What To Look For

* Miami vs. Tulsa: The similarity in styles between these quick, defense-minded teams makes sense. Tulsa Coach Bill Self was an assistant to Miami’s Leonard Hamilton at Oklahoma State for four seasons. Hamilton isn’t surprised to run into Self here. “This guy is destined for great things,” he said. With a lineup that amounts to four guards and 6-foot-10 center Brandon Kurtz, Tulsa pressures opponents into an average of 20.5 turnovers, and will be trying to force the tempo against Miami. “Coach Self has been telling us that speed will beat size any day of the week, and we have really bought into that philosophy,” said Eric Coley, a 6-5 forward who had 16 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, four steals and four blocked shots against Cincinnati in the second round. “I think it has worked, because we’re 31-4.” Miami’s front line is 6-6, 6-7 and 6-9, and forward Mario Bland has serious bulk at 6-6 and 265 pounds. But the key to Miami’s offense is guard Johnny Hemsley, who has averaged 20 points in five NCAA tournament games. Miami is more battle-hardened than Tulsa, which faced little competition in the Western Athletic Conference except from Fresno State. “I’ve seen their highlights,” Miami point guard Vernon Jennings said. “I saw how bad they were beating teams. They were winning games by 25 points in their conference. That doesn’t happen much in the Big East. I was saying, ‘What’s going on? Is their conference that bad, or are they that good?’ I saw them play in Puerto Rico with us, and I’m like, ‘Man, this must be a real good team.’ ” Tulsa remains motivated by a 41-point loss to Duke in the second round last season. “They had four or five NBA-type players,” guard Marcus Hill said. “We knew we could not be intimidated this year, because we saw as much talent as you could see at one time on a basketball floor.”

What To Look For

* Tennessee vs. North Carolina: The Volunteers are officially the favorite in Austin, and not only because they are the highest-seeded team remaining at No. 4. “I see a lot of orange Ts around here, and I know they’re not all for Tennessee,” Coach Jerry Green said before practicing in the University of Texas’ Frank Erwin Center. And Green still has a little trouble seeing No. 8 North Carolina as an underdog. “Well, they’ve got five McDonald’s All-Americans starting for them,” he said. “Whether they’re Cinderella or not I don’t know.” Tennessee has a deserved reputation for being talented but erratic, and North Carolina Coach Bill Guthridge is concerned about the Volunteers’ quickness and three-point shooting ability. “They are the type of team that has bothered us this year,” he said. “Their athletic abilities and their quickness and just their overall basketball abilities are really scary.” The Volunteers’ shooting has been a different sort of scary the first two rounds--39% overall, 28% from three-point range. When North Carolina isn’t in a zone, Guthridge plans to put freshman Joseph Forte on super-quick Tennessee guard Tony Harris. Another important matchup is with small forwards Jason Capel and Vincent Yarbrough, a player the Tar Heels tried to recruit. Tennessee is concerned about 7-foot North Carolina center Brendan Haywood. C.J. Black, who is 6-8, will draw the assignment, but he will get help. “I have gone up against a lot of 7-footers in the SEC, but guarding him will be a tough task,” Black said. “Offensively, I can play inside and out. He will have to respect me fully. If he doesn’t respect my jumper, I will have a career night.” There are huge X-factors off the bench for both teams. Tennessee has Ron Slay, a 6-8, 225-pound freshman, whose big second half helped the Volunteers avoid being upset by Louisiana Lafayette in the first round. North Carolina has Julius Peppers, a 6-7, 270-pound freshman who started at defensive end for the Tar Heel football team and played a large part in the upset of Stanford.