ESPN Men's Basketball

Editor's note: It's the offseason edition of The Watercooler. Eamonn Brennan and Myron Medcalf talk NBA draft decisions, the preseason's No. 1 team, UCLA's upside and more.

Myron Medcalf: What's up, Eamonn? Feels like we left New Orleans months ago. Not sure how I'm going to handle the upcoming months without games. Withdrawal is setting in. But, it's already time to look forward to next season. How about Indiana? Three Big Ten wins two seasons ago. The Hoosiers will enter next season as a top-three team for sure. Cody Zeller is coming back. Wow, huh?

Eamonn Brennan: My buddy's little brother attends Indiana, and his mom brought back a shirt they're selling on campus that simply says "We're Back." Needless to say, IU fans would be loving this renaissance if they merely had a top-20 team. To go from where they were two and three years ago -- I mean, they were 12-20 in 2010-11; that literally just happened! -- to No. 1 in our very early preseason poll … well, it's remarkable, when you think about it. Such a dramatic turnaround.

MM: Very remarkable. And Zeller is back. I know I mentioned that earlier. But he's a lottery pick if he leaves. I know the NBA draft entry deadline was Sunday, and many storylines were connected to it. But Zeller's decision to stay away from the draft is bigger than any of them in my opinion.

EB: My reaction to Zeller coming back trends far more toward the "meh" side of things. It's not because he's not a great player, an immediate POY candidate and hugely important to the Hoosiers' chances, because obviously he is all those things. But I never thought there was any real threat Zeller would leave for the draft. Even as he jumped up to potential top-10 pick status, the way he's openly enjoyed his first season on campus, the patience his brother displayed at UNC, and the fact that Tyler will be a pro -- there's no rush, in other words -- made it clear that Zeller would be back as a sophomore. Some IU fans are hoping he'll stay all four years. That might be asking too much, but he's back for his sophomore season, and he has an awfully talented team around him.

Let's talk draft. Any decisions that really surprised you?

MM: A few. Maalik Wayns … OK. He's a junior who carried the load for a bad Villanova squad. But he's a projected late second-rounder, and will possibly be undrafted. His teammate, Dominic Cheek, drank the Kool-Aid, too. The whole 'If I jumped off a bridge, would you do it?' is sometimes true. But the biggest surprise is Quincy Miller. He made the right decision to return a few weeks ago. Then he changed his mind. He should be a first-rounder. But with another year, he could be top 10. He's a great example of a young player who would gain a lot by coming back for his sophomore season.

Who surprised you?

EB: Yeah, I thought Miller made the right call initially, because (a) without Perry Jones III there, he would have been the featured scorer on a good Baylor team, (b) he could take on college competition (and not fully grown men) while beefing up that lanky frame in the weight room, and (c) this draft already has how many talented tweener forwards set to go in the first round? Twenty? Thirty?

But when you're projected as a first-round pick, particularly when you're closer to the lottery end of things than the fringe, it never feels like a particularly bad decision to go.

That's kind of the deal with Moe Harkless. I thought Harkless could probably use another year in school for a St. John's team that really had time to congeal, but he looks like he could go in the first round. So you can't fault him for leaving now.

I thought Khris Middleton was one of the real surprises. He could have been a first-rounder last year but stayed. Then he got hurt all season and A&M struggled in its first year under Billy Kennedy. Now Middleton is in the draft, but isn't a likely first-round choice anymore. It will be interesting to see how he tests out and what scouts think if he can get healthy in pre-draft camps, because he's an awfully polished and athletic forward when he's at full speed. He could be a steal. (Which probably means the Spurs will draft him in the second round. Figures.)

MM: True. The Spurs would nurse Middleton back to 100 percent, then use him to fuel some epic playoff run next season. You have to look at the powerhouses, too. Kentucky lost everyone. And yet, Calipari inks a top-two class again. And Anthony Bennett is still available. North Carolina is in a different boat. Still a very talented team, but a major shift from the veteran core the Tar Heels employed last season. On Kentucky … and I know this is a tough thing to assess right now … but should the Wildcats be preseason No. 1 with the talented freshmen who are headed to Lexington next season?

Also, what's the over/under on me adopting the Nerlens Noel box cut?

EB: Oh, you should totally do it. I would put the odds at just slightly more favorable than a UK national title.

I am torn on the Indiana-Kentucky preseason No. 1 thing, because it's easy to forget the talent Indiana has arriving in Yogi Ferrell (a true athletic point guard who is exactly what they need) and even Hanner Perea, who comes with ready-made NBA athleticism (another thing the Hoosiers really need) at the 4 spot.

But Kentucky is reloading, no question, and if there's one thing we know about John Calipari, it's that he's the best in the country at getting new, young teams to come together as actual teams very early in the process. But this is not the 2012 Wildcats. Nerlens Noel is going to be a beast, but he's not Anthony Davis. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, the heart and soul of that national title team, is nowhere to be found next season. I will be fascinated to see what this team looks like in November and December.

I have Louisville at No. 3 -- I think Chane Behanan is going to have a star-making breakout sophomore season.

My biggest preseason-ranking question revolves around the UCLA Bruins. Assuming Kyle Anderson's hand ligament injury is long since healed by the time the season starts, is that a top-five team?

MM: Oh man … I mean, I'm trying to erase memories of last season. That "talent." That preseason ranking … That collapse. But if we're going to give Kentucky No. 1 status (potential) based solely on the status of its recruiting class, I think you have to give UCLA the same consideration. Tony Parker helped the Bruins grab a No. 1 class ranking on ESPN.com. We know talented freshmen can win national titles.

So I say they're top 10. Can't go top five yet because the returning guys were so inconsistent. Since we're talking about teams that are hard to assess … Thoughts on Ohio State? Is that a top-five squad with Deshaun Thomas leading the way now?

EB: It's hard to know what to do with UCLA, because unlike Kentucky, we've yet to see Ben Howland take a star-studded recruiting class and turn it into a contender. In fact, last time he had a great class, things pretty much fell apart.

And yeah, I like Thomas as the star scorer. I think that's his perfect role. The question is whether he can be a leader on both ends of the floor, whether he'll devote himself to a total game, rather than being happy scoring a ton of points every night. Because he will shoot -- and score -- a lot.

The biggest question re: OSU is Amir Williams. I thought he was going to get a lot more run as a freshman, so Jared Sullinger could do his whole "hey, I'm a versatile, skinny power forward now, check out this 15-foot jumper!" routine in 2012. Instead, Sullinger gained all that weight back by the end of the season; he was basically playing the exact same position he played as a freshman, and Williams spent most of his time on the bench.

He has to take over in the middle right away, and Shannon Scott needs to have a big sophomore season as a combo 2-guard alongside Aaron Craft. If Craft and Scott can figure it out, I think that's OSU's most talented and dynamic lineup, and an awfully good one.

MM: The bottom line is that we have a lot to look forward to next season. Many question marks remain, but I like the intrigue. Plus, some talented players are back. C.J. Leslie could make NC State a top-10 team. Jeff Withey was the most dominant interior defender in the NCAA tourney. He's back. The Big Ten is stacked. The Pac-12 might matter again.

I know it's early, but I'm pumped about the 2012-13 campaign. Not sure how I'll last until November without it. Maybe I'll watch this LeBron guy in the NBA playoffs.

EB: My two-point is as follows:

1. Watch as much of the NBA playoffs as humanly possible (I love the NBA playoffs).
2. Watch the new Rihanna video as much as possible. No, RiRi, where have you been all my life?

MM: Rihanna and the NBA playoffs … the perfect elixir. Good times as always, Eamonn. Until next time … or the next big development.

EB: We'll talk that talk. Until then, Myron.

Until he misfired during a Final Four loss against Kansas (9 points), forward Deshaun Thomas had been the best player –-- arguably -- on the Buckeyes' roster throughout the NCAA tournament.

The left-hander’s versatility fueled Ohio State’s run to New Orleans with performances that raised his NBA stock.

But Thomas announced Friday that he’s decided to return to school for another year. And that call automatically keeps the Buckeyes in the national title hunt for the 2012-13 season, even with Jared Sullinger turning pro and William Buford graduating.

I think they’re a solid top-10 squad. Aaron Craft is back to harass opposing guards. And there’s potential among young players who didn't get a ton of minutes this season.

If former McDonald’s All-America center Amir Williams blossoms in the offseason and starts to fulfill his potential as a sophomore, the Buckeyes could make another strong run in the NCAA tournament.

But Thomas will be the focus of Thad Matta’s system. And I think his skill set will allow Ohio State to spread the floor and take full advantage of Thomas’ abilities, which we saw during the NCAA tourney.

