<strong><span class="subhead">EAST REGIONAL</span></strong></p><p><strong>No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 4 Washington St.</strong><strong>6:27 p.m. (Central), Charlotte, N.C.</strong></p><p><strong>&#8226;The matchup: </strong>Fascinating contrasts. North Carolina leads the tournament in scoring, averaging 110.5 points per game. Washington State surrendered 40 and 41 in its two NCAA games, holding Notre Dame to half of its average output. There&#8217;s no way to score in droves if the other team holds it for most of the shot clock, so the Tar Heels aren&#8217;t likely to break the century mark. It could come down to how well North Carolina shoots from the perimeter and whether Tyler Hansbrough can crash the offensive glass. Every shot counts in a low-possession game. Are the Cougars big-game hunters? They went 0-5 against Pacific-10 kingpins UCLA and Stanford. It&#8217;s mostly a balanced scoring attack with the strength in the backcourt, led by Derrick Low.</p><p><strong>&#8226;Prediction: </strong>North Carolina 76, Washington State 67</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 3 Louisville</span></strong></p><p><strong>8:57 p.m., Charlotte, N.C.</strong></p><p><strong>&#8226;</strong><strong>The matchup: </strong>The Cardinals were more impressive in the first two rounds, crushing Boise State and Oklahoma, while the Volunteers looked sluggish against American and needed overtime to bounce Butler. Both teams bring loads of defensive pressure. The team that handles it better wins. Bad news for Tennessee: Guard Chris Lofton has been limping this week after a leg injury suffered against Butler. He&#8217;s expected to play, but JaJuan Smith has been getting reps at Lofton&#8217;s position this week. Bad news for Louisville: The Cards aren&#8217;t good free-throw shooters. They&#8217;re at 65.6 percent for the season, and this game figures to be close, which could produce plenty of late trips to the line.</p><p><strong>&#8226;Prediction: </strong>Louisville 68-66.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">WEST REGIONAL</span></strong></p><p><strong><span class="subhead">No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 12 Western Kentucky</span></strong></p><p><strong>8:40 p.m., Phoenix</strong></p><p><strong>&#8226;</strong><strong>The matchup: </strong>They do many of the same things well, but UCLA did them in the Pacific-10 and Western Kentucky in the Sun Belt. The Hilltoppers&#8217; backcourt has been the talk of the tournament. In the dramatic victory over Drake, Tyrone Brazelton went for 33 points and had the big assist. Against San Diego, conference MVP Courtney Lee had 29. Western Kentucky likes to run, and the Bruins are more than capable of slowing the tempo. UCLA wasn&#8217;t sharp in the two-point victory over Texas A&amp;M, but big man Kevin Love and guard Darren Collison played like champions down the stretch. Love could have a monster game because the Hilltoppers don&#8217;t have a strong interior.</p><p><strong>&#8226;Prediction: </strong>UCLA 80-71.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">No. 3 Xavier vs. No. 7 West Virginia</span></strong></p><p><strong>6:10 p.m., Phoenix</strong></p><p><strong>&#8226;</strong><strong>The matchup: </strong>Xavier comes at you with no real stars, just a lineup full of hard-nosed, scrappy players who refuse to let details like double-digit deficits bother them. Georgia and Purdue both jumped up big on the Musketeers, who kept their cool down the stretch. This is a terrific defensive team led by Atlantic 10 defensive player of the year Stanley Burrell. West Virginia coach Bob Huggins went 8-8 against Xavier while he was at Cincinnati. The Mountaineers&#8217; Joe Alexander has been a dominant player over the last month and had scored in double figures in 13 straight games. Several stepped up big in the victory over Duke. But Xavier will be a tougher challenge.</p><p><strong>&#8226;Prediction: </strong>Xavier 83-77.