My thoughts on what's going to happen today in the Sweet 16

Just a week ago, there were 64 teams with a chance to win the National Championship. Now there are 16. By the end of tonight there will be just 12. So who's still going to have a chance at being the team on CBS's "One shinning moment"? Here are my thoughts on tonight's match ups in the East and West regional semi finals.

East

Pittsburgh vs Xavier: I know the Musketeers have a talented roster that undoubtedly will cause problems for Pitt. However, everybody knows that guards win in the tournament and I don't know if they have anybody who can slow down Levance Fields enough to disrupt the Panthers' offense. Xavier will send multiple players at DeJuan Blair, but just as he did against Oklahoma St., Blair will find a way to get on track down the stretch. I know they've been living on the edge lately, but the real Panthers will finally show up as they pull out a thriller and finally get to the Elite Eight

Duke vs Villanova: Simply put, I think the Blue Devils could be in trouble against the Wildcats. Duke and Villanova play similar styles, but Villanova clearly has the better personnel. If I'm Jay Wright, I tell Scottie Reynolds and the rest of my super athletic guards to attack the Blue Devils man to man pressure all night until Coach K uses all of his timeouts out of sheer frustration. I tell Dante Cunningham to crash the boards like a mad man because Brian Zoubek and Lance Thomas can't stop him. If Coach K puts Greg Paulus in the game, I would spread the floor and tell the guy who's being guarded by Paulus to go to the rack every possession until Coach K has to take him back out of the game. Duke will probably hit enough 3's to make things interesting, but I think Villanova has too much athleticism for Duke to stay with them for a full 40 minutes.

Keep in mind this is all based on the notion the officiating doesn't mysteriously lean in the favor of the Blue Devils. Call me a "Duke Hater" all you want, but it's become painfully obvious the Blue Devils have been the beneficiary of some "questionable" calls the past few years.

West

UConn vs Purdue: If you designed the perfect team to beat UConn it would look absolutely nothing like Purdue. Matt Painter has quietly restored the Boilers Makers to where they once were in the Big 10, but UConn is the type of team the Boilers have yet to come across this season. I love Robbie Hummel, JaJuan Johnson, and E'Twaun Moore. I just like Hasheem Thabeet, A.J. Price, Jeff Adrien and the human pogo stick known as Stanley Robinson a lot more.

Last week Jim Calhoun missed the first game of the tournament due to dehydration. What was the result? Tennessee Chattanooga found themselves on the business end of a 103-47 pasting at the hand of the Huskies. Purdue isn't Chattanooga, but the last thing they needed to happen was another incident to come up that will ultimately bring the Huskies closer together and make them want to give Jim Calhoun another championship that much more.

I hate to break it to you Purdue fans but you better enjoy your trip to the valley of home foreclosures because it's going to a short one.

Memphis vs Missouri: Who's going to break first? Can Tyreke Evans handle the relentless pressure Missouri will bring at him? Can Missouri keep Memphis off the offensive boards?

I know Missouri was left for dead after Quin Snyder was finished running the program into the ground, but Mike Anderson has brought respectability back to the university's basketball program. That said, it's hard to believe Missouri has faced the caliber of talent they will against Memphis. The Tigers aren't quite as explosive on offense as they were last year with Derrick Rose at the point and Chris Douglas-Roberts slashing from the wing, but they have more than made up for it with their play on the defensive end. (They're allowing just 57 points a game)

Missouri is a good team, but I'm not sure how they will handle Memphis' duo of Shawn Taggart and Robert Dozier in the paint. They'll to try to use their full court pressure to wear down Memphis, but that might play right into the Tigers' hands. If Memphis can keep sharp shooter Kim English from going crazy from 3 point range and cut down on the big plays DeMarre Carroll and Leo Lyons make for Mizzou, the Tigers depth and over grown back court should have them playing against UConn in the Elite Eight for a shot at their second straight Final Four.