While the Thomas announcement solidifies Ohio State’s position entering next season, the rest of the Big Ten is one giant question mark.

The league has the potential to send multiple teams to the Big Dance. But depending on who goes pro by the April 29 deadline (after April 10, any early entrant who applies for the NBA draft will lose his collegiate eligibility), it might not pack the same punch it did during the 2011-12 campaign.

Indiana and Michigan could join Ohio State in the preseason top 10, but that all depends on a few decisions that will be made in the coming weeks/days.

If Cody Zeller and Christian Watford return, the Hoosiers could compete for the national championship. Tom Crean is bringing in one of the best recruiting classes in the country. Zeller will be a Wooden Award candidate and preseason All-America center. If Watford builds on his Sweet 16 performance against Kentucky (27 points), he could be one of the best forwards in the conference.

Michigan needs Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. to return. Burke, however, is more vital to John Beilein’s plans. With highly rated prospects Mitch McGary and Glenn Robinson Jr. coming to Ann Arbor for the 2012-13 season, the Wolverines will add productive scorers who can contribute right away if Hardaway goes pro. But what will they do if they lose Burke? He might be the best point guard in the country if he comes back for his sophomore season. Without him, Michigan will still possess a talented, young roster. But the Wolverines could end up in Atlanta with Burke leading the way.

Minnesota also faces an uncertain future. The Gophers could be a borderline top-25 squad if preseason all-Big Ten forward Trevor Mbakwe returns. He missed most of last season after suffering a knee injury, but the NCAA recently granted the Big Ten’s No. 1 rebounder during the 2010-11 season a sixth year of eligibility. He’s expected to return -- assuming the Gophers have a scholarship for him. Tubby Smith has already reached the 13-scholarship limit, with two recruits joining the team next season. So Minnesota’s situation could get complicated, too.

Smith has asked the NCAA to allow the team to use a 14th scholarship next season. There’s also a chance that a player will transfer; five have left the program since 2009. But there are no guarantees right now for Mbakwe or the Gophers.

The Big Ten will be talented next season even if the aforementioned stars leave for the NBA.

But right now, it’s hard to project the league’s potential without knowing if its best players will stick around for another season.

NEW ORLEANS -- It’s over.

The 2011-12 college basketball season wrapped up with a fascinating Final Four and national title game. Now, it’s time for some hardware.

Here’s my version of the 2012 All-Tourney team:

First Team

Anthony Davis (Kentucky): The Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player left his mark on college basketball by leading the Wildcats to the national title. He finished with 29 blocks in the 2012 NCAA tournament, No. 2 all time. Against Kansas, he became the first player to record 6 points, 16 rebounds, 6 blocks, 5 assists and 3 steals during an NCAA tournament game.

Jeff Withey (Kansas): The 7-footer blossomed in the NCAA tournament and really clogged the lane for the Jayhawks' defense. He was a big reason Davis finished 1-for-10 in the national championship game. Withey established a record for blocks in a tournament with 31 in this year’s installment.

Thomas Robinson (Kansas): The Wooden Award finalist didn’t go home with a ring. But he was crucial in his team’s run to the Final Four. The junior averaged 16.6 ppg and 12.5 rpg during this year’s tournament.

Doron Lamb (Kentucky): The sophomore’s 22-point performance (a game high) in the national title game was the culmination of an impressive run for the young star. He averaged 16.5 ppg during the NCAAs. Without Lamb, the Wildcats may have fallen short against the Jayhawks on Monday night.

Bradley Beal (Florida): The freshman fueled Florida’s run to the Elite Eight with a series of high-octane efforts. He had 21 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals during Florida’s 68-58 win over Marquette in the Sweet 16. He followed that with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists in his squad’s Elite Eight loss to Louisville.

Second Team

Tyler Zeller (North Carolina): The ACC Player of the Year helped the Tar Heels stay alive when Kendall Marshall suffered a serious wrist injury that kept him out of an overtime win against Ohio in the Sweet 16 and a loss to Kansas in the Elite Eight. He had 20 points and 22 rebounds against Ohio and he finished with 12 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks against the Jayhawks.

Draymond Green (Michigan State): The versatile forward started the tournament with a triple-double against LIU-Brooklyn. He had 16 points and 13 rebounds in a win over Saint Louis in the third round. Green also played some point guard in that game. The Spartans scored only 44 points in a Sweet 16 loss to Louisville, but Green ended his career with 13 points and 16 rebounds.

Deshaun Thomas (Ohio State): His team’s season ended when Kansas launched a furious comeback in their Final Four matchup Saturday. Prior to his nine-point effort that night, however, Thomas had scored 31, 18, 24 and 14 points, respectively, in Ohio State’s four previous NCAA tournament games. If he comes back for another year, the Buckeyes will be a top-5 preseason squad.

D.J. Cooper (Ohio): Cooper scored 21 points during his team’s upset win over Michigan in the second round. He had 19 against South Florida. And he finished with 10 points and six assists during an overtime loss to North Carolina. Now, his former head coach has a new job as a result of his performances in the NCAA tournament. He should send Cooper a check. Once he’s finished with school, of course.

Dion Waiters (Syracuse): He had 18 points in his team’s 75-59 win against Kansas State in the third round. And in a tight Sweet 16 matchup with Wisconsin, he went 5-for-11 and scored 13 points. The athletic guard is going to the NBA, but he put together a solid string of performances on his way out.

Other noteworthy performances:

Norfolk State’s Kyle O’Quinn put his program on the national map with 26 points, 14 rebounds and 2 blocks during the biggest upset of the NCAA tournament, Norfolk State’s 86-84 victory over No. 2 seed Missouri in the second round.

Royce White used the NCAA tournament as an audition for NBA execs. He had 15 points and 13 rebounds against Connecticut in the second round. And he scored 23 points and grabbed nine boards in Iowa State’s loss to Kentucky in the third round.

Aaron Craft is a thief. The sophomore had 16 steals for Ohio State throughout the NCAA tournament and solidified his slot as one of America’s greatest on-the-ball defenders.

Lehigh’s C.J. McCollum scored 30 points in his team’s 75-70 victory over No. 2 seed Duke in the second round.

Cincinnati’s Sean Kilpatrick, a 6-4 guard, scored just eight points in his team’s second-round win over Texas. But when the lights came on in the later rounds, Kilpatrick showed off his star power. He had 18 points against Florida State in the third round. And he finished with 15 against Ohio State in the Sweet 16.

NEW ORLEANS -- Take a deep breath, if you can, then dig in to this immediate reaction to Kansas' 64-62 win over Ohio State:

Overview: The Buckeyes opened with what might have been their best half of basketball in the 2012 season. Jared Sullinger was getting good touches on the low block, William Buford and Deshaun Thomas were lacing 3-pointers and the defense -- Ohio State's best characteristic all season and the one that earned them this spot in the Final Four -- was utterly stifling. By the six-minute mark, OSU had held the Jayhawks to just 13 points, opened a 26-13 lead and looked likely to dominate their national semifinal in unexpectedly impressive fashion.

And then, of course, the game changed, because Kansas changed. The Jayhawks began pressuring and doubling Sullinger on every touch, and the forward began to cough it up and force bad looks over forward Jeff Withey's outstretched arms. Things got easier on the offensive end, too, where Withey and forward Thomas Robinson began to find space on the low block, where they converted easy dunks and layups on screen and rolls and post-ups, the kind they couldn't find in the first 20 minutes. Kansas' guards scored on turnovers, found their way to the rim and chipped away at the deficit. Meanwhile, Deshaun Thomas spent much of the half on the bench with three -- and then, nearly as soon as he returned, four -- fouls.

By the 14-minute mark in the second half, Kansas had gone on a 25-12 run in little more than 12 minutes, tying the game at 38. From there, the game would always be in the balance.

Turning point: The Jayhawks kept up the pressure, but never built their own lead, even as Thomas languished on the sidelines with four fouls. This was a major victory for the Buckeyes: They had their second-best offensive player off the floor for nearly the entire second half and they gave up their big lead, but they never let Kansas take control of the game. Thomas re-entered at the under-four-minute timeout. OSU led, 55-53.

The Buckeyes still couldn't pull away. With 2:22 left to play, Aaron Craft's steal and fast-break layup gave the Buckeyes a three-point lead, but Kansas nipped and clawed, and with two minutes left it finally took its first lead since the first basket of the game. Tyshawn Taylor and Elijah Johnson delivered on remarkable drives to the paint, Withey made a huge block on the other end and the Jayhawks suddenly found themselves up 62-59 with just one minute to play.

