MIDWEST REGIONAL

* No. 3 Cincinnati (25-7) vs. No. 14 Butler (23-9)--The Bearcats can overwhelm you with their intensity. But the Midwestern Collegiate Conference champion Bulldogs might have the defensive tenacity and the player (6-6 scorer Jon Neuhouser, the league’s player of the year) to stay with Cincinnati, which remains unsettled at point guard. Off-and-on starter Charles Williams was suspended for the final four games of the season--and Coach Bob Huggins on Wednesday said there was “no update” on Williams’ status. That means Damon Flint and Darnell Burton, both more comfortable as straight scorers, have to share ballhandling duties.

* No. 6 Iowa State (20-8) vs. No. 11 Illinois State (24-5)--Can the high-powered Cyclones come back from their 72-48 humiliation at the hands of Kansas in the Big 12 tournament? Iowa State was a top 10 team for a few weeks this season, but, even though Coach Tim Floyd is a defensive master and guard Dedric Willoughby can light it up, if there are continued trouble spots, Illinois State Coach Kevin Stallings, one of the rising coaches, will find them.

* No. 7 Xavier (22-5) vs. No. 10 Vanderbilt--Xavier, the sixth-highest scoring team in the nation, lost to slow-it-down Temple in its conference tournament, and could suffer in the tournament without any seniors. But the Musketeers have one of the most explosive guard duos in the nation--Gary Lumpkin and Lenny Brown, both sophomores. Vanderbilt likes to keep it in the 60s, then let guard Drew Maddux try to win it.

* No. 2 UCLA (21-7) vs. No. 15 Charleston Southern (17-12)--The Buccaneers upset their way through the Big South tournament, but Charles O’Bannon, J.R. Henderson, Toby Bailey and the rest of the Bruins are a long way from Liberty. Unless Charleston Southern chokes off UCLA’s transition game completely (as Princeton did last year), or gets some wild three-point action out of Brett Larrick or even center Mark Roper, this one could be over fast.