SOUTH REGIONAL: TODAY’S GAME AT ATLANTA

SEMIFINALS

1 Michigan State: 77

9 Gonzaga: 62

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11 Temple: 84

7 Penn State: 72

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FINAL

11:30 a.m.

1 Michigan St. (27-4)

11 Temple (24-12)

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* STYLE OF PLAY: Think Temple, think matchup zone defense and a low turnover average. Think Michigan State, think rebounding and depth. The No. 1-seeded Spartans are favored over 11th-seeded Temple, but the Owls’ zone has given the Spartans trouble before. Temple defeated Michigan State in 1998, 60-59, and by a score of 56-54 in 1997. A score in the 70s or higher wouldn’t bode as well for Temple: Michigan State is 20-0 when scoring at least 70 points.

* MATCHUP TO WATCH: Temple center Kevin Lyde versus the Spartan big men. The Owls’ only starter over 6 feet 6, the bull-like Lyde will need to hold his own on the boards and stay out of foul trouble. Even so, Michigan State’s depth and nation-leading rebounding probably will wear Temple down.

* INTANGIBLES: Teams always have had trouble contending with Temple’s zone. What makes this Owl team more dangerous is it actually has some shooters. Lynn Greer and Quincy Wadley make Temple an upset threat. So does the emotion at stake for a team that lost seven games in a row but now has a chance to finally carry Coach John Chaney into the Final Four at 69.

* MAGIC NUMBERS: Nine. That’s how many players deep Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo can go with confidence. Chaney has only that many on his team, and seven usually play. Temple’s five starters all play more than 30 minutes a game, and only one Spartan does. That all spells exhaustion slowly overtaking the Owls, much as it did Gonzaga in its semifinal loss to Michigan State.

* FINAL ANALYSIS: Unless Michigan State can’t go inside against the Temple zone and falls prey to relying on its 33% three-point shooting, the Spartans probably advance to the Final Four for a third consecutive time by outrebounding and wearing down the Owls. The wild card is the shooting of Temple’s Greer and Wadley. If they break free of the defense and their shots fall, so might the defending national champions.

STATISTICS

TEAM COMPARISON

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MICH ST. TEMP. Points Per Game 78.2 70.6 Opp. Points Per Game 61.2 63.8 Margin 17.0 6.8 Field-Goal Pct. .492 .429 Opp. Field-Goal Pct. .389 .398 3-Point Shooting .330 .350 Opp. 3-Point Shooting .331 .352 3-Point Baskets Per Game 4.5 7.7 Opp. 3-Point Baskets Per Game 6.2 9.2 Free Throw Pct. .725 .698 Rebound Margin 15.7 0.6 Turnover Differential -0.1 4.2 Steals Per Game 6.6 7.4 Blocked Shots Per Game 4.1 3.8

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INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

MICHIGAN STATE

* Scoring: Jason Richardson 15.1; Charlie Bell 13.8; Andre Hutson 13.7; Zach Randolph 10.8.

* Rebounding: Hutson 7.5; Randolph 6.5.

* Assists: Bell 5.3.

* Field-Goal %: Hutson 62.5%; Randolph 58.6%.

* Free Throw %: Marcus Taylor 92.9%; Bell 76.9%;

* Three-point baskets: Bell 50; Richardson 47.

TEMPLE

* Scoring: Lynn Greer 18.1; Quincy Wadley 15.4; Kevin Lyde 12.6; David Hawkins 10.6; Alex Wesby 10.1.

* Rebounding: Lyde 8.9; Wesby 5.4.

* Assists: Greer 6.2.

* Field-Goal %: Lyde 50.8%, Wadley 42.1%.

* Free-Throw %: Greer 86.8%; Wadley 73.8%.

* Three-point baskets: Wadley 86; Greer 79; Wesby 72.