With 55 seconds left, Robinson poached a steal from Thomas, but Craft -- in what may have been the day's best defensive play -- ripped the ball out before Robinson could convert on the break. OSU didn't get a bucket on the next possession, but it was bailed out by a Withey travel (the right, albeit very unpopular, call). Thomas launched a too-early 3 on the other end, which Buford followed up with a putback dunk, and Kansas needed merely to make its free throws to ensure at least a tie game with 8.3 seconds left.

Taylor converted on both. Then, he stole the ball -- a game-sealing play! -- before throwing it away on an overzealous bounce pass. (This is Tyshawn Taylor in a nutshell.) Releford fouled Craft before Craft could shoot a 3 -- not that he didn't try. Craft made the first free throw but was called for a lane violation on the second. The game ended just like that; Craft and his stunned teammates staring at the officials and the scoreboard and each other in disbelief.

Kansas fans started throwing their seat pads in the general direction of the floor, makeshift confetti for the ensuing party. The Jayhawks will have their chance at a national title Monday night. The party had begun.

Key stat: Offensive rebounding percentage. The Jayhawks grabbed 37.5 percent of their misses and limited Ohio State to just 25 percent of theirs, the key difference between two defensively dominant teams in a game in which the smallest of statistical margins made outsized impacts.

Key player: Withey. Every Jayhawk played a role in their comeback and eventual win, and Robinson's night -- 19 points, 8 rebounds, 8-of-18 from the field -- can't be overlooked. But the most important performance came from the 7-foot Withey, whose incredible reach and interior defense made Sullinger a nonfactor on the offensive end. Withey finished with 7 blocks and 8 rebounds; Sullinger posted just 13 points on 5-of-19 from the field. In a game filled with tricky matchup issues, Withey was the biggest mismatch ace up Bill Self's sleeve. He proved why Saturday night.

Miscellaneous: Kansas continued its rather remarkable string of second-half defensive turnarounds. In the past three games (before the Final Four), the Jayhawks have allowed opponents to score 38.7 points per half on 50.0 percent shooting and 51.9 percent from beyond the arc. In the second half of those games, the Jayhawks have allowed just 22.7 points, 22.4 shooting and 15.4 percent from the field. A similar situation unfolded in New Orleans. (Imagine if they locked down like this all game!) Either way, the turnarounds have been remarkable, enough to guide Kansas to the precipice of a national title. Crazy.

What's next: The unlikely story of these Kansas Jayhawks isn't over yet. Kansas survived yet another nail-biting NCAA tournament game -- its specialty in the weeks leading up to this Final Four -- and its latest escape act puts it on the sport's biggest stage, with a chance to take down the overwhelming favorite, the Kentucky Wildcats. The game is a coaching rematch of the 2008 Final Four, when Bill Self's Jayhawks made their nine-points-in-two-minutes comeback to steal a remarkable national title from then-Memphis coach John Calipari's grasp. If we're lucky, Monday night's edition of Self versus Calipari will be half as good. It certainly has that potential.

Meanwhile, Ohio State will head back to Columbus leveled, no doubt, by another missed national title opportunity. Sullinger, the team's star, is almost certain to leave for the NBA, where he'll be a likely lottery pick. Matta will have this team back near the top of the Big Ten yet again in 2013; his Buckeyes remain a recruiting haven and Thomas, Craft and a handful of talented young players will be back in the fold next season. But Matta will surely lament the inability to break through with his big man from Columbus -- the best Buckeyes' player since Greg Oden -- when he had the chance.

Ohio State's Deshaun Thomas and Lenzelle Smith Jr. talk about their game with Kansas.

NEW ORLEANS -- Just eight games into his Kansas career, Kevin Young scored 14 points and snared four rebounds off the bench against one of the top teams in all of college basketball.

The forward, however, never boasted about his stat line in the Jayhawks’ 78-67 victory over second-ranked Ohio State back on Dec. 10. Even today, Young has no problem admitting why the performance occurred.

“I probably caught them off guard a little,” the 6-foot-8 Young said. “I honestly don’t think they knew who I was.”

No one did.

Young was a virtual unknown when he transferred to Kansas in August. He averaged 10.7 points for Loyola Marymount as a sophomore in 2009-10 before sitting out last season.

Young worked as a student assistant at Barstow (Calif.) Community College in the fall of 2010 before earning his associate’s degree from San Bernadino CC last spring.

“Me and the coaches [at Loyola Marymount] didn’t see eye to eye on the court,” Young said. “We had our differences. Off the court they were great guys. I’m really fortunate that they allowed me to leave. A lot of coaches could’ve put me in a bad situation.”

Instead, Young was granted his release and he verbally committed to Fresno State. He changed his mind and signed a financial aid agreement with San Diego State and was set to become an Aztec. But then he got a call from Kansas assistant Kurtis Townsend in June.

“He said they were looking for players at Kansas,” Young said. “I talked to my parents about it. My mom thought it was kind of far away, but I let her know there were more opportunities for me to succeed here than there would be at San Diego State.

“The tradition and the winning here is something I wanted to be a part of.”

San Diego State coach Steve Fisher was livid -- both at Young and KU coach Bill Self -- but Young held strong and arrived in Lawrence in August.

Two months later, shortly after the Jayhawks began official workouts, Self told Young he was months away from making a significant contribution.

“I was like, ‘No, I’ll be ready in a week or two, Coach,’” Young said. “He said, ‘I won’t be shocked if you’re not ready until February.’ I thought he was joking, but it took me a while.

“I was used to playing rec ball. I wasn’t used to playing with a lot of structure.”

Young came up big against Ohio State early in the season, but after that his role was minimal until -- as Self predicted -- February. Young had 5 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks in the Jayhawks’ Feb. 25 overtime victory against Missouri, which served as a precursor for March.

Through four NCAA tournament games he’s averaging 4 points and 5.3 rebounds.

“He’s so active,” Self said. “He finds a way to impact the game as soon as he checks in. We haven’t had anyone like Kevin in a while.”

As Kansas and Ohio State prepare for Saturday’s rematch in the Final Four, most of the talk centers around first-team All-Americans Thomas Robinson of KU and Jared Sullinger of Ohio State, who missed the teams' first meeting with back spasms.

Still, anyone who has followed Kansas lately knows that Young has a chance to be the X factor once again.

Along with being a strong on the offensive glass, the long, wiry, 185-pound Young can also be a pest on the defensive end, which could be huge against the Buckeyes. Robinson isn’t a good enough defender to significantly limit Sullinger and emerging sophomore Deshaun Thomas, both of whom are lethal both inside and outside the paint. Along with having the length to alter their shots, Young is also athletic enough to chase Thomas and Sullinger and keep them from getting good looks.

Young said the game has “slowed down” for him over the past few months. Self has noticed.

“He’s pursuing the ball as well as anybody we have in our program,” Self said. “I have total confidence going to him off the bench. He does more with the stat sheet than anyone on our team.”

Comments such as those are almost overwhelming to Young. A year ago he wasn’t even on a college roster. Now here he is at the Final Four, a key factor for a team that is two wins away from a national championship.

“I knew from the first time I got in the gym with these guys that they were something special,” Young said.

He smiled.

“I definitely think I made the right decision.”

By Saturday, John Calipari, Rick Pitino, Thad Matta and Bill Self will have had nearly a week to scout their opponents. As we type, they're breaking down film, analyzing their opponents' strengths and weaknesses and searching for ways to impart this knowledge to their players in simple, digestible form. They are ... pause for dramatic effect ... game-planning.

What will each come up with? We don't exactly know. That's why they're coaches in the Final Four, and we are, you know, not. But we can still venture a guess. In the latter of a two-part series, here's a look at what they may come up with.

Now: Kansas vs. Ohio State.

Kansas Jayhawks

Offense: By adjusted efficiency's lights, three of the four best defensive teams in the country are members of the Final Four. None of them, if you can believe it, is Kentucky.

They are, in order: No. 1 Louisville, No. 2 Ohio State, and No. 4 Kansas. (Kentucky is ranked No. 11; it's not like the Wildcats are slouches.) The cliche, as always: Defense wins championships.

Can the Jayhawks defend their way to a win? Would a game in which both teams hover around or below the 1.0 point-per-possession mark be in their favor? Maybe. But I tend to doubt it. Which means two things for Self as he prepares his squad for Saturday's "Clash of the Titans"-esque contest. (Or is it Wrath of the Titans?) In no particular order:

1. Kansas has to win the interior scoring battle.

2. Tyshawn Taylor has to stay in control.

The second might be the more important, but the first isn't far behind. Kansas is not a good outside-shooting team. This was true for much of the season (Kansas has shot 34.9 percent from beyond the arc), and it's true of the NCAA tournament, when the Jayhawks have made a downright blistering 16 of their 68 3-point field goal attempts. This might be a blessing in disguise: Last season, the Jayhawks were actually (and non-sarcastically) blistering from 3-point land; their reliance on that shot, and inability to adjust, ultimately ended their season in the Elite Eight against VCU. This season, the Jayhawks have no such reliance, so Taylor, the team's second-most important scorer, can somehow go 0-of-17 from 3 in four tournament games and Self's team can still make it to the Final Four. Fancy that.

