The Edge

How they got here: At-large bid; East first round: def. No. 11 seed VCU 65-64.

They'll keep winning if ...: Their shots keep falling. UCLA lost 65-55 to rival USC in the Pac-10 tournament semifinals because it suffered through its worst shooting performance of the season -- 27.1 percent (19 of 70). That doesn't happen often to the Bruins, who usually work their half-court offense until Darren Collison, a superb decision-maker, finds them an open shot. The Bruins, in fact, ended the regular season leading the nation in field goal percentage at 50.6 percent. That's not because they have a monster inside who dunks everything, it's because they can spread the court with good shooters and get good looks.

Memorable moment: UCLA recorded its best victory with an 85-76 home triumph against eventual Pac-10 regular-season champ Washington. The Bruins led nearly the entire game and improved to 22-1 against the Huskies in Pauley Pavilion since the 1986-87 season. Washington tied the game at 55 about halfway through the second half, but hot-shooting UCLA -- 62.1 percent in the second half -- went on an 11-3 run, and the Huskies couldn't catch up. Starting with this game, UCLA won six of seven before falling to USC in the Pac-10 semifinals.

Darren Collison

Go-to guys: Senior Darren Collison is one of the best and fastest point guards in the nation, the catalyst for a highly efficient UCLA offense. Entering the NCAA tournament, he averaged 14.5 points per game, makes a stunning 51.9 percent of his shots and has a better than 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Just as important, he's a veteran of three Final Four appearances, so he knows how to win in March. Collison is surrounded by standout perimeter players -- 6-5 senior Josh Shipp (44 percent on 3-pointers), freshman Jrue Holiday (solid, if not spectacular as his recruiting clippings suggested) and designated bench shooter Michael Roll (48 of 94 3-pointers). Roll just needs a little bit of space to launch, and he's not afraid to shoot from anywhere.

Strengths: This is a Howland-coached team, so you know it buys into the principles of a hard-nosed man-to-man defense. The Bruins, without as much presence in the middle, haven't posted the lockdown defensive numbers they did during their three-year Final Four run, but they can still discombobulate careless opponents. UCLA led the Pac-10 in the regular season by forcing 14.7 turnovers per game, which, in turn, leads to fast breaks, which contributes to the Bruins' gaudy shooting percentage. Holiday often gets the assignment against the opponent's best wing player. How he holds up in the NCAA tournament will be key. UCLA's starting five excels at the free throw line, led by Collison and Shipp. Collison hits 91.4 percent and made a UCLA-record 43 in a row this season.

Weaknesses: Kevin Love was a one-and-done player, leaving the Bruins without a big man to run the offense through. Starting post Alfred Aboya has the size to play the part (6-9, 245) but he's more of a clean-up-the-messes kind of scorer rather than a primary low-post scorer. For sure, UCLA doesn't have the balance of previous seasons. Other than Roll, there isn't much scoring off the bench inside or outside. Collison was suffering from a tailbone injury late in the season that contributed to a horrible performance in the Pac-10 semifinals against USC -- 1 of 9 shooting, seven turnovers. If Collison is ailing (especially against guard-heavy Villanova), UCLA will need something off the bench from freshman guards Malcolm Lee and Jerime Anderson.

How they got here: At-large bid; East first round: def. No. 16 seed East Tennessee State 72-62; East second round: def. No. 8 seed Oklahoma State 84-76; East regional semifinals: def. No. 4 seed Xavier 60-55.

They'll keep winning if ...: DeJuan Blair stays in the game. The center has been in foul trouble in every defeat, and he's the player who the Panthers can't do without. With him in the middle, Sam Young has more room to find his shots and the Pitt guards tend to get open looks from the outside. If any of them miss, Blair is there to clean up the mess. Without him, things get a lot more tenuous.

Memorable moment: Pitt beat UConn twice when the Huskies were the No. 1 team in the country. The first time the teams met, the Panthers traveled to Hartford and DeJuan Blair dominated Hasheem Thabeet in the middle, with 22 points and 23 rebounds, in a game that served as a supporting exhibit to the idea that Pitt wasn't going to be intimidated and could impose its physical will against any team. That paved the way for the Panthers to retake the No. 1 ranking the following week.

Sam Young

Go-to guys: Sam Young is the most comprehensive scoring threat, with the ability to score from 3-point range and in the paint. He's the leading scorer on the team, but DeJuan Blair is automatic when he gets the ball down low, shooting 60 percent from the floor. Levance Fields mostly concentrates on getting the ball to the open man, but averages 10.7 points per game in addition to his 7.6 assists. Jermaine Dixon and Brad Wanamaker can both knock down 3-pointers in bunches when the opposing defenses sag to stop the Panthers' stars.

Strengths: Pitt is a team that can score from anywhere on the court and in any number of ways, which makes the Panthers hard to game plan. DeJuan Blair is a force in the middle, and Sam Young can score inside and out. Focus too much on the inside, and the Panthers have a number of shooters who can drain 3-pointers. Levance Fields is a veteran point guard, and his 7.6 assists per game show that he excels at finding the weakness in opposing defenses and getting the ball into the hands of players who can take advantage.

Weaknesses: It doesn't take a rocket scientist to notice that the common theme in all four Pitt losses was DeJuan Blair getting in foul trouble, and that's because there's no backup that can replace his points or his rebounding, much less both. The team struggled offensively when Sam Young got into a shooting slump in midseason, and if he's off his game that impacts the rest of the team. With either Blair or Young out of the game or playing poorly, the outside shooters get fewer open looks and the offense sputters. The Panthers' shooters can go from hot to cold quickly. When Jermaine Dixon and Brad Wanamaker aren't making shots, it can cause the offense to become totally focused on paint points.