Syracuse Regional

No. 6 Wisconsin vs. No. 10 N.C. State

TIME: 6:27 p.m.

RECORDS: Wisconsin 24-8, N.C. State 21-13.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Wisconsin def. No. 11 Northern Iowa 57-52, d No. 14 Bucknell 71-62; N.C. State def. No. 7 Charlotte 75-63, def. No. 2 UConn 65-62.

TOURNEY TIDBIT: N.C. State is the first team to get to the Sweet 16 with as many as 13 losses since North Carolina and Wisconsin in 2000. Both those teams made it to the Final Four.

THE BUZZ: Neither team will wow you with their athleticism. But each is well-coached, tough defensively and structured on offense. Senior swingman Julius Hodge is NCSU’s key guy; he’s one of the most complete all-around players in the nation (17.1 ppg, 50.3 percent from the floor, 6.7 rpg, 4.8 apg). Hodge is the only Wolfpack player averaging in double figures, and if he struggles to score, the Wolfpack will lose. N.C. State has problems on the boards. Wisconsin’s key player is F Mike Wilkinson; he’s the Badgers’ second-leading scorer and leading rebounder. The Badgers are better from three-point range, better on the boards and better on defense than N.C. State; the Wolfpack have more quickness and a better overall offense. This should be close, but it may not necessarily be an entertaining game.

No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 5 Villanova

TIME: 8:57 p.m.

RECORDS: North Carolina 29-4, Villanova 24-7

HOW THEY GOT HERE: UNC def. No. 16 Oakland 96-68, def. No. 9 Iowa State 92-65; Villanova def. No. 12 New Mexico 55-47, def. No. 4 Florida 76-65.

TOURNEY TIDBIT: UNC is in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2000; that ends the longest run of no Sweet 16s at the school since 1963-66.

THE BUZZ: UNC is loaded with top-notch players, and those guys help the Tar Heels average a nation’s-leading 89.1 ppg. Sean May and Marvin Williams can do a lot of things in the low post, G Rashad McCants has great range and PG Raymond Felton is an adept passer, a good shooter and able to get into the lane at will. But the Heels don’t always bear down on defense. Villanova is missing its best frontcourt player (F Curtis Sumpter has a torn ACL), but junior C Jason Fraser stepped in and had the best game of his career against Florida in the second round. He and Will Sheridan need to combine for at least 20 points if ‘Nova is to have a shot at the upset. The bulk of the points are going to come from the guard quartet of Randy Foye, Mike Nardi, Allan Ray and Kyle Lowry; it’s a nice mixture of quick and physical players. Those guys are going to get their points. The question: Can the Wildcats keep the Heels’ offense in check? That seems unlikely.

Austin Regional

No. 1 Duke vs. No. 5 Michigan State

TIME: 6:10 p.m.

RECORDS: Duke 27-5, Michigan State 24-6.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Duke def. No. 16 Delaware State 57-46, def. No. 9 Mississippi State 63-55; Michigan State def. No. 12 Old Dominion 89-81, def. No. 13 Vermont 72-61.

TOURNEY TIDBIT: This is Duke’s sixth trip to the Sweet 16 in the past eight seasons. The only other school that can make that claim? Michigan State.

THE BUZZ: This is the only Sweet 16 matchup in which both coaches have won an NCAA title. Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski has an excellent starting five, but his bench is shaky. G J.J. Redick is the leading scorer, but big man Shelden Williams will be Duke’s most important player tonight. He’s Duke’s only real threat in the low post, on both ends of the floor. Duke’s pressure defense should be able to force turnovers, but the Blue Devils must avoid turning it over themselves. How about this stat: Duke has more turnovers (432) than assists (413). Michigan State is physical and bludgeons people on the boards (plus-7.5 rebounding margin). The Spartans also are efficient on offense, though inconsistent from long range, and much deeper than Duke. A big game from F Paul Davis is important because he is the Spartans’ only legit threat in the paint. How freshman PG Drew Nietzel handles the pressure bears watching.

No. 2 Kentucky vs. No. 6 Utah

TIME: 8:40 p.m.

RECORDS: Kentucky 27-5, Utah 29-5.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Kentucky def. No. 15 Eastern Kentucky 72-64, def. No. 7 Cincinnati 69-60; Utah def. No. 11 UTEP 60-54, def. No. 3 Oklahoma 67-58.

TOURNEY TIDBIT: This is the fifth time in the past 10 seasons these teams have met in the NCAA tourney. UK is 4-0 so far.

THE BUZZ: Defense-minded Kentucky is going to struggle to score tonight, but so is Utah. UK lacks great individual talent, but the Wildcats are a cohesive group made up of guys who understand their roles and play defense with a passion. That said, the Wildcats still need to score and F Chuck Hayes and G Kelenna Azubuike are the guys who will be counted on to produce against the Utes. UK has a big-time depth advantage. Utah depends heavily on C Andrew Bogut, who may be the nation’s best player. He didn’t score much against Oklahoma in the second round, but he did everything else (defend, rebound, pass) superbly. And that was against a team that played a physical brand of defense. For the Utes to win, Gs Tim Drisdom and Marc Jackson need to avoid turnovers and hit three-pointers. If they’re not hitting from the outside, Bogut is going to be swarmed. Expect this game to be in the 60s, a pace both teams like.

— The Orlando Sentinel