Gonzaga dominated UCLA when the teams met 3 1/2 months ago, but there is much more at stake Friday when the West Coast powerhouses meet in Houston in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs led by double digits for most of the second half and finished at 58.5 percent shooting (9-of-19 from the arc) en route to an 87-74 road win on Dec. 13. "They've been there, done that," Bruins coach Steve Alford said that night. "We've got a lot of guys going through it for the first time."

The Sweet 16 has a distinct ACC flavor to it this season, so perhaps it is fitting that Louisville and North Carolina State will meet in Syracuse, N.Y. on Friday for the right to advance to the Elite Eight. Six ACC schools were invited to the NCAA Tournament and went a combined 11-1 during the first weekend, with only Virginia falling short. The fourth-seeded Cardinals advanced to the regional semifinals for a program-record fourth straight time with Sunday’s 66-53 win over Northern Iowa.

Duke and Utah each rely heavily on a standout freshman in the post and a senior star in the backcourt - two matchups that will take center stage Friday in Houston when the teams meet in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. The top-seeded Blue Devils boast arguably the nation's top player in center Jahlil Okafor, who is the first freshman in school history to surpass 20 points in each of his first two NCAA Tournament games.

As a No. 7 seed, Michigan State wasn't expected to do much damage in the NCAA Tournament but has emerged as the team to beat in the East Regional. The Spartans meet third-seeded Oklahoma in the East semifinals on Friday in Syracuse, N.Y., and coach Tom Izzo couldn't be more pleased with at least two aspects of his team's game. "Our defensive effort in the NCAA Tournament has been unbelievable,'' Izzo told reporters. "The other thing that's been unbelievable is our turnovers."