Jeff Graves and the Jayhawks have outscored the competition by 25 (UIC) and 15 (Pacific) in the first two rounds. AP

UAB's Plan
The Blazers are the true Cinderella of this tournament. You don't knock off the No. 1 seed overall, Kentucky, by accident. UAB is for real -- a legit squad. Mo Finley, Demario Eddins and Gabe Kennedy are all for real. They pride themselves on playing the old Arkansas way, "40 minutes of Hell," and it's been working thus far.

Still I don't Mike Anderson's team is great on the defensive end. If you're Kansas, and you don't take advantage of that, you just make UAB more dangerous. I don't think anyone the Blazers have played yet has been patient enough to exploit their defensive deficiencies.

I don't think UAB will change its game plan at all from the way it attacked Washington and Kentucky. Run the fastbreak, push the ball, kick it out, shoot it -- that's how they got to the Sweet 16.

Kansas' Plan
Kansas is a team a lot of people haven't been talking a lot about as a contender, but this is a very talented bunch. The fact that they have a new coach in Bill Self and a new system hasn't prevented them from being Kansas.

What I've seen the Jayhawks doing lately is becoming a much more halfcourt-oriented team, not just an up-and-down team -- which is what I thought they were earlier in the season. If they want to win this game, they have to go inside and show the Blazers an ability to be patient in the halfcourt. KU is a good shooting team and an excellent rebounding team, but they have had a lot of guys who have been banged up over the course of the season. I think the injuries may have helped them in the long run -- they slowed down to the point where they have become a better team.

Key Matchup
UAB defending on the interior against KU's Wayne Simien. Kennedy and Eddins may draw this assignment, but look for the Blazers to play some zone as well -- probably a 2-3 -- to stay out of foul trouble againt Simien and Jeff Graves.

The Pick
As much as I've enjoyed watching UAB, I'm taking Kansas. Now, all of a sudden, UAB is no longer the sleeper, the little kid hiding behind the bushes. They're out there now, and the pressure has started to mount on them a little bit -- some people actually think they're supposed to win this game, and that wasn't the case in the first and second rounds.

Texas' Brandon Mouton is averaging 17.5 points in the tournament. AP

Xavier's Plan
Coming into the tournament, you would have thought that winning four games in four days in the A-10 tournament would have taken everything out of Xavier. But Thad Matta's team is playing on such a high right now, with a lot of emotion, and is clicking on all cylinders. The Musketeers are not considered a threat to win it all, so they'll have the ability to come to Atlanta and play a loosey-goosey brand of basketball -- shoot plenty of 3s and play with reckless abandon.

Chalmers has become Xavier's go to guy of late. The beautiful thing about that is both he and Sato, who was the focal point at the start of the season, can drive the car. If Chalmers is off of his game, Sato can pick it up. The Musketeers are proving again, when you have great backcourts, you can go far in the tournament. They have two guys who can score in bunches.

Defensively, Matta needs to go back and look at the Duke-Texas tape. The Musketeers should pressure and deny everything on the perimeter, and take their chances inside. I don't think Texas has a great inside game, so Xavier should make it difficult for the 'Horns to pass on the perimeter.

Texas' Plan
Once again, I think Texas is proving that there's nothing that beats experience. After the season they had in 2002-03, this season exceeds anything they had even hoped for. With the Longhorns losing Ford, no one expected them to be in this position. Back in December, when they were blown out by Duke, most people thought Texas was doomed.

But down the stretch, we've seen a lot of toughness out of the Longhorns and great leadership by Rick Barnes. They now have a shot at going to San Antonio and playing in their own backyard. Texas showed tremendous versatility in winning two very different games in the first two rounds -- they beat a methodical Princeton team relatively easily, and then went out and handled an extremely talented UNC team two days later.

On defense, their main concern will be defending the 3, after Xavier hit 13 of 19 against Mississippi State. But perimeter defense is one of the Longhorns' strong points -- they have good size and athletic ability to get out and contest 3-point shots. Guys like Brandon Mouton, Royal Ivey and P.J. Tucker are all big enough to get in the face of Lionel Chalmers and Romain Sato.

Key Matchup
How well Ivey and Mouton do vs. Chalmers and Sato will decide the game. Can Xavier stay as hot as it was in the second round against Mississippi State?

The Pick
Texas. The Longhorns can get up and down the court, but they've become an efficient halfcourt team -- I like their ability to play more than one way. Look for Brian Boddicker to be an x-factor. Any time you have a big man who can move away from the basket and hit 3s, it poses a difficult matchup.

