The second weekend of the 2011 NCAA Tournament is a few days away, and the West Regional Finals will be played at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Thursday. Here is the schedule for Thursday's games, and what you should know about each of the matchups.
No. 3 UConn Vs. No. 2 San Diego St., 4:15, CBS: If a San Diego St. fan wanted to drive up to Anaheim to watch the game, it would take them a little under two hours. If A UConn fan wanted to make the drive from Storrs, Connecticut, they would travel about 2,900 miles and it would take about two days. So The Aztecs should have a pretty sizeable home court advantage. Then again, the Huskies have Kemba Walker who has been the best player in the Country over the past month. The Aztecs have an All-American candidate of their own in Kawhi Leonard. Both of these teams play good defense, so it will probably come down to which team's star player plays best.
No. 5 Arizona Vs. No. 1 Duke, 6:45, CBS: Both of these teams played games that went right down to the wire in the last round. Derrick Williams helped the Wildcats squeak by Texas, while Kyrie Irving hit a big shot to help Duke beat Michigan. Duke is extremely deep and balanced, while Arizona probably has the best player on the court; and I'm not sure that the Blue Devils have anyone that can match up with Williams. If he plays well and can be a matchup problem for the Blue Devils, than this could be a closer game than Duke would want it to be.
The winners of these two games will meet for a trip to the Final Four on Saturday. We'll be updating this stream with news and updates about the game as they grow nearer.
More March Madness resources: updated printable 2011 NCAA Tournament bracket ... Sweet 16 bracket and game times ... complete NCAA Tournament coverage.