No, what the Jayhawks do well -- as well as any team in the country -- is score around the rim. Kansas' 2-point field goal percentage this season is 53.3 percent, the 13th-best in the country. This comes in part thanks to Taylor's ability to get to the rim, but it is mostly to do with Kansas' two big men and the high-low motion offense -- Self's trademark -- that places them into prime, hard-to-double scoring positions.

And Thomas Robinson isn't the only threat. Jeff Withey is actually more efficient in the low block, averaging 1.045 ppp to Robinson's .902 this season, according to Synergy Sports Technologies scouting data. Robinson gets three times as many post-ups as Withey does, so his efficiency can naturally be expected to take a hit. But you get the idea. Robinson presents the high-powered NBA talent in this front line, but Withey -- with his 7-foot stature and even longer reach -- might be the biggest mismatch the Jayhawks have to offer against a team that plays the 6-9 Jared Sullinger as its putative center.

But No. 2 above is where things get really interesting -- and, for Kansas, especially dicey. Throughout his four-year career, Taylor has been known to commit his share of turnovers, wacky heat-checks and mental mistakes. The point guard's 2012 turnover rate (his percentage of possessions in which he coughs up the ball) is 22.3. That's not bad for a player charged with creating offense within a 3-point-bereft perimeter attack. But it's hardly an encouraging stat for a player facing off against the industrial-grade turnover robot we humans casually refer to as "Aaron Craft" (more on that below).

Taylor's turnover rates have fluctuated all season. This is especially true of the tournament, wherein Taylor has posted respective rates of 33.3 percent, 20 percent, 31.2 percent, and, against North Carolina, 15 percent. Is that latest mark real? Or the product of playing against Stilman White?

Taylor's importance in this game can't possibly be underestimated. If Craft cripples him on the perimeter, Kansas loses a massive portion of its attack. It could take care of the first item above -- Withey and Robinson getting buckets on the low block -- but if Taylor doesn't deliver on No. 2, the rest probably won't matter.

Defense: Grim as Taylor's prospects may seem, the Jayhawks are the nation's fourth-best defensive team, and they have a secret weapon many people still don't seem to know about.

Quick: Name the nation's best shot-blocker. Anthony Davis, right? Davis' range and impact make it difficult to argue that point. OK then: Name me the nation's most frequent shot-blocker, the one that repels opponents on a higher percentage of possessions than any other in the country? Yep. That's Withey.

Withey and Robinson are the near-ideal defensive pair. When an opponent drives the line, Withey goes after the block; he succeeds 15.1 percent of the time, the nation's highest rate. When that opponent misses -- or when any opponent misses, frankly -- Robinson, the nation's leading defensive rebounder (who grabs 30.9 percent of opponents' available bricks) is there to clamp the board and find a guard for a quick outlet.

This is a massive advantage to hold over Ohio State. At 33.2 percent from long range in 2011-12, the Buckeyes are an even worse 3-point shooting team than Kansas. More often than not, they get their points from Sullinger and Deshaun Thomas. Which is why Withey changes the game. Robinson has the size and speed to move with Thomas out to 20 feet if needed; Withey has the height to make Sullinger -- who struggles scoring over just this kind of player -- ineffective near the rim.

In the meantime, keep an eye out for Kansas' triangle-and-two junk defense. The Jayhawks have used it twice in their past two games, and each time it has halted the opponents' chief offensive threats, formed a near-impenetrable wall around the rim and, it must be said, downright befuddled UNC coach Roy Williams.

But whatever defense the Jayhawks run, their rare combination of length and athleticism in the post may be their defense's Craftian trump card. It should be fascinating.

TL;DR game plan: Dominate down low, work Robinson and Withey relentlessly, take only the best possible outside shots, hope Taylor doesn't self-destruct against Aaron Craft TurnoverBot 5000.

Ohio State Buckeyes

Offense: Now that we know all about Kansas' interior defense -- and the relative impenetrability thereof -- what hope is there for Ohio State's offense?

Let's go with a two-point plan, similar to Kansas', in that it is one part prescriptive game plan and one part "hope for the best" wishcasting:

1. Use Jared Sullinger and Deshaun Thomas to stretch the floor.

2. Hope William Buford makes some shots.

First up: Sullinger is generously listed at 6-foot-9. Thomas is listed at 6-7, which seems slightly closer to reality. But either way, the Buckeyes' starting forwards are at a major height disadvantage against the defense they'll face Saturday. With a slightly more lifty (new draft term alert; get Bilas on the horn at once!) Sullinger, that might not be as much of a problem. But Sullinger doesn't explode off the ground. Rather, he roots defenders out with his considerable posterior, achieves optimal position, and finishes with brute force. This season -- especially in the Syracuse win, when he flashed a dazzling little mid-range touch -- Sullinger has considerably expanded his game. But he remains at his best when he can clear defenders out of his way and score with his right hand over his left shoulder. Against the 7-foot Withey -- the likely matchup in any man-to-man defense -- that is going to be very difficult.

Which is why it's time for Sullinger to flash that 15-foot jumper he stayed in school to develop. Don't push Withey under the rim. Pull him out. Make him guard you at 15 feet. If you can't see over him, swing the ball and find a better look ... but don't play into the Jayhawks' strength. The Buckeyes are a good but not great offensive rebounding team, so if this means sacrificing position, so be it.

That goes double for Thomas. As Dana O'Neil noted in her excellent feature on Thomas from Wednesday, the stretch forward has morphed from an impulse bench gunner into one of the nation's most potent scorers. Thomas is leading Ohio State in scoring through its four NCAA tournament games, the mark of his continued expansion into one of the nation's most versatile threats. Thomas has no go-to scoring area, no preference for touch. Over the course of the season, per Synergy, he has spread his touches and scored almost equally on post-ups, spot-up jumpers, basket cuts and offensive rebound putbacks. In the tournament, Thomas has scored 1.643 on spot-ups (23 points on 14 possessions), by far his most efficient scoring trait.

This kind of versatile inside-out scoring from a 6-7 forward presents a major matchup problem for the Jayhawks. In the man-to-man, it could force Robinson to move further away from the hoop than he'd like. Thomas can look to shoot, or he can make Robinson move to stop his penetration; either way, Matta will like his chances. If Kansas goes to that famed triangle-and-two, Matta can use Thomas to stretch the corners all the way to the 3-point line, where the shot is (relatively) high-percentage and the defensive style is most vulnerable.

Whether the Jayhawks play man (likely) or triangle-and-two (less likely, but you never know when Self will bust it out), Thomas' and Sullinger's ability to score away from the rim will be key.

Which brings us, of course, to Buford. When Ohio State has struggled this season -- and those times, though rare, were highly publicized -- it was primarily because Buford and Craft and Thomas and even Lenzelle Smith were failing to provide the outside shooting that made the 2010-11 Buckeyes' offense so lethal. Actually, forget 2011: Ohio State was never even mediocre from long range. A large portion of that responsibility falls on Buford.

In this game, Buford presents the clearest matchup advantage for the Buckeyes. Travis Releford and Elijah Johnson aren't big enough to match up with the Buckeyes guard's size on the wing. But Buford is shooting just 13-of-44 in the NCAA tournament, the kind of offensive struggles he's dealt with all season. Ohio State has managed to progress this far without efficient wing scoring, but that may not get it done against a rim-protecting defense like this.

Can Buford come alive at just the right time? Can the Buckeyes stretch Kansas enough to get a few easy looks at the rim? The questions are intertwined and difficult to divine. But in this game, they couldn't possibly be more important.

Defense: Sports Illustrated's Luke Winn does a better job than anyone in the country processing advanced statistics and scouting data and presenting it to your eyeballs in visually attractive form, and Luke's 2012 Aaron Craft Turnometer may be his Symphony No. 9. All season, Winn tracked the turnovers Craft forced -- some for which he was credited in the scoresheet, many not -- alongside charges taken and offensive fouls forced. The end result is the picture of the nation's most dominant defensive player, one who individually forces turnovers on 7.56 percent of opponents' possessions and one who just had his best game of the season in the Sweet 16:

How many players can say their best performance of the season was in the NCAA tournament? That’s the case for Buckeyes pest/point guard Aaron Craft, who had the Turnometer" needle buried by creating 10 turnovers against Cincinnati in the Sweet 16. According to SI’s charting, it was Craft’s top turnover-creation game of the season, beating his previous best of 9.5 against Jackson State on Nov. 18.

