TODAY’S REGIONAL SEMIFINALS
WEST REGIONAL
at Staples Center
3 Michigan (30-7) vs. 7 Texas A&M (22-12)
Time: 4:30 p.m. TV: TBS.
Update: Defense is key for both teams. Michigan led the Big Ten Conference in scoring defense at 63.1 points a game. Texas A&M has held opponents to 32% shooting on three-pointers and 40% overall. The Wolverines have won 11 in a row and are in their fourth regional semifinal in six seasons. The Aggies’ frontcourt starters — Tyler Davis, D.J. Hogg and Robert Williams — are all 6 feet 9 or taller. Texas A&M, which blew out 2017 NCAA champion North Carolina in the second round, has never reached the Elite Eight.
4 Gonzaga (32-4) vs. 9 Florida State (22-11)
Time: 6:45 p.m. TV: TBS.
Update: Gonzaga has the nation’s longest active winning streak (16 games) and its free-throw shooting down the stretch is a big reason why. In the final three minutes of their last 14 games, the Bulldogs have made 50 of 59 free throws. In 19 seasons with Mark Few as coach, Gonzaga is 21-5 as the higher seed, including a 15-1 mark since 2009. Florida State reached the Sweet 16 with an impressive second-round victory over top-seeded Xavier. The Seminoles trailed by 12 points midway through the second half but outscored the Musketeers 31-14 down the stretch in a 75-70 victory.
SOUTH REGIONAL
at Atlanta
7 Nevada (29-7) vs. 11 Loyola (Ill.) (30-5)
Time: 4 p.m. PDT. TV: Channel 2
Update: Nevada rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit to beat Texas 87-83 in overtime in the first round, then overcame a 22-point deficit in the final 11 minutes to stun No. 2 Cincinnati 75-73 in the second round. And yet the Wolf Pack’s story takes a backseat to that of Loyola Chicago’s. The Ramblers beat Miami 64-62 on Donte Ingram’s three-point shot just before the buzzer sounded in the first round, then eliminated Tennessee in the second round 63-62 on Clayton Custer’s basket that bounced off the rim and in with 3.6 seconds left. All the while 98-year-old Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the team’s chaplain, has become, in her words, an “international” sensation.
5 Kentucky (26-10) vs. 9 Kansas State (24-11)
Time: 6:30 p.m PDT. TV: Channel 2
Update: With the top four seeds in the South eliminated, Kentucky is considered the heavy favorite to reach the Final Four. But coach John Calipari is wary. “My challenge is making sure these kids don’t drink that poison, that poison being that we have an easy road. There are no easy roads in this tournament. If they drink that poison, we’ll be done Thursday.” Kentucky again has five freshmen starters, led by Kevin Knox (15.7 points a game) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (14.4 points, 5.1 assists). Kansas State coach Bruce Weber is in the Sweet 16 with his third school, having guided Southern Illinois to a regional semifinal in 2002 and Illinois to the national title game in 2005.