NCAA

The final four

Marquette Golden Eagles

LOCATION: Milwaukee

ENROLLMENT: 10,600

CONFERENCE: Conference USA

RECORD: 27-5

RANKING: No.9

COACH: Tom Crean (83-40, fourth season).

KEY PLAYER: Dwyane Wade. The junior guard does it all for the Golden Eagles, which he demonstrated in his dazzling performance in the region final against Kentucky. The C-USA player of the year had his first career triple double -- 29 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists -- and was named the region's most outstanding player.

ROAD TO FINAL FOUR: Seeded No.3 in the Midwest Region, it beat No.14 Holy Cross 72-68, No.6 Missouri 101-92 in OT, No.2 Pittsburgh 77-74 and No.1 Kentucky 83-69.

FINAL FOUR HISTORY: Marquette reached the Final Four in 1974 and won the NCAA championship in 1977 against North Carolina in legendary coach Al McGuire's last season.

THE LOWDOWN: Crean, a longtime Michigan State assistant under Tom Izzo, stresses relentless, physical defense and unselfish, balanced offense. Wade is the X-factor, the type of player who can dominate at both ends.

DID YOU KNOW?: Reserve freshman forward Steve Novak has hit 14 of 20 3-pointers in the NCAA Tournament.

Kansas Jayhawks

LOCATION: Lawrence

ENROLLMENT: 26,458

CONFERENCE: Big 12

RECORD: 29-7

RANKING: No.6

COACH: Roy Williams (417-100, 15th season)

KEY PLAYER: Nick Collison. The senior forward is averaging 18.6 points (on 54.9 percent shooting), 9.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks. He is a rugged presence inside, something to which Duke can attest. He scored a career-high 33 and had 19 rebounds in the West Region semifinal.

ROAD TO FINAL FOUR: Seeded No.2 in the West, it beat No.15 Utah State 64-61, No.10 Arizona State 108-76, No.3 Duke 69-65 and No.1 Arizona 78-75.

FINAL FOUR HISTORY: The Jayhawks are in the semifinals for the 12th time, fourth under Williams (1991, 1993, 2002). They lost last season to eventual national champion Maryland. Kansas last won it all in 1988 as a do-everything forward, Danny Manning, keyed an upset of conference rival Oklahoma.

THE LOWDOWN: Williams has had better teams that have not made it this far. This group started 3-3 and later lost standout forward Wayne Simien because of a shoulder injury. But Collison and senior guard Kirk Hinrich (28 points against Arizona) give Williams a stellar, experienced inside-outside combo that makes the Jayhawks tough.

DID YOU KNOW?: Kansas has beaten Marquette five of the six times they have played. The only loss? A 64-51 defeat in the 1974 Final Four.

Syracuse Orangemen

LOCATION: Syracuse, N.Y.

ENROLLMENT: 18,604

CONFERENCE: Big East

RECORD: 28-5

RANKING: No.13

COACH: Jim Boeheim (651-226, 27th season).

KEY PLAYER: Carmelo Anthony. The Basketball Times' freshman of the year who was a unanimous choice as the Big East's top freshman and was the East Region most outstanding player figures to bolt for the NBA. If he does, what a ride he's had with the Orangemen. The versatile, quick and strong 6-8, 220-pound forward averages 22 points and 9.8 rebounds.

ROAD TO FINAL FOUR: Seeded No.3 in the East Region, it beat No.14 Manhattan 76-65, No.6 Oklahoma State 68-56, No.10 Auburn 79-78 and No.1 Oklahoma 63-47.

FINAL FOUR HISTORY: This is Syracuse's fourth Final Four (1975, 1987, 1996). It was the runner-up the latter two years -- both under Boeheim -- against Indiana on Keith Smart's jumper and against Kentucky.

THE LOWDOWN: Syracuse always plays tough defense because of its tried-and-true 2-3 zone, but this season's group also has a balanced attack with four double-figure scorers (Anthony, sophomore forward Hakim Warrick, freshman guard Gerry McNamara and senior forward/guard Kueth Duany).

Texas Longhorns

LOCATION: Austin

ENROLLMENT: 52,261

CONFERENCE: Big 12

RECORD: 26-6

RANKING: No.5

COACH: Rick Barnes (116-49, fifth season; 318-183 overall).

KEY PLAYER: T.J. Ford. The speedy 5-10, 165-pound sophomore point guard was named the Naismith Player of the Year. His size doesn't matter. He's that dominant. Ford averages 15.1 points and 7.5 assists.

ROAD TO FINAL FOUR: Seeded No.1 in the South Region, it beat No.16 UNC-Asheville 82-61, No.9 Purdue 77-67, No.5 Connecticut 82-78 and No.7 Michigan State 85-76.

FINAL FOUR HISTORY: The Longhorns have a short Final Four history a long time ago. They reached the semifinals in 1943 and 1947. Back then, only eight teams made the tournament.

THE LOWDOWN: Texas is far from just a Ford. Junior guard Brandon Mouton is playing his best ball. He averages 15 points, which includes a career-high 27 in the region semifinal against UConn. Junior center James Thomas is a rebounding force, averaging 11.1, but he also is providing an inside offensive presence, averaging 11.1 points.

DID YOU KNOW?: The Longhorns had never been a No.1 seed before this tournament.

-- Compiled by Brian Landman.

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