If it has become fashionable to pick Ohio State to win this game -- for the record, I think it's a toss-up, but we'll see -- Craft, the friendly turnover-forcing robot, is why.

He pokes. He prods. He cuts penetration off with his shoulders and chest. He shows a double-team, then recovers too quickly to expose it. He is almost always in perfect defensive position, and his ability to give contact without fouling is almost unparalleled. He's a one-man antidote to the screen and roll. And if there's a player better at stripping opposing guards of the ball 25 feet from the hoop, I haven't seen him.

Craft is a nightmare matchup for the previously discussed, turnover-prone Taylor. Taylor is the second-most-important piece of Kansas' offense. Not only does he initiate that offense, but he also is relied upon to penetrate the lane, finish with a floater or drive, or find an open player with a dish. Craft makes that possibility remote.

Another major part of Taylor's game is transition; he and Johnson can be fearsome on the break. (Their connection on the closing-moments half-court alley-oop against Purdue was one of the more simultaneously questionable and amazing plays of the season.) But Craft is good at this, too: He is uniquely able to pressure defenders in the open court -- to "turn them," in coach speak -- cutting off any ball advancement (at best) and creating enough havoc to win a turnover (at worst). The Jayhawks would sure like to see Taylor and Johnson get out on the break whenever possible; it's the best way to score against Ohio State. But is it even possible?

There are other defensive matchups to watch in this game -- how Ohio State handles T-Rob and Withey, whether the Buckeyes need to worry about Releford on the wing, whether reserve Conner Teahan can provide shooting off the bench -- but by far the most important is what Craft can and will do against Taylor.

Lucky for us, it's also the most fascinating. This game is going to be awesome.

TL;DR game plan: Stretch Kansas' big men out to 15-20 feet, hope Buford makes some shots, protect the rim and stay out of foul trouble, unleash Craft on Taylor.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are back in the Final Four for the first time since losing to the Florida Gators in the 2007 championship game. ESPN Stats & Information takes a look at the keys to success for the Buckeyes in New Orleans.

Key Player
The key to the Buckeyes run to the Final Four has been sophomore forward Deshaun Thomas. Thomas scored a career-high 31 points in the Round of 64 win against Loyola-Maryland, and has averaged 21.7 points in this year’s NCAA tournament.

Thomas leads the tournament with 48 points in the paint and 28 second-chance points. Kansas has allowed six players to score 10 or more points in the paint during its last three games.

The All-American
When the Buckeyes traveled to Lawrence to take on Kansas in December, Jared Sullinger missed the game with back spasms. He’ll be in the lineup in the Final Four for a star-studded matchup with fellow All-American Thomas Robinson.

Sullinger leads the nation with 279 points on post-up plays this season while shooting 47 percent. If the Jayhawks can force him farther from the basket, the advantage shifts their way. Opponents are shooting 27 percent on jump shots guarded by Robinson, third-best among Big 12 players.

Sullinger has made 27 free throws in the tournament, the most for any player. After scoring 26 percent of his points from the line during the regular-season, he has scored 38 percent of his points from the line in the last four games.

X-Factor
While Sullinger is the All-American and Thomas has been the hot hand, it was a lesser-known Buckeye who came out of nowhere to help Ohio State win in the Elite Eight and advance to New Orleans.

Lenzelle Smith Jr. scored just 10 total points in Ohio State’s two games in Pittsburgh as the Buckeyes advanced to the Sweet 16. In the team’s games in Boston, he scored 17 points against Cincinnati and 18 against Syracuse while making three 3-pointers in each game.

The Gunner
Senior William Buford leads the team in shots and 3-point attempts this season. During the NCAA tournament, more than half of his shots have been contested by a defender and he has connected on less than 15 percent of those attempts.

As the competition has gotten tougher, more of Buford’s shots have been contested. In Ohio State’s first two games, only nine of 24 shots were contested. Against Cincinnati and Syracuse, 14 of his 20 shots were over a defender.

The Defensive Specialist
Aaron Craft leads the nation with 57 turnovers forced as an on-ball defender this season. No other player in the country forced more than 50.

When the teams met in December, Craft was able to shut down Tyshawn Taylor as a scorer. Taylor scored just 9 points in the game, one of four times this season he was held in single digits.

With Craft guarding him, Taylor had six turnovers and made just one of five shots. The Kansas senior did finish with a career-high 13 assists in the contest.

Editor's note: Ohio State and Kansas are readying for just the second meeting of 2-seeds since seeding began in 1979. Before they get started, Eamonn Brennan and Myron Medcalf discuss the matchup between the Buckeyes and Jayhawks.

Eamonn Brennan: All right, Myron, it's Final Four Watercooler time, part the deuce. We chatted up Louisville and Kentucky yesterday, and we're back, back again, to discuss the other game in the bracket. This return is second only to The Rock's return to Raw Monday night. (Note to readers: The two of us are VERY interested in watching the Rock-Cena Wrestlemania match Sunday.)

I don't know about you, but for my money, despite all the overheated expectations and rivalry-oriented craziness surrounding Louisville-Kentucky ... I think Ohio State-Kansas has a better than 50-50 shot at being the best game of the weekend. What say you?

Myron Medcalf: I agree. I think Kansas-Ohio State is the game of the weekend. I love the buildup to Louisville-Kentucky. I'd actually like to spend a day in Kentucky before I leave for New Orleans to get a feel for the vibe in that state. But if you look at the matchups, Kansas-Ohio State wins. I can give you five reasons that the Jayhawks will win and five reasons that the Buckeyes will win. Thomas Robinson vs. Jared Sullinger. The emergence of Jeff Withey and Deshaun Thomas. Aaron Craft's hands against Tyshawn Taylor's explosiveness. This should be a great game. Sullinger missed the first game, but he'll be available Saturday.

EB: How many NBA scouts will be watching that T-Rob/Sully matchup? Answer: all of them, or at least all of those who have a top-10 pick to spare in this summer's draft. That actually seems to be one of the biggest debates about the upcoming draft, a sort of barometer for the kind of player you prefer -- explosive and slightly raw? Or polished but less athletic? I'd take either one of them. And seeing them tee up on each other could be a one-on-one matchup for the ages.

MM: I agree. And I'm even more excited for Robinson-Sullinger because of their personalities. Some guys would look at this as "just another game." I guarantee both Robinson and Sullinger are telling friends and loved ones that they're going to win that battle. I don't care what they say publicly. This is personal. Who's the best big man in college basketball? With Sullinger, Robinson and Davis in the field, we'll know by Monday. Sullinger didn't get the national player of the year love that Robinson enjoyed because of a bad back and a rough stretch in February. But who can doubt his premier status after watching him tear up Syracuse? Robinson takes a Kansas team that's not supposed to win its eighth Big 12 title in a row to the Final Four? Get your popcorn ready.

EB: Agreed, agreed. But as you said, there are other huge areas of intrigue here. In fact, if I had to guess, I'd say the Robinson-Sullinger matchup will essentially be a wash. The swing-vote matchup (as Marquette coach Buzz Williams might say) might then be Aaron Craft and Tyshawn Taylor. Craft is a defensive genius. What he does to opposing guards is just ruthless sometimes. If Taylor gets eaten up by those slap-happy hands -- or even if Craft just cuts Taylor off and keeps him confined to the perimeter, where he has missed just about every shot he's taken in the past two weeks -- Kansas will be at a severe disadvantage.

MM: True. Has a lot of Dark Knight-Joker elements to it. Craft just creates chaos. It'd be one thing if he was just dangerous on the perimeter. But he'll help in the paint. He's a great defender in transition. He takes so many risks and it usually works out for him. But Taylor had 22 against North Carolina (sans Marshall). He could be great in New Orleans. Or he could succumb to Craft's defense. But this matchup is even bigger than Robinson-Sullinger and Taylor-Craft. And this is what I love about March Madness. You can't really have this conversation without talking about Dikembe Mutombo playing as Jeff Withey throughout the NCAA tournament. Or Deshaun Thomas trying to score every time he touches the ball. Those two players will be crucial in the Big Easy too, right?

EB: Right, and this is really fascinating. Deshaun Thomas gives the Buckeyes plenty of rebounding and interior scoring, but he's barely a 4, let alone a 5. Withey is, of course, as much a center as college centers get. Perhaps some zone will be involved? Because it's not like you want Sullinger matching up with Withey, either -- he doesn't have the lift to counteract the height. And on the other side, Withey isn't going to guard Thomas out to the 3-point line, right? I have no idea how this works out.

