NCAA West Regional Semifinal Picks

No. 1 Connecticut vs. No. 5 Purdue
UConn has by far been the most impressive of the No. 1 seeds, blowing out Chattanooga and Texas A&M. A.J. Price, Jeff Adrien, and Hasheem Thabeet have been stellar.

Purdue's top three of E'Twaun Moore, JaJuan Johnson, and Robbie Hummel must neutralize these three if Purdue has any shot of pulling off the upset. They will have to limit turnovers and shoot well to open up the half-court and force UConn's guards to the outside.

Off the court allegations have surfaced yesterday about recruiting violations surrounding the UConn program, but Jim Calhoun will have his players ready to go. This game will be closer than many people think, but UConn will advance.

Pick: CONNECTICUT

No. 2 Memphis vs. No. 3 Missouri
This is without a doubt the best match-up of the weekend. Memphis comes into the game on a 27-game winning streak. The last coach to beat Memphis in conference play? Missouri's Mike Anderson.

Missouri comes into the game with nothing to lose, knowing they can win a game from behind like they did against Marquette last Sunday. Their fast-paced tempo almost became a fast-paced blown game as they looked a step slow in the second half while Marquette relentlessly went to the basket.

Even Usain Bolt might get tired after watching this one. If there is one team that can possibly handle Mizzou's non-stop 40-minute full-court press, it's Memphis. But Mizzou might be smart in letting the first 10 minutes of the game fly-by with a half-court set. In the games that Mizzou beat Oklahoma and Kansas at home, they waited to employ the full-court press, slowly ratcheting up the pace until the opposing team couldn't handle it. Then Leo Lyons and Demarre Carroll took over.

Antonio Anderson and Tyreke Evans will have to make sure this doesn't happen. But it will. And I see an upset by the Tigers to the north.

Pick: MISSOURI