AT MADISON, WIS.

Oregon vs. Texas: This game offers the country a chance to meet two great young point guards who couldn’t be more different. Texas freshman T.J. Ford, who came from Houston, was considered by Longhorn Coach Rick Barnes his biggest recruit in four years because everyone wanted Ford but for a change the Texas kid stayed home. He is 5 feet 10, a true point guard, Barnes said, with extreme quickness and unquestionable presence on the court. Ford has starred in big games. He had 16 points and 11 assists against Kansas this year, 18 points and 12 assists against Missouri and he already has set the Texas season mark for assists with 268. Oregon’s Luke Ridnour, a 6-2 sophomore, already has been compared to John Stockton and says his idol is Pete Maravich. Ridnour is more of a scoring threat than Ford, and sets a faster tempo for his team. Ford is excellent running the Longhorns’ half-court offense. Oregon is making its first NCAA regional semifinal appearance in 42 years. Oregon’s most spectacular player, senior guard Frederick Jones, has the ability to change a game as he did with his 24 points against Wake Forest last weekend. His monster dunk off a rebound tied the score at 78-78 and seemed to energize both his team and the crowd.

Kansas vs. Illinois: This is the revenge game of the tournament. Kansas is supposed to be on the mission after getting demolished by Illinois, 80-64, in last year’s Sweet 16. It was an ugly affair with bad shooting and a lot of fouls. The Jayhawks, the No. 4 seed, were physically dominated (outrebounded, 45-33) by top-seeded Illinois, and the loss left a nasty taste. Now Kansas, as the top seed and coming off an undefeated Big 12 regular season, is the favorite and Illinois the No. 4 seed. Illini Coach Bill Self said he thinks the Jayhawks are the more physical, more aggressive team this year as well as being the quicker team. The Jayhawks use a three-guard lineup with Kirk Hinrich, Jeff Boschee and Aaron Miles and the plan is to make the game up-tempo. Self said that “we’d much prefer a half-court game.” The Illini are led by enigmatic guard Frank Williams. Brian Cook, a 6-10 junior forward, will have a key job in trying to handle Kansas’ All-American forward Drew Gooden, who is a candidate for player of the year and averages 20.2 points and 11.2 rebounds.