MM: I had the same thought. Two critical players, but what do you do with them? To me, Ohio State has to be more comfortable than Kansas. Thomas could help in a zone, but if you were forced to go man, Thomas on T-Rob and Sully on Withey wouldn't be disastrous necessarily. Withey scored two points in the first matchup. He is a great interior defender, but sometimes he gets lost against more versatile opponents (see Missouri). At the same time, limiting Sullinger's shot selection and success inside is a great starting point for Kansas. Withey definitely helps there.

EB: Definitely. Withey remains one of the more underrated shot-blockers in the country. Anthony Davis's 2012 block rate is 13.95 percent. Jeff Withey's is 15.14 percent. That's the best in the country. And that is a huge advantage against an interior player like Sullinger, who can create space with his body but really doesn't lift over players to get his points. And it doesn't hurt against the likes of Thomas either, of course.

And then there's the X factor: William Buford. He's been solid in the tournament, Myron, but he has struggled at times this season, particularly with his shot, and when he does, Ohio State's attack struggles.

MM: Yep. Here's the conversation that happening at sports bars throughout Columbus right now. "We have every tool to beat Kansas Saturday and advance to the title game. Sullinger and Thomas are ready. Craft's defense is special. Even Lenzelle Smith Jr. has stepped up. But, what about Buford? Well ... I'm not sure." Buford is like a separate 30-minute conversation. He's 4-for-20 from the field in the last two games. He's a senior so he won't be intimidated. But he hasn't played great. And the Buckeyes might need "great" from Buford, depending on what happens Saturday.

EB: And let's not forget about Elijah Johnson, arguably Kansas' best perimeter player. And Travis Releford. This is a unique game, because neither team is really going to bring big-time players off the bench. Both squads essentially are what they are from 1 to 5, and the starters have to do almost all of the heavy lifting.

UL-UK is pretty easy to pick, but I don't have a good feel for this one. I think it could go either way. Sort of like The Rock versus Cena.

MM: I think that's a good way to end it.

The Elite Eight begins with two intriguing matchups Saturday. Florida and Louisville overcame late-season challenges to reach this stage. Syracuse and Ohio State might be the most competitive matchup in the field.

(4) Louisville vs. (7) Florida, 4:30 p.m. ET, CBS

Things to know: Florida coach Billy Donovan once starred for Louisville's Rick Pitino at Providence. That’s the TV-friendly storyline that’s dominated the buildup to this Elite Eight matchup.

But first, we have to answer one question: How on earth did we end up with Florida and Louisville playing for a trip to New Orleans?

Prior to the NCAA tournament, the Gators had lost four of five. Three of those losses were by double digits. Before Louisville earned the Big East tournament crown, the Cardinals had lost four of six.

There just weren’t many reasons to consider this as a potential Elite Eight matchup once the Big Dance began. But both teams are riding serious momentum created by Sweet 16 upsets.

Louisville knocked off 1-seed Michigan State with one of the best defensive efforts in NCAA tourney history. The Spartans scored only 44 points, the lowest tally by a 1-seed since the introduction of the shot clock. Florida sent Marquette home after holding the Golden Eagles to 30.8 percent from the field.

The two teams have been carried by two athletes who’ve stepped up in the NCAA tournament.

Bradley Beal has recorded the following stat lines in Florida’s three NCAA victories: 14 points and 11 rebounds against Virginia; 14 points and 9 rebounds against Norfolk State; 21 points and 6 rebounds against Marquette. The freshman has competed like a veteran.

Louisville, No. 1 in Ken Pomeroy’s adjusted defensive efficiency ratings, has been the beneficiary of Gorgui Dieng’s surprising NCAA tournament production. The 6-foot-11 sophomore from Senegal has recorded 12 blocks and 5 steals in the Big Dance.

Look for the Cardinals to pressure point guard Erving Walker (8 turnovers in three NCAA tournament games), harass Florida’s potent shooters and dare the Gators to challenge Dieng inside. Look for the Gators to rely on Beal to play catalyst again and slice and dice a Louisville defense that doesn’t match up well with him.

The journey: Louisville defeated Davidson, New Mexico and Michigan State to reach the Elite Eight. Florida earned its shot at New Orleans with wins over Virginia, Norfolk State and Marquette.

Monitor his progress: When Patric Young gets touches (just 13 points on 9 shots combined in team’s last two games), the Gators are a better team. With Dieng surging for Louisville, the Gators need Young to produce on both ends of the floor.

Numbers to impress your friends: Michigan State shot just 22.2 percent from the field against Louisville’s zone (45 of 48 half-court possessions), according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Game’s most crucial question: How will Louisville guard Beal?

The matchup: Peyton Siva vs. Walker. Two speedy point guards who aren’t afraid to attack bigger defenders.

Don’t touch that remote because … Both teams have overachieved thus far. And Dieng’s defensive prowess is worth watching.

(1) Syracuse vs. (2) Ohio State, 7:05 p.m. ET, CBS

Things to know: One of two No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchups in the Elite Eight, Syracuse versus Ohio State features an intriguing personnel matchup.

Syracuse has reached the Elite Eight, its first since 2003, via a zone that is anchored by depth, length and athleticism. The Orange have three of the toughest guards in the field -- Scoop Jardine, Dion Waiters and Brandon Triche. The trio scored 38 points combined against Wisconsin on Thursday. And the Cuse's frontcourt length is unmatched (C.J. Fair, Baye Keita, Rakeem Christmas).

It’s easy to focus on the 14 3-pointers that the Badgers hit against Syracuse in their one-point loss in the Sweet 16. But the final possession -- Jordan Taylor air-balled a 3-pointer -- showcased Syracuse’s defensive lockdown ability. The Badgers couldn’t find a good shot. Wisconsin shot 52 percent from the 3-point line against Syracuse but was 7-for-22 (31.8 percent) on 2-pointers.

Syracuse has everything a national championship contender needs. Ohio State, however, possesses the same profile.

Aaron Craft is the best pure point guard in the field. The sophomore is averaging 12.0 points, 4.0 steals and 6.3 assists in the NCAA tournament. The only blemish on his tourney experience thus far has been his issues with turnovers (11 in three games). That could be a problem against a Syracuse team that entered the Sweet 16 forcing turnovers on nearly one-quarter of its opponents’ possessions.

But Craft is not the Buckeyes' only weapon. Deshaun Thomas and Jared Sullinger comprise the best frontcourt in the field. The sophomores combined for 49 points and 18 rebounds in the Sweet 16 victory over Cincinnati. Syracuse’s chances of neutralizing the tandem decreased when Fab Melo was ruled ineligible for NCAA tournament play.

But the Buckeyes are also one of the top defensive teams in the country (No. 2 in Pomeroy’s adjusted defensive efficiency ratings). Syracuse loves to play an up-tempo game, considering its knack for forcing turnovers and scoring on the break. But the Buckeyes (73rd in Pomeroy’s adjusted tempo ratings) can run, too.

Both teams are talented enough to adjust to any situation and/or style. Look for Ohio State to go to Thomas and Sullinger early in the paint. Syracuse doesn’t have the beef to keep the duo from the bucket. Look for Syracuse to trap William Buford and Craft (eight combined turnovers against Cincinnati) and to attack Thomas and Sullinger on offense, seeking early fouls.

The journey: Ohio State defeated Loyola (Md.), Gonzaga and Cincinnati to reach the Elite Eight. Syracuse beat UNC Asheville, Kansas State and Wisconsin.

Monitor his progress: This is a William Buford game. The Buckeyes will need the senior in order to advance to New Orleans. His shooting touch could be a crucial weapon against Syracuse’s zone. But Buford has disappeared at times this season. He scored four points against Cincinnati in the Sweet 16. The Buckeyes will need more from him against Syracuse.

Numbers to impress your friends: Ohio State has scored 55 points off 39 forced turnovers in three NCAA tournament games.

Game’s most crucial question: Will Ohio State crack Syracuse’s zone, despite Craft’s turnover challenges and a 33.6 percent clip from the 3-point line?

The matchup: Craft versus Jardine. Jardine leads one of the best transition attacks in the country. Craft is one of the nation’s top transition defenders. Both have cracked double digits in turnovers in the NCAA tournament.

Don’t touch that remote because … This matchup features two teams with few weaknesses and plenty of star power.

BOSTON – Somewhere, some clever Syracuse fan ought to grab a red cape, a magic marker, ink a Z on his chest and call himself The Zone.

