MIDWEST REGIONAL

UCLA (22-7) vs. XAVIER (23-5), Approximately 4 p.m., Auburn Hills, Mich.

* About UCLA: Although Bruin Coach Steve Lavin made a point to publicly say how eager the team was to play a tough zone defense in the tournament, UCLA loves this matchup against the man-to-man, pressure Musketeers. Yes, the Bruins turned the ball over 28 times at Tucson against Arizona’s press, but UCLA also won that game, and, with its wing players--and big men--filling the lane, has the best answer for any press. UCLA is 13-2 when it scores 80 or more points, the two losses coming against Kansas and Louisville.

* About Xavier: The Musketeers attack with their guards leading the full-court press, forcing opponents into an average of more than 20 turnovers a game. They also have been known to kick it around a little themselves on offense. But don’t think Xavier, even though its tallest regular is 6-foot-8 Torraye Braggs, doesn’t hit the boards. The Musketeers outrebounded their opponents by more than seven a game, led by talented sixth man James Posey, who had 11 against Danny Fortson (who had nine) and Cincinnati in Xavier’s big November upset, leading the Musketeers to a 33-31 rebounding edge. “I’d watch out for Xavier if I was UCLA,” Fortson said Friday. “Xavier is very good.” The Musketeers were 13-3 in the Atlantic 10 West Division, losing at St. Joseph’s and Dayton and at home to Duquesne. They also lost in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament to Temple, 69-62.

* Keys to the game: Beyond the obvious point of not letting Musketeer guards Gary Lumpkin and Lenny Brown dominate the action, if Jelani McCoy, J.R. Henderson and Charles O’Bannon keep the Musketeers off the offensive boards, Xavier is going to have a hard time handling the UCLA stampede down the floor. McCoy had one of his best games as a Bruin against Charleston Southern, and when he attacks the basket with confidence he forces defenders away from Henderson, Bailey and O’Bannon.

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ROSTER/STATISTICS: UCLA

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No. Player Pts. FG% FT% Reb. Ast. 13 O’Bannon 17.3 .536 .793 7.2 2.6 12 Bailey 14.0 .466 .650 5.4 4.7 52 Henderson 13.9 .550 .593 6.6 1.6 34 McCoy 11.1 .768 .417 6.7 1.7 54 Johnson 10.6 .444 .841 3.0 1.1 5 Dollar 7.7 .434 .740 2.8 4.3 20 Loyd 2.6 .344 .500 0.5 0.3 24 Myers 1.4 .667 .500 1.8 0.2 30 Farnham 1.1 .600 .333 1.1 0.0 23 McGautha 0.9 .375 .000 0.6 0.3 50 Parker 0.7 1.000 .750 0.6 0.0 3 Sylvester 0.6 .000 1.000 0.2 0.3 21 Harbour 0.3 .000 .500 0.2 0.2

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ROSTER/STATISTICS: XAVIER

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No. Player Pts. FG% FT% Reb. Ast. 4 Brown 15.6 .432 .692 3.9 3.6 12 Lumpkin 15.1 .464 .823 3.0 4.4 50 Braggs 13.9 .556 .714 7.3 2.6 41 Posey 13.3 .549 .781 7.9 1.4 32 Williams 10.6 .511 .722 4.0 1.7 21 Johnson 7.8 .581 .645 5.2 1.7 15 Anderson 2.5 .388 .683 0.9 2.4 24 Harvey 1.8 .444 .750 0.3 0.5 14 Turner 1.8 .333 .692 1.3 0.0 33 Payne 1.2 .316 .818 1.3 0.2 25 Murray 1.2 .200 .833 0.7 0.0 3 Kelsey 0.4 .143 .167 0.5 1.0 35 Kromer 0.3 .333 .000 0.3 0.1

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STATISTICAL COMPARISON

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UCLA Xavier Field-goal percentage .522 .491 Three-point percentage .336 .346 Free-throw percentage .665 .722 Rebounds 37.1 38.1 Assists 15.8 18.7 Points for 78.9 83.2 Points against 73.2 71.5

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UCLA: THE STARTERS

No. 5: Cameron Dollar

No. 12: Toby Bailey

No. 52: J.R. Henderson

No. 34: Jelani McCoy

No. 13: Charles O’ Bannon

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XAVIER: THE STARTERS

No. 4: Lenny Brown

No. 32: Darnell Williams

No. 12: Gary Lumpin

No. 21: T.J. Johnson

No. 50: Torraye Braggs