A look at the NCAA Tournament’s regional semifinals:

Thursday’s Games

East Rutherford Regional

No. 2 Oklahoma State vs. No. 3 Pittsburgh

Wins: Oklahoma State beat No. 15 Eastern Washington 75-56 and No. 7 Memphis 70-53; Pittsburgh beat No. 14 Central Florida 53-44 and No. 6 Wisconsin 59-55.

Stars: Ivan McFarlin had 33 points and 20 rebounds in the two games for the Cowboys, while John Lucas scored 28 points. Carl Krauser averaged 17 points for the Panthers, and Chevon Troutman had 14 rebounds against Wisconsin.

Key matchup: McFarlin will have his hands full against Pitt’s tough front line, which had 15 offensive rebounds against Wisconsin. The guard trio of Lucas, Tony Allen and Joey Graham will have to find a way to score against Krauser, Julius Page and Jaron Brown, one of the best perimeter-defending groups in the country. The coaches are as different as can be: Oklahoma State’s Eddie Sutton is third among active coaches with 753 wins; Pitt’s Jamie Dixon is a rookie.

No. 1 Saint Joseph’s vs. No. 4 Wake Forest

Wins: Saint Joseph’s beat No. 16 Liberty 82-63 and No. 8 Texas Tech 70-65; Wake Forest beat No. 13 Virginia Commonwealth 79-78 and No. 12 Manhattan 84-80.

Stars: Jameer Nelson had 57 points in the two wins for the Hawks, while backcourtmate Delonte West added 33. Wake’s freshman guard Chris Paul had 22 points in his first NCAA game and followed that with 29 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Key matchup: Nelson, the best senior guard in the country, goes against Paul, the best freshman guard in the country. Both teams are perimeter-oriented, and three-point defense has been one of Wake Forest’s few weaknesses this season. Demon Deacons center Eric Williams could be the deciding factor if he stays out of foul trouble. Even with the off-the-court hype of Hawks coach Phil Martelli vs. CBS analyst Billy Packer, this one will come down to two very good backcourts.

Phoenix Regional

No. 2 Connecticut vs. No. 6 Vanderbilt

Wins: Connecticut beat No. 15 Vermont 70-53 and No. 7 DePaul 72-55; Vanderbilt beat No. 11 Western Michigan 71-58 and No. 3 North Carolina State 75-73.

Stars: Ben Gordon averaged 16 points in the first two rounds for the Huskies, while unanimous AP All-American Emeka Okafor averaged 13 rebounds. Taliek Brown had 14 points and then 11, the first time this season the Connecticut point guard had consecutive double-figure games. Matt Freije had 31 points in the Commodores’ upset of North Carolina State, while Mario Moore averaged 21 points in the two wins.

Key matchup: Okafor, who leads the nation in blocked shots, won’t get much of a chance to do that against Vanderbilt, which is a perimeter-oriented team — including 7-1 Dawid Przybyszewski, who has 49 threes this season. Brown has given the Huskies a lift with his scoring, leaving more room to operate for Gordon and three-point specialist Rashad Anderson. The Huskies love to run, but it usually starts with Okafor’s defense inside, where Vanderbilt won’t be spending much time. These teams played each of the last two seasons, and Connecticut won both.

No. 5 Syracuse vs. No. 8 Alabama

Wins: Syracuse beat No. 12 Brigham Young 80-75 and No. 4 Maryland 72-70; Alabama beat No. 9 Southern Illinois 65-64 and No. 1 Stanford 70-67.

Stars: Gerry McNamara had a tournament-best 43 points, including nine threes, for Syracuse in the opener against BYU, then scored 13 on 2-for-11 shooting against Maryland. Hakim Warrick averaged a more consistent 23 points for the Orangemen. Ernest Shelton had 18 points in the opener for the Crimson Tide, while Kennedy Winston had 21 in the upset of Stanford when Alabama went 34-for-44 from the free-throw line.

Key matchups: Alabama has to find a way to stop either McNamara or Warrick and take advantage of Syracuse’s lack of depth. The Crimson Tide has to get Winston and fellow forward Chuck Davis going inside, where Syracuse’s 2-3 zone is vulnerable, and get the Orangemen to play more man-to-man defense. Both teams want to run; whichever is more effective in the half-court game will have the advantage.