In this NCAA tournament, the Zone (yes, it deserves to be capitalized) has grown to near-mythological proportions and taken on the aura and presence of a superhero, complete with superpowers.

How do you beat the Zone? Why do you play it? How unique is it? What makes it so hard?

It is everywhere, an all-consuming beast. In the two press conferences between Syracuse and Ohio State, on the eve of their Elite Eight match, the word zone was mentioned 50 times.

Heck, if the Orange win the national title, the Zone could earn Most Outstanding Player honors.

Here’s the dirty little secret: The Zone does not have superpowers, nor is Orange coach Jim Boeheim some evil scientist who has concocted something no one in basketball can duplicate.

The Syracuse coach is just committed (or stubborn, pick your word). He does not waver if teams are shooting well against the Zone (as Wisconsin did) and he does not give his players the option of man-to-man defense.

Ever.

“They buy into it because they want to play,’’ Boeheim laughed. "These guys know what we want to do, what we’re about. They work hard at it.’’

Boeheim, in fact, is tickled at people’s preoccupation with his defense, as if he’s unearthed some sort of relic from the peach-basket days.

“It’s always funny to me,’’ he said. “You never hear anybody yelling at Mike Krzyzewski to go back and play zone. Why is that? He’s such a good coach, you don’t question him? Is that what it is? Really? Somebody shook their head down there. OK, that means I’m not a good coach, so you can question me.’’

Thad Matta would beg to differ. The Ohio State coach will be the next to attempt to slay the Zone, on Saturday night, and while he knows conventional wisdom holds the easiest way to beat a good zone is to shoot 3s, he also watched Wisconsin drain 14 and lose.

“A couple of years ago I heard what I thought was the greatest answer from Coach Boeheim,’’ Matta said. “Somebody asked him, 'What do you do when somebody gets really hot against your zone and they’re making 3s?' He said, ‘How do you know they’re not going to make them against man-to-man?’ He has his philosophy and he’s only won 900 or however many games he’s won. It works for him.’’

Whom to watch

William Buford, Ohio State: Matta went out of his way to commend his senior for his defensive effort against Cincinnati. And it was deserved. It also was welcome deflection from Buford’s offensive woes.

The Sweet 16 has not been kind to Buford. He has played in that round three consecutive seasons and is 8-of-37, including an absentee 1-of-8 against the Bearcats on Thursday.

This season, however, is Buford's first appearance in the Elite Eight. Ohio State needs him to run with the clean start.

Wisconsin offered a nice little road map for their Big Ten brethren in terms of beating the Syracuse zone– hit 3s. Now, expecting Ohio State to be as red-hot as the Badgers is probably silly, but the Buckeyes do have shooters.

Which is where Buford comes in. He’s one of those shooters and he needs to make those 3s.

“The great thing about William is he usually bounces back,’’ Matta said. “Hopefully the odds say tomorrow some higher percentage will be going in for him. But yeah, we need Will to play well.’’

Scoop Jardine, Syracuse: One of Syracuse’s hidden strengths this season is its ability to take care of the basketball. The Orange are eighth in the country, committing just 10.5 turnovers per game.

That number will meet its match in the form of Aaron Craft. Arguably the best on-the-ball defender in the country, Ohio State's sophomore guard is a relentless gnat who not only swats at the ball but also frustrates his opponent into mistakes.

Jardine, typically the primary ball handler for Syracuse, had been very good until Thursday’s regional semifinal against Wisconsin when the senior coughed up the ball five times.

That can’t happen against Craft. Ohio State will turn those miscues into points – the Buckeyes got 20 points off turnovers against Cincinnati – but more crucially, OSU is quite content in a grind-it-out, half-court game. If Jardine turns it over, that means more chances for Ohio State to dictate the tempo.

What to watch

This could be the first time that Syracuse feels sorely the absence of Fab Melo. Rakeem Christmas and Baye Keita have done a more than admirable job for the Orange through this NCAA tournament run, but in their first three games, the duo has not faced anything quite like Jared Sullinger and Deshaun Thomas.

The two are big, strong and armed with an arsenal of scoring touches. Most crucially for Christmas and Keita, Sullinger and Thomas help Ohio State rack up a plus-7.6 rebounding edge, good for sixth in the country — and good for lots of extended possessions. Christmas and Keita will have their work cut out for them in this game.

“James [Southerland] and C.J. [Fair] are going to have to help us,’’ Orange forward Kris Joseph said of defending the Ohio State big men. “It’s going to be the weakside man on the back of the zone that’s going to be able to help the most when [they] get the ball down low. If Rakeem does a good enough job, we won’t need to, but it’s going to be our job definitely to give him a lot of help.’’

A recap of Thursday's action in the Men's Basketball Championship.

(4) Louisville 57, (1) Michigan St 44
Rick Pitino improves to 10-0 as a coach in the Sweet 16 -- the best mark of any coach in the history of the tournament -- and Tom Izzo loses to a Big East team in the Men's Basketball Championship for the first time in his career (5-1).

Michigan State's 44 points and 28.6 field goal percentage are both its worst in a Men's Basketball Championship game.

Gorgui Dieng blocked seven shots, tying both his career high and the school record for blocks in a Men's Basketball Championship game (Pervis Ellison, 1989), to help Louisville advance to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2009 and the 12th time in school history.

Draymond Green leads the Spartans with 13 points and 16 rebounds in his final collegiate game.

(1) Syracuse 64, (4) Wisconsin 63
With their victory over Wisconsin, the Orange return to the Elite Eight for the first time since winning the national championship in 2003.

With his 48th tournament victory, Jim Boeheim passes John Wooden for fifth place all-time in tournament wins.

Wisconsin shot 14-for-27 from behind the arc but just 7-for-22 from inside. The 14 3-pointers are the second-most in a tournament game for the Badgers.

The last time Syracuse won a game by one point in the NCAA tournament was the Sweet 16 in 2003, when the Orange beat Auburn 79-78 and went on to win the national championship.

It’s just the fifth time a 1 seed won by just a single point in the Sweet 16.

Wisconsin tried to impose its will in this game, limiting Syracuse to just 52 possessions. That’s the fewest possessions for Syracuse in any game in the past 15 seasons. The previous low was 54, done twice (1999 versus Princeton and 2006 versus West Virginia, both wins).

(7) Florida 68, (3) Marquette 58
Florida reaches the Elite Eight for the fourth time in seven seasons behind one of the best defensive efforts in the shot-clock era.

The Gators have allowed just 153 points through three games in the tournament; only two teams since 1986 have allowed fewer in their first three tournament wins.

The Golden Eagles made 20 field goals, just one more than their season low, but are the first team to top 50 points against Florida in this year’s tournament.

(2) Ohio State 81, (6) Cincinnati 66
Aaron Craft led the defensive effort with six steals, an Ohio State record in a Men's Basketball Championship game. The loss matches Cincinnati's worst in the Sweet 16.

Deshaun Thomas leads all scorers with 26 points (20 in the first half) and adds seven rebounds as Ohio State beats Cincinnati in the Men's Basketball Championship for the first time in school history.

Thomas joins a great list of players in the past five seasons to average at least 25.0 point per game and reach the Elite Eight. The bad news for the Buckeyes is that none of the other three players reached the Final Four.

BOSTON -- Greg Paulus knows a thing or two about good point guards.

For four years he played the part of one at Duke University.

From his catbird seat on the Ohio State bench, though, Paulus is pretty sure he’s watching something special in the person of Aaron Craft, particularly when it comes to an on-the-ball defender.

“He’s the best I’ve ever seen,’’ said Paulus, now the Buckeyes’ video coordinator. “I know Tom Izzo said after our game that he’s never seen anyone like him, and he’s coached a few games.’’

Craft did not lead the Buckeyes in scoring against Cincinnati. In fact, he had a pretty dismal shooting night, connecting on just 2 of 7 shots and missing his first five.

Yet no one in an Ohio State uniform was more critical than Craft on Thursday. It was his quick hands and blanket defense, evident in his six steals, that all but erased Cincinnati’s short-lived lead and helped the Buckeyes over their Sweet 16 hump with an 81-66 win.

Ohio State will face Syracuse on Saturday. The Buckeyes, with the power duo of DeShaun Thomas (26 points and seven rebounds) and Jared Sullinger (23 and 11), advanced to their first Elite Eight since 2007.

“You have to want to play defense,’’ said Lenzelle Smith, Craft’s backcourt cohort. “Me and Aaron, that’s what we do. We aren’t afraid to yell at our guys, slap them around a little bit and they feed off that energy.’’

That wasn’t always the case. Craft admitted earlier this season there was more infighting among the Buckeyes than in a "Real Housewives" episode.

