Kentucky freshman play in their third NCAA tournament game. Kentucky coach John Calipari has said, "You can't count on freshmen." The three major freshman for Kentucky (Brandon Knight, Terrence Jones, and Doron Lamb) averaged 48 of their teams 77 points during the regular season. However, aside from Knight's third round game against West Virginia, all three have really struggled to get going in the tournament. In Kentucky's second round game against Princeton the three freshmen scored a combined 19 points going 8 for 23 from the field. John Callipari said, "I think they had the jitters at their first NCAA tournament game ever that they've been watching since they're 12 and all of a sudden starting in the NCAA tournament that's on national television." Although Knight had a fantastic third round game against West Virginia, Jones and Lamb looked like they still had some jitters. Jones only had 3 buckets from the field and Lamb only played 14 minutes and had 6 points. Jones and Lamb have ben struggling with their shot in the tournament. Since Kentucky relies so much on their freshman, it will be very difficult for them to advance in the tournament without Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb playing very well.

A Key to Kansas vs Richmond

Justin Harper and Dan Geriot vs the Morris Twins: For nearly every team that the Richmond Spiders have played this season, their opponents have had trouble matching up with Justin Harper and Dan Geriot. These two forwards, who are both 6-10, are the best two shooters on their team from three point land as they both average over 42 percent. They create matchup problems because they can be physical inside but also can step outside and make your big men guard on the perimeter. Many teams have to focus so much on stopping the versatile Harper, that it allows first team Atlantic 10 guard Kevin Anderson to score and penetrate into the line. However, Kansas is happy to guard Harper and Geriot out on the perimeter, as they have two of the most athletic forwards in college basketball with Marcus and his twin brother Markieff Morris. This will allow Kansas's defense to focus on Anderson, as one of the Morris brothers will be able to match up with Harper either on the post or outside. Richmond definitely has a chance to pull the upset on the top seeded Kansas because of their ability to shoot the three ball. Morehead St. guard Demonte Harper said about Richmond after they beat them in the third round of the tourney, "It's kind of difficult to guard them because they have so many good shooters on the floor. Each guy on their team can really shoot the ball." On the other end of the court, Richmond plays a matchup two three zone, which caused both Vanderbilt and Morehead St. havoc in the tournament. Even Chris Mooney admitted though, "Kansas is a different problem because they're so good, so strong, so physical... [The Morris twins] they're aggressive, really talented. Obviously, they're big- time bodies down there. We're up for the challenge. I think if we can just negate their rebounding and make them work for everything." It will be key for the Spiders to locate the Morris twins on defense because not only can they rebound and score inside but they can also shoot from three like the Richmond frontline.

A Key to North Carolina vs Marquette

How Marquette will matchup with the North Carolina frontline: North Carolina leads the nation in rebounding at 42.5 rebounds per game. They grab about 15 offensive rebounds per game. Marquette on the other hand, averages 36.2 rebounds per game, which is 104th in the country. In North Carolina's 35 games this season, they have outrebounded their opponent 27 times. In those game they are 25-2. Marquette head coach Buzz Williams said about North Carolina's rebounding, "Part of that is because they are so far ahead of their opponent, if they miss a shot they can put it back in. So we will have our hands full from the start, but we are thankful to be here." North Carolina's three leading scorers are all forwards and they account for more than half of the Tar Heels points per game. Unlike Marquette, Carolina has the ability to throw the ball into the post to either the 7 foot Tyler Zeller or the 6-10 John Henson, who both shoot over 50 percent from the field. It will be key for Marquette center Chris Otule to stay out of foul trouble because he is Marquette's only player with the size to guard the Carolina big men. This has been a problem for Chris, as he has fouled out of both NCAA tournament games for the Golden Eagles. Marquette will have trouble moving on to the regional finals if Otule can only stay on the floor for 18 minutes like in the second round against Xavier. Otule said, "I've been getting called for a lot of fouls. I have to let the refs see my hands, and try to take up as much space on Zeller as I can, and hopefully it works out for the best." If Otule gets into foul trouble, it will be difficult for the undersize Jae Crowder at 6-6 to guard Zeller and Henson down in the post.