Jarret Jack and the Yellow Jackets will face the highest seed left in the tournament in No. 10 Nevada. AP

Nevada's Plan
Trent Johnson's team is very balanced, and, like Xavier, is going to be able to come in and play under the radar. Nevada not only beat a good Gonzaga team, but crushed them. If Georgia Tech is thinking it has the road to the Final Four wide open, it's going to be sadly mistaken.

The Wolf Pack don't seem to get flustered easily. Their guards are tough-minded and can really shoot the 3. If Todd Okeson and Kirk Snyder are scoring, it's going to be a fun game. Plus, Nevada has a defensive stopper in Garry Hill-Thomas, who shut down Blake Stepp and will likely be assigned to Jack.

Nevada is a solid man-to-man team, but against Tech, you have to mix up your defenses. You want to play man to box out your assigned guys, but you can throw the Yellow Jackets out of their rhythm, and make them think a little more in the halfcourt, by playing some zone. Johnson should make it a goal for his Wolf Pack to win the turnover battle. One of Tech's biggest weaknesses is that they turn the ball over a lot; Nevada should aim to have half the turnovers Tech does.

Georgia Tech's Plan
Many people have picked Paul Hewitt's team to go to the Final Four, and if there ever, ever were a year for them to do that, this is it, with all of the upsets. I don't think the Yellow Jackets could've beaten Kentucky, now, there's a great chance Tech will move on.

Jarrett Jack has been fantastic thus far in the tournament, and they've played great all-around basketball. Offensively, their focus is on the perimeter and the transition game. The Yellow Jackets will score a lot in transition, but they're not a good halfcourt team -- if Craig Smith doesn't get in foul trouble, I think B.C. would've knocked Tech out. So Tech needs to improve its halfcourt game.

The Yellow Jackets are going to play man against Nevada, and try to create turnovers and get up and down the court. Hewitt will likely avoid playing much zone, because the Wolf Pack will throw over the top of it and hit 3s.

Key Matchup
If the Wolf Pack can contain Jack, then they have a chance of winning the game. I would put Hill-Thomas on Jack, or switch him to B.J. Elder if he gets hot.

The Pick
Nevada in an upset. Its combination of 3-point shooting and solid, confident basketball is going to make the difference. If the Wolf Pack get down, they'll keep playing the way they have for the whole tournament, not get into Tech's frenetic game.

Chris Duhon has struggled offensively, scoring just nine points in Duke's two tournament wins. AP

Illinois' Plan
I've been very impressed with the Illini's all-around game. They didn't impress me in the Big Ten tournament, but now, it's looking like that was a fluke. Dee Brown is playing very, very well for Bruce Weber, and Brown is probably the key to the game. He'll be handling the ball a lot, is super-quick and can penetrate and make a lot of things happen. Plus, he has an excellent backcourt mate in Deron Williams, and the team as a whole shoots well from long range and the free-throw line.

I think Illinois will try to pressure Duke on defense. A lot of teams fall back on the Blue Devils because they're so afraid of being beaten by Duke's guards. It's a mistake plently of teams make -- they give Duke too much respect. You don't want to play full-court zone against the Blue Devils, because they're too good at throwing over the top, but a full-court man-to-man will work. And contrary to what most people believe, you can mix in some halfcourt zone, as long as you know where J.J. Redick is at all times.

Duke's Plan
Coach K will devise a game plan and stick with it -- you'll know right away whether or not they have a commitment to going inside and trying to beat you that way. I think that'll be their strategy, that Shelden Williams is going to see the ball a lot early on and force Illinois to cover him. On offense, the Blue Devils will put four guys on the perimeter, and Williams in the lane.

With that attack, one of the keys for Duke will be what they get off of the bench from Shavlik Randolph. If he's on his game, Illinois has its hands full, because Williams is going to be a load every night.

Chris Duhon has probably been the most valuable player in the ACC and he's playing with seriously bruised ribs, but he's tough as nails. He seems to grimace and keep on moving. Daniel Ewing has been a great complement in the backcourt, and Sean Dockery will play an important role, coming in as a defensive specialist to help cover Brown and Deron Williams.

Key Matchup
Illinois' big men vs. Shelden Williams: If the Illini can get him out of the game with foul trouble, then their chances of winning are greatly increased. James Augustine is the guy most equipped to handle Williams; Nick Smith is too skinny.

The Pick
Duke. The Blue Devils have the best all-around team. If Duhon can basically tough it out, which I know he will, then Duke is the better team.