A blown assignment or a bad pass would inevitably lead to finger-pointing and you-a culpas, never a mea culpa.

No one was terribly interested in taking the blame or the heat, and amid all of the bad chemistry, Ohio State slid off course.

Losing can make or break a team. Fortunately for the Buckeyes, it was the former, the so-so results serving as a needed eye opener to what it takes to win and win consistently.

The hardest sell, always, is defense. It is a choice for some, a chore for most.

Except for Craft. He finds art in what most people consider misery. His face is almost like a defensive thermometer -- the redder the blush in his cheeks, the harder he’s working and the more suffering the opponent is doing.

Most folks looked at this game against Cincinnati and concentrated on the inside, and certainly that’s where the Buckeyes had and exploited their advantage.

Equally critical, though, was the flip side. The Bearcats start four quick guards, every one able to get to the hoop off the bounce or shoot from 3.

“What we wanted to do was be in position and force them to make quick decisions,’’ OSU coach Thad Matta said. “We told each other, 'Just be sound, just be in the right spots at the right time. They’re going to make shots. They’re a high-powered offensive team. They’ve got plenty of guys who can score.' That was where our minds were -- just positioning, faking, staying.’’

In all, the Bearcats coughed up the ball a crucial 18 times, seven more than their average.

Never were those mistakes more costly for Cincinnati, trying to make its first Elite Eight since 1996, than at the midpoint of the second half. Switching from zone to man-to-man, the Bearcats confused and rattled Ohio State enough to take a 52-48 lead on a Yancy Gates and-1 play.

With the UC half of the all-Ohio crowd on its feet, the Bearcats had seized momentum from a team that has felt the squeeze of this particular game.

Cincinnati should have frozen the scoreboard at that moment. The next time it scored, Ohio State had dashed out on a 17-1 run to not only retake the lead, but take the game over.

And the Buckeyes did it with defense. Cincinnati committed five turnovers in that critical span, with Craft forcing three of them. The miscues led out to runouts and buckets for Ohio State, including the dagger 3-pointer from Craft, that made it 61-53.

“We weren’t making the right plays, we weren’t making the right pass,’’ Cashmere Wright said. "We were over dribbling the ball, doing things uncharacteristic of our team.’’

And Craft was playing his part without fault.

The box score says the point guard played just 39 minutes, 60 seconds shy of a yeoman’s load. What the box score doesn’t reveal is that Craft came out only when the game was in hand and Matta wanted to get his point guard an ovation.

When the buzzer finally sounded, Matta turned, a wide grin spreading across his face and pumped fists with his point guard.

Craft smiled back before putting his game mask back on. As he walked to shake hands with the Bearcats, he emphatically raised his finger, catching William Buford in the eye.

He wasn’t labeling his team No. 1.

No, like a good point guard, Craft was reminding Buford what was next: one more game, one more win to get to the Final Four.

“He can make such an impact in the game in so many different ways,’’ Paulus said of Craft. “But the best thing about him? All he wants to do is win.’’

BOSTON -- A quick look at No. 2 seed Ohio State’s 81-66 win over No. 6 seed Cincinnati in Sweet 16 action in the East Regional at TD Garden on Thursday night:

Overview: Both teams were looking to take advantage of mismatches. Cincinnati hoped its four-guard lineup would cause problems for the bigger Ohio State lineup. Ohio State hoped its size and skill inside would prove overpowering.

Turns out, both teams were right at times.

Deshaun Thomas had scored 30 points in the paint in Ohio State’s first two tourney games, the most in the Dance. So of course the 6-foot-7, 225-pounder took his game outside on Thursday -- hitting 3 of 5 first-half 3-pointers and scoring 20 points in the opening 20 minutes.

But in the second half, the Bearcats turned up the intensity on defense and started hitting shots, their guards using their quickness to cause turnovers and score in transition. Sean Kilpatrick hit a long 2, then a 3, then another 3 and suddenly the 6-seed was back in it.

Turning point: Cincinnati scored the game’s first five points, but Ohio State scored 15 of the next 19 to take control. The Buckeyes led by as many as 13 in the first half and were up a dozen at the break.

Thad Matta’s bunch was 26-1 this season when leading at the half, so this one was in the bag, right?

Cincinnati had other ideas.

The Bearcats used a 14-2 run early in the second half to even the game at 41, then an 8-4 run to take their largest lead since the opening minutes at 49-45 with 12:13 to go.

But after Yancy Gates converted an old-fashioned three-point play to put Cincinnati up 52-48, Ohio State went back to its strength inside. Jared Sullinger got fouled in the paint and hit two free throws, sparking a 17-1 Buckeyes run that essentially ended the drama in this one.

Key player: Jared Sullinger. While Thomas fueled the Buckeyes in the first half, he wasn’t nearly as effective in the second. Luckily for OSU, Sullinger was just as effective in the final 20 minutes as he was in the first 20 minutes.

The sophomore big man followed up a 10-point, nine-rebound first half with a 13-point, 2-rebound second half to post final line of 23 and 11.

Key stats: Second-chance points and free throws.

Ohio State took advantage of its size inside, and its willingness to crash the offensive boards, to compile a 13-5 edge in second-chance points.

And while points in the paint were relatively similar (30 for OSU, 28 for Cincinnati), the Buckeyes’ banging inside helped them get to the line often. Led by Sullinger’s 9-for-10 performance, OSU shot 19-for-27 from the charity stripe on the night.

What’s next: Ohio State moves on to the Elite Eight on Saturday. The Buckeyes will face No. 1 seed Syracuse, which beat No. 4 seed Wisconsin in a thriller 64-63 in the first game Thursday.

Jack McCluskey is an editor for ESPN.com and a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com. Follow him on Twitter @jack_mccluskey.

BOSTON -- Technically, Cincinnati and Ohio State last played in 2006, but ask anyone who gives a fig about either program and they will tell you that game was a manufactured replacement of the real deal. The game was played in Indianapolis -- not even on home-state soil.

To true fans, the last time these schools met was in 1962, the second of the back-to-back battles for nothing less than an NCAA title.

The catch with this rivalry, which is celebrating 50 years of absence, is that there are fewer and fewer people who remember it.

Forget the players who will tussle when the Buckeyes and Bearcats meet in the Sweet 16; most of the players' parents weren’t even a twinkle in their parents’ eyes.

Neither Thad Matta nor Mick Cronin were even born.

“There’s nostalgia, guys, but I wasn’t alive,’’ Cronin said. “I grew up on that stuff, but I wasn’t alive.’’

Most everyone targets the Buckeyes as the bad guys in this Western. The Bearcats won those two national titles over their bigger, land-granted neighbor. And with the exception of the made-for-TV game in Indy, the Buckeyes have since taken their toys and gone home.

That puts Matta in a tricky situation this week, tiptoeing around a question that doesn’t have a really good answer. He’s not necessarily at fault for failing to reschedule the game, but he hasn’t made it happen, either.

“I don’t know if I can give you a great answer exactly why we don’t play,’’ Matta said. “It’s one of those things that it is what it is.’’

That the two are finally reconnecting with something critical on the line makes this all the more delicious.

Cincinnati has not made it to the Sweet 16 since 2001 and hasn’t made it out of the regional semifinals since 1996.

By now most everyone knows Ohio State’s recent history -- a host of regular-season wins and two regional semifinal losses to show for it.

So there is much more at stake here than just rekindling the flames for the retired set.

“It still kind of has bad blood between the two schools,’’ Jared Sullinger said. “But this one is going to be remembered for whoever goes to the Elite Eight.’’

Who to watch

Ohio State’s Deshaun Thomas: He’s the ultimate mismatch for the four-guard lineup Cincinnati prefers. Big, strong and athletic, he can score outside, but he also can do damage inside. In fact, he leads the NCAA tournament with 30 points in the paint in two games.

What the Bearcats can do with him defensively will go a long way in figuring out a winner.

“It will be a team effort,’’ Sean Kilpatrick said. “But I think will be OK with him.’’

Cincinnati’s Sean Kilpatrick: The guard has the ability to light it up from outside. He’s shooting 5-of-9 from behind the 3-point arc in the NCAA tournament and only 3-of-7 from inside it. If he gets hot, the Buckeyes could have some problems.

What to watch

The paint: With a much smaller lineup, Cincinnati is going to have to be very careful inside. Yancy Gates will have his hands full with Sullinger and Thomas, and he can’t allow the two to dominate on the boards or in the scoring column.

“I’ve been guarding a lot of good big men this season,’’ Gates said. “They all do a lot of different things. I think it’ll just be another challenge, trying to get to New Orleans.’’