Memphis -- What's to love: A defense holding opponents to 40.6 percent shooting from 2-point range and 28.8 percent shooting from 3-point range. Plus, the Tigers have two guys -- Chris Douglas-Roberts (5) and Derrick Rose (6) -- who can take over a close game when everything is on the line. They also have a coach with Final Four experience, and every champion this century has been coached by a guy who had been there before.
Nagging concerns: The Tigers missed 20 free throws against UTEP on Saturday, turning a double-digit victory into an unexpected home stress test. If they win it all, they'll have to outperform their 58.1 percent season average from the line. You also have to question the seasoning. Calipari says his team has played the nation's best nonconference schedule "and it's not even close." RPI begs to differ, rating Memphis' nonleague run to date the 13th toughest in the land. Will the rip-and-run Tigers be battle-hardened enough to handle a half-court grinder in a regional final?
Duke -- What's to love: All that perimeter skill and defensive pressure. In quintessential Mike Krzyzewski (8) fashion, the Blue Devils are spreading and shredding opponents with penetration, passing and shooting. They win the turnover ratio almost every night, too, jumping passing lanes and frustrating ballhandlers. Plus, Krzyzewski is another coach who has been there before -- more than anyone else currently coaching, in fact.
Nagging concerns: Duke's field goal percentage differential of plus 6.1 percent over its opponents would be the lowest of any NCAA champion in 11 years. Of specific concern is its interior defense. Someday (Wednesday?) someone (Tyler Hansbrough?) will do to the Devils what Pittsburgh wide-body DeJuan Blair (9) did back in December. Namely, eat them alive and pick his teeth with the bones of Duke's undersized frontcourt. Blair had 15 points and 20 rebounds, and it could have been a 20-20 if he hadn't shot 7-for-15 at the foul line.
Butler It's far easier said than done, but shutting down the Bulldogs' senior backcourt of Mike Green and A.J. Graves is the way to beat Butler. In their two losses to date, Green and Graves have shot a combined 10-for-45, which is atrocious. Graves in particular has struggled lately, making just 17 of 59 field goals and 7 of 13 free throws in January. The free-throw percentage is shocking; Graves was second nationally from the line last season at 94.8 percent, missing eight free throws all season.