AT SYRACUSE, N.Y.

Maryland vs. Kentucky: Top-seeded Maryland was supposed to be here, but there were huge doubts about Kentucky, which limped into the tournament in various states of dysfunction. Issues? The Wildcats began the tournament having lost four of their previous nine games. During the course of the season, two players were suspended for using fake IDs at a bar, there was a fight on the team plane, the athletic director resigned, a top player transferred and the shooting guard couldn’t shoot. Maryland has the momentum and the guns, but Kentucky has seven national titles. “When you play Kentucky, their name is still magical,” Maryland Coach Gary Williams said. “But I think our name is pretty good now. You have to get over what is on the jersey and put your game out there. We’ve reached a pretty good point of earning the respect that other schools do.” Maryland needs to transfer respect into something tangible, say a national title banner. This might be the Terrapins’ last, best shot after blowing a 22-point lead to Duke in last year’s national semifinals. Look for this game to go up and down at frenetic speeds, with both schools trying to show off their impressive blue-chip talent. Maryland has more inside-out ability than Kentucky, able to pound the ball in to Lonny Baxter and Chris Wilcox and then kick out to two great guards in Steve Blake and Juan Dixon. It’ll be interesting to see who matches up on Kentucky’s hottest player, 6-foot-9 Tayshaun Prince, who scored 41 against Tulsa.

Connecticut vs. Southern Illinois: Surprise, surprise. Connecticut sort of went unnoticed this year in terms of national title talk, yet Jim Calhoun’s Huskies are one of the tournament’s hottest teams. Connecticut is young, with only one senior, but the Huskies play great defense and have a superstar in sophomore Caron Butler: Check out his two-game NCAA tournament line: 56 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists. It would be a mistake, though, for Connecticut to overlook No. 11 Southern Illinois, an at-large selection from the Missouri Valley Conference. The Salukis already have knocked out two national-title coaches, Bob Knight and Jim Harrick, and are looking to make it three in a row with a victory over Calhoun. The Salukis play in-your-jersey defense and have two inside players, forward Jermaine Dearman and center Rolan Roberts, who won’t back down. Dearman followed his 17-point, 11-rebound effort against Texas Tech with 25 against Georgia. Roberts, a transfer from Virginia Tech, is an accomplished shot-blocker.