NCAA tournament regional previews: Friday’s games

Midwest Regional

Baylor (27-7) vs. St. Mary’s (28-5): Center Omar Samhan has dominated in St. Mary’s two tournament victories, but he’ll be facing a Baylor lineup that can include 7-foot Josh Lomers, 6-10 Ekpe Udoh and 6-10 Anthony Jones. St. Mary’s has also received strong guard play from Mickey McConnell and Matt Dellavedova. Baylor’s backcourt of Tweety Carter and LaceDarius Dunn is a good one, too, though the Bears have nearly as many turnovers as assists.

Duke (31-5) vs. Purdue (29-5): Duke, a tournament regular, needs a win to advance as far as a regional final for the first time since 2004. The Blue Devils have been playing great defense, giving up just 97 points in comfortable wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff and California. Purdue needs to play aggressive defense against Duke’s backcourt and hope for a big scoring game from JaJuan Johnson.

South Regional

Ohio State (29-7) vs. Tennessee (27-8): Expect Bruce Pearl to throw every kind of defense he knows — and maybe a few he’s just trying out — at Ohio State’s Evan Turner, who has been up to every challenge. If this one is decided by long-range shooting, expect Ohio State to win. The Buckeyes shoot 39% from three-point range compared with Tennessee’s 31.8%.

Michigan State (26-8) vs. Northern Iowa (30-4): Each of these teams has won its two tournament games by a total of five points. Good Big Ten teams are traditionally physical, but Northern Iowa is taller and plays just as tough. Michigan State also won’t have star point guard Kalin Lucas, making it less difficult for Northern Iowa to control the pace. Northern Iowa will need a big game from point guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe, who has more turnovers than assists this season.