A Key to Wisconsin vs Butler

Matt Howard staying out of foul trouble: After Butler's one point win over number one seed Pittsburgh in the third round, Butler head coach Brad Stevens said, "We're just fortunate to advance because one thing these guys do is they play through the horn, and they'll always play through the horn. And I think that happens because of 54 [the number of Matt Howard]. I think that that's Matt Howard imprint on our program is you're going to give everything you have as long as you're out there every single day." Butler has been able to play very hard and very well for the entire 40 minutes of their first two tournament games because Howard has been able to stay on the floor. Howard has always had a tendency to get into a lot of foul trouble. In 12 games this season, Howard either fouled out or had 4 fouls, which limited his minutes on the court. Obviously, any time a team has to play long stretches without their all conference center, who scores nearly 17 points per game and averages nearly 8 rebounds per game, they struggle on both ends of the court. When Butler lost three games in a row in conference play, Howard fouled out in one of those games and had four fouls in the other two. However, Howard has been able to remain on the floor in Butler's two NCAA tournament games, which has been the key to the Bulldogs two victories. In Butler's first game, Matt had 15 points and 5 rebounds including the game winning tip-in at the buzzer. Howard played 33 minutes and only picked up 3 fouls. In the Bulldogs second game, Matt had 16 points and 6 rebounds including the game winning free throw. Howard played 38 minutes and picked up only 1 foul the entire game. The next challenge for Howard is to stay on the floor for Butler's sweet sixteen game against the Wisconsin Badgers.

A Key to Duke vs Arizona

How Kyrie Irving playing significant minutes will affect his teammates: After Duke's 8th game of the season, the Blue Devils were ranked number one and looked like the best team in the country. Duke's 8th win came at a cost though because their star point guard Kyrie Irving left the game with a toe injury. His first games back were in the second and third round of the NCAA tournament were he only played 20 minutes in each. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said that his star point guard will play "significant minutes" for the first time since the injury against Butler. Krzyzewsk said, "If I wasn't sure that he could play then I wouldn't play him." Irving will not be in the starting lineup however in Duke's sweet sixteen game against Arizona. Kyrie missed 26 straight games before returning in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Although Irving's ability to score and distribute the basketball was greatly missed, other guys like Seth Curry were able to step up and play very well. In Duke's two point third round win over Michigan, Seth Curry only took 3 shots and had 0 points. Mason Plumlee scored four points on only two shot attempts in that game. It will be interesting to see what the confidence of guys like Curry and Plumlee will be as their roles have changed with the addition of Irving on the floor. Curry only played 23 minutes in the third round and forced 3 three pointers. If Curry comes in and feels like he has to score and force shots, he may struggle. Plumlee also saw reduced minutes as he played less than a half at 18 minutes. Mason will be a huge factor if Duke wants to repeat as national champions because they don't have a real post presence if he isn't playing well. Not only will Irving's return affect some of the major role players, but it may change the role of ACC player of the year Nolan Smith. With Kyrie returning at the point guard position, Smith won't be directing the offense on every possession. The ball may not always be in his hands and you have to wonder how Irving's return will affect the Blue Devils chemistry. It is very difficult to determine how much you play a guy after he has been out for so long. Arizona head coach Sean Miller said, "I don't know if there has been another situation where you have almost a No. 1 seed without a player [Kyrie Irving] that many people would say is their best player, and now he's back in the equation."

A Key to Florida vs BYU

How Florida will defend Jimmer Fredette: Before Florida was set to take on BYU in the first round of last years NCAA tournament, Florida coach Billy Donovan said, "Being in the SEC, we had a chance to see a lot of great point guards in John Wall and Devan Downey, and I don't think either one of those two guys impact the college game like Fredette does. He has a totally different effect level on the game." BYU went on to beat Florida by 7 points 99 to 92 in double overtime. In that game, Kenny Boynton guarded Jimmer Fredette for nearly the entire game and Fredette scored 37 points on 13 for 26 shooting from the field. Coming into their sweet sixteen matchup against BYU and Fredette, Donovan said, "I really felt like last year, because of our lack of depth, I thought [Boynton] got worn out as he started to get into that into the first overtime, then second overtime. I just don't think it can be one guy. Now there's going to be some possessions and some plays in the game where whoever's on him, they're going to be on an island by themselves. That's gonna happen." Donovan hopes that Boynton, at 6-2, can use his length and his great athleticism to frustrate Fredette. He said, "What makes [Boynton] good is he has great, great feet and he has great lateral movement, and he can play close enough to people and keep people out of the lane. He can really, really spread himself out and athletically he can really move his feet. He's got great ability." Jimmer has struggled against guys with great length and athleticism this season. When the 6-8 Billy White from San Diego St. guarded Fredette in the Mountain West tournament championship game, Jimmer settled for 7 threes and struggled, going 10 for 25 from the field. Boynton has been resting a sore left ankle all week in preparation to guard the crafty Fredette. Boynton has shown he can defend the best in the country including John Jenkins from Vanderbilt, who went 3 for 15 from the field and only scored 10 points in the SEC tournament semifinals when Boynton was guarding him. Boynton will try to keep Fredette out of the lane and not let him get to the free throw line, where he shoots nearly 90 percent. He will try to make Jimmer settle for deep jump shots and threes, where he is under 27 percent since February 2nd. Although Jimmer will get his points as the ball is constantly in his hands for the Cougars, the key to the game will be how many shots it takes for Jimmer to get his points and if he can get his teammates open for layups and threes.