Two carry SEC?s hopes

Arkansas found out that Bucknell was real, and we learned that the NCAA Tournament selection committee gave Tennessee too much credit, while Alabama and Kentucky ran out of time against UCLA and Connecticut, respectively. After two wild rounds in this year?s tournament, the league?s hopes of breaking a Final Four drought rest on a pair of teams that have already overcome some adversity this season ? LSU and Florida.

The Tigers shook off five losses in the pre-conference portion of the schedule by a total of 11 points, including setbacks to NCAA Tournament teams Northern Iowa, Ohio State and Connecticut, to win the regular-season conference championship. The Gators were the nation?s last remaining unbeaten team before suffering the first of six conference losses at Tennessee in mid-January, but have since rebounded and are playing their best basketball of the season at the right time.

LSU Tigers

n Seed: No. 4, Atlanta Region. n Record: 25-8 (14-2 SEC West). n Coach: John Brady (254-187). n Sweet 16 opponent: No. 1 Duke (32-3, 14-2 ACC); Atlanta; Thursday, 7:10 p.m. ET (CBS). n Winner faces: No. 2 Texas or No. 6 West Virginia.

Outlook: Just like the New York Yankees, there is really no middle ground when it comes to Duke.

The Blue Devils? success under head coach Mike Krzyzewski has been a double-edged sword. While Duke has one of the nation?s biggest followings, no team may be more hated.

Seniors Shelden Williams and J.J. Redick led Duke to the regular-season ACC championship, the postseason conference tournament title and the overall top seed in the NCAA Tournament. Williams was the ACC?s top rebounder and shot blocker, and Redick, who is in a dead heat with Gonzaga?s Adam Morrison for National Player of the Year honors, averaged 27.4 points per game this season and became the ACC?s all-time leading scorer and the NCAA?s all-time leading 3-point shooter.

The two unanimous All-ACC selections scored 58 of their team?s 70 points in a 16-point victory over upset-minded 16th seed Southern in the first round. The Blue Devils got more of a team effort in their second-round victory over Atlantic 10 regular-season champion George Washington, as freshman forward Josh McRoberts scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and freshman point guard Greg Paulus contributed 10 points and six assists, complementing Williams? 17-point and 14-rebound performance and Redick?s 20-point effort.

Duke is defending well, but ball security is an issue, since Paulus committed 13 turnovers in the first two tournament games and the Blue Devils? turnover margin was minus-5.5 per game.

LSU?s senior guard Darrel Mitchell will have to match Redick?s outside shooting. He appeared to show no ill effects from a late-season ankle injury, scoring 19 points in a 16-point first-round victory and knocking down the game-winning 3-pointer in the waning seconds to give the Tigers a 58-57 victory over Texas A&M and a Sweet 16 berth.

SEC Player of the Year Glen Davis, the league?s second-leading scorer and rebounder, was held to five points in the first half against Iona before exploding for 17 points over the final 20 minutes. Davis scored 21 points on 7-of-16 shooting against Texas A&M, which outrebounded the Tigers and held them to a 35.2-percent field-goal rate.

The return of Tyrus Thomas last week gave LSU needed production off the bench, but placed pressure on true freshman Tasmin Mitchell and Darnell Lazare to produce. Lazare, a 6-foot-8 junior, was 5-of-7 against Iona and 1-of-4 against Texas A&M, and the 6-foot-7 Mitchell was a combined 4-of-18 last week.

Texas and West Virginia will battle in the other Atlanta Region semifinal. The Tigers defeated West Virginia, which essentially lives and dies by the 3-point shot and plays a tough 1-3-1 zone defense, 71-68 in overtime in late November.

Florida Gators

n Seed: No. 3, Minneapolis Region. n Record: 29-6 (10-6 SEC East). n Coach: Billy Donovan (257-118). n Sweet 16 opponent: No. 7 Georgetown (23-9, 10-6 Big East); Minneapolis; Friday, 6:10 p.m. CT (CBS). n Winner faces: No. 1 Villanova or No. 4 Boston College.

Outlook: Many are hoping for a role reversal and a rematch of the 1985 national championship game between Georgetown and Villanova in the championship game of the Minneapolis Region, but Florida enters Friday night?s contest against the seventh-seeded Hoyas on a roll.

The Gators made it eight straight wins with blowout victories over South Alabama and Milwaukee-Wisconsin in the first two rounds of the tournament.

Sophomore forward Joakim Noah scratched every column of the stat sheet against the Jaguars and the Panthers, with Lee Humphrey and swingman Corey Brewer leading the barrage from outside.

Center Al Horford is always a threat to record a double-double, but SEC tournament Most Valuable Player Taurean Green was less than spectacular last week. Until he regains his touch, Green has to be content to be a distributor.

Georgetown is looking to return to the Final Four for the first time since falling to Villanova 21 years ago in what could be the biggest upset in college basketball history. John Thompson III, the son of legendary Hoyas coach John Thompson, who played for and learned under Pete Carril at Princeton, served as his alma mater?s head coach for four years before replacing Craig Esherick following 2003-04 season.

Esherick had the misfortune of following a coaching legend, and it appeared as if each and every move he made was bound to fall under criticism. He was chased due to pressure placed on the administration by students and alumni during a 13-15 final season.

Although the teams that the elder Thompson coached at Georgetown were often viewed as bruising and intimidating, his son takes a different approach.

Second-seeded Ohio State couldn?t stop the Princeton-based offense, as the Hoyas registered 18 assists on their 27 field goals in their 70-52 second-round tournament victory.

Jeff Green, a 6-foot-9 forward, shoots 44.4 percent from the field and averages a team-high 11.8 points per game. Center Roy Hibbert stands 7-foot-2 and has converted nearly 60 percent of his attempts this season, and 6-foot-9 Brandon Bowman ranks behind Green and Hibbert on the team?s scoring and rebounding chart with 11 points and five rebounds per game. Ashanti Cook is the team?s top 3-point shooter, hitting 50 of 114 attempts from behind the arc this season. Teams with contrasting styles meet in the other Minneapolis Region semifinal, as top-seeded Villanova faces ACC newcomer and fourth-seed Boston College.