FRIDAY'S MATCHUPS by REGION (seeds in parentheses)

MIDWEST
Illinois (1) - Northwestern State (16): Congratulations on beating Winthrop, but Illinois is a different story. Bill Self's team has a tough second-round battle against the Tennessee-Charlotte winner.

Tennessee (8) - Charlotte (9): Will Jerry Green's team play up to its potential? Remember, this team was 16-1 earlier this season. Tony Harris has to shoot better than his 1-for-10 performance in his last SEC tournament game. Charlotte has one of the nation's premier diaper dandies in Rodney White.

Syracuse (5) - Hawaii (12): Ironically, the last time Hawaii was in the tournament, it faced Syracuse (in 1994). Riley Wallace's team showed a lot of heart and guts winning the WAC tournament on Tulsa's home court. Watch how Preston Shumpert does. When he is on, he is special; he hit eight trifectas against Connecticut during the season. Will his eye injury affect him in this game?

Kansas (4) - Cal State-Northridge (13): Bobby Braswell's Cal State team beat UCLA earlier this season. Kansas has to regroup after the disappointing loss to Oklahoma in the Big 12 tournament. Kenny Gregory and company are ready for the challenge. Drew Gooden has to step up for the Jayhawks as well.

Notre Dame (6) - Xavier (11): I can't wait to see this matchup between Irish All-American Troy Murphy and David West, baby! It should be super, scintillating, sensational! I was happy to see Xavier coach Skip Prosser get into the NCAAs after missing despite 20-plus win seasons the last two years.

Mississippi (3) - Iona (14): Keep an eye on Rod Barnes' Ole Miss club. He has done a super job and he has a good one in Rahim Lockhart up front. Justin Reed, the diaper dandy, has had a good season as well.

Wake Forest (7) - Butler (10): Just remember how Butler almost upset Florida last year. The Gators then went on to the title game! Wake Forest will be without Craig Dawson (shoulder). Wake's Darius Songaila can't worry about foul trouble as he must play big here.

Arizona (2) - Eastern Illinois (15): Eastern Illinois has some scoring punch, led by Kyle Hill. Arizona needs Loren Woods to show some passion and emotion, like he did against California in the last game of the regular season. The Wildcats have the potential to go to the Final Four and make up for their slow start this season.

SOUTH
Michigan State (1) -Alabama State (16): Tom Izzo's Spartans have a potential tough test against California or Fresno State in the second round. Jason Richardson is one of the most explosive players in America.

California (8) - Fresno State (9): Sean Lampley has to play well for the Golden Bears. Jerry Tarkanian wasn't happy with Fresno's loss to Hawaii in the WAC tournament. Look for big things from Tito Maddox in the backcourt and Chris Jefferies and Melvin Ely up front. This should be a tight one.

Virginia (5) - Gonzaga (12): The Zags are no longer a sleeper after making the Sweet 16 last year and the Elite Eight in 1999. Mark Few can flat-out coach and Casey Calvary and Dan Dickau provide a potent 1-2 punch. Peter Gillen's Cavaliers have great quickness and competed well in the ACC. The question is whether the Cavs can win away from Charlottesville.

Oklahoma (4) - Indiana State (13): The Sooners have hung tough despite the loss of J. R. Raymond. That's why Kelvin Sampson is one of the best coaches in America year in and year out. Indiana State has experience, and the Sycamores beat Indiana earlier in the season.

Texas (6) - Temple (11): Rick Barnes is unhappy that's he's a sixth seed. Imagine how he felt when he saw the Owls in the bracket, baby! The Temple zone will challenge the Longhorns. Lynn Greer leads the Owls and this will be a battle.

Florida (3) - Western Kentucky (14): Florida's Udonis Haslem has to stay out of foul trouble against 7-foot-1 Chris Marcus. America will learn about the Hilltoppers' big man, who has a future in the NBA according to many scouts. Billy Donovan may remind his team about last year's first-round test, a Maalox masher against Butler.

Penn State (7) - Providence (10): John Linehan can be a disruptive force on defense for Providence. He could give Joe Crispin some trouble. Karim Shabazz in the middle can force matchup problems for Penn State. Remember, the Nittany Lions are the only team in the field to beat two No. 1 seeds (Illinois and Michigan State) and a No. 2 (Kentucky), so this is a dangerous club.

North Carolina (2) - Princeton (15): The Tar Heels need to show more effort after losing badly to Duke in the ACC final. I think Matt Doherty's team will get it together. Look for Joseph Forte to bounce back, though the Tigers will make you work on defense. Watch out for those backdoor cuts!