MIDWEST REGIONA

No. 1 Minnesota (29-3) vs. No. 4 Clemson (22-9)--Clemson lost, 75-65, to Minnesota on Dec. 1 in the title game of the San Juan (Puerto Rico) Shootout, and came out believing it had been far too passive against the Golden Gophers’ full-court, physical style. Neither team depends on one particular superstar--Clemson spreads its shots among forward Greg Buckner and guards Terrell McIntyre and Merl Code; Minnesota has nobody averaging more than guard Bobby Jackson’s 14.3 points.

No. 2 UCLA (23-7) vs. No. 6 Iowa State (22-8)--Six-foot Cyclone point guard Jacy Holloway could be the key to this game, if you can get past his frail physique. “Though you wouldn’t know it by looking at him, he sets the tempo offensively and he can set the tempo defensively,” Iowa State Coach Tim Floyd said. If UCLA point guard Cameron Dollar can force Holloway away from where he wants to go, bad things can happen to the Iowa State offense, which scored 48 points against Kansas in the Big 12 tournament and 45 at Colorado. Forcing the ball out of Holloway’s hands turns much of the playmaking over to broad-shouldered forward Kenny Pratt, who played that role successfully against Cincinnati in the Cyclones’ second-round upset.