Friday’s Games

Atlanta Regional

No. 3 Texas vs. No. 7 Xavier

Wins: Texas beat No. 14 Princeton 66-49 and No. 6 North Carolina 78-75; Xavier beat No. 10 Louisville 80-70 and No. 2 Mississippi State 89-74.

Stars: Brandon Mouton had 23 in the opener for Texas, which went 11-for-15 from three-point range. Royal Ivey led the Longhorns with 17 points against North Carolina; 11 players scored for Texas. Lionel Chalmers had 26 in Xavier’s opener and followed that with a career-high 31 against Mississippi State, when the Musketeers went 13-for-19 from beyond the arc.

Key matchups: Both teams want to play behind the three-point line, but Texas has the advantage up front with four players 6-foot-8 or taller in a deep rotation. Xavier made up double-digit deficits in both of its victories, and the Musketeers have won 15 of their last 16 games — including handing Saint Joseph’s its only loss of the season. Ivey is a top defender, and he will have to slow down Chalmers, while Xavier’s Anthony Myles will have his hands full up front and can use some help from 6-9 freshman Justin Doellman.

No. 1 Duke vs. No. 5 Illinois

Wins: Duke beat No. 16 Alabama State 96-61 and No. 8 Seton Hall 90-62; Illinois beat No. 12 Murray State 72-53 and No. 4 Cincinnati 92-68.

Stars: Shavlik Randolph scored 20 points in the blowout opener for Duke, while J.J. Redick appeared to shake his recent scoring slump with 21 points against Seton Hall. Dee Brown had 21 in Illinois’ opener, and backcourtmate Deron Williams took over against Cincinnati with a career-high 31 on 10-for-13 shooting, including making his first seven field goals of the game.

Key matchup: Illinois’ guards are its key, and Duke’s best perimeter defender is senior Chris Duhon, who has been limited after injuring his ribs in the ACC championship game. Duke still has good defenders in Daniel Ewing and Sean Dockery, but Duhon is the leader. Shelden Williams has become a force inside for the Blue Devils, and he should be able to dominate inside against Illinois. The Fighting Illini come in off a season-high 63.6-percent shooting effort against Cincinnati, a number guaranteed to be lower against Duke’s defense.

St. Louis Regional

No. 4 Kansas vs. No. 9 UAB

Wins: Kansas beat No. 13 Illinois-Chicago 78-53 and No. 12 Pacific 78-63; Alabama-Birmingham beat No. 8 Washington 102-100 and No. 1 Kentucky 76-75.

Stars: Wayne Simien, hampered in both games after aggravating a groin injury, had 13 points and nine rebounds in the opener and 18 points and 12 rebounds against Pacific. UAB’s Demario Eddins scored 26 points in the opener; Mo Finley had 17, including the game-winning jumper with 12 seconds left, in the stunning win over Kentucky.

Key matchup: Kansas had the easiest opening games in the tournament according to the seedings as it tries for a third straight Final Four and first under new coach Bill Self. The Blazers have to fight off a letdown after the biggest win in school history. Simien is a load inside, and UAB’s “40 minutes of hell” defense shouldn’t affect Kansas guards Aaron Miles and Keith Langford the way it did Kentucky. Both teams are deep, and this could be more of a track meet than a basketball game.

No. 3 Georgia Tech vs. No. 10 Nevada

Wins: Georgia Tech beat No. 14 Northern Iowa 65-60 and No. 6 Boston College 57-54; Nevada beat No. 7 Michigan State 72-66 and No. 2 Gonzaga 91-72.

Stars: B.J. Elder averaged 15 points in the two games to lead Georgia Tech’s balanced offense. Kirk Snyder averaged 18.5 points, and Todd Okeson averaged 16.5 for the Wolf Pack, who rallied to win the first game and played ahead in the second.

Key matchup: Georgia Tech’s offense revolves around guards Elder, Jarrett Jack and Marvin Lewis, and they haven’t exactly been spectacular during the NCAA Tournament’s first two rounds. The Yellow Jackets’ defense has been very good, especially up front. Nevada beat two teams with big, physical front lines, and the backcourt of Snyder and Todd Okeson has led the offense. Georgia Tech will have to score a lot more against the Wolf Pack or it could become victim No. 3.