Today at New Orleans Superdome

Marquette (27-5) vs. Kansas (29-7), 3 p.m. PST, Channel 2

How they match up: At first glance, it might simply look like Marquette’s one-man band, Wade, facing Kansas’ two-headed attack of Collison and Hinrich. But Marquette has found an identity in the tournament as an accurate three-point shooting outfit, knocking down 56.9%, with Novak coming off the bench as a matchup nightmare who has made 14 of 20 three-point attempts. Kansas, which can play up-tempo or the half-court game -- though the Jayhawks prefer to run -- is making 30.2% of their three-pointers.

*--* G Joe Chapman 6-4 195 46.7% G Michael Lee 6-3 215 4.7 ppg 3pt BTR STARTERS Marquette Ht Wt Stats Pos Kansas Ht Wt Stats Scott Merritt 6-10 245 6.5 rpg F Nick Collison 6-9 255 18.6 ppg Todd Townsend 6-7 215 6.0 ppg F Keith 6-4 205 15.6 ppg Langford Robert 6-10 260 7.5 rpg C Jeff Graves 6-9 275 6.4 rpg Jackson Travis Diener 6-1 165 5.7 apg G Aaron Miles 6-1 175 6.5 apg Dwyane Wade 6-5 210 21.6 ppg G Kirk Hinrich 6-3 190 17.3 ppg KEY RESERVES F Steve Novak 6-10 210 52.9% F Bryant Nash 6-6 205 3.0 ppg 3pt

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Keys to the game: Focus and containment. Kansas is the sentimental favorite to get Coach Roy Williams his first national championship, but how distracted will the Jayhawks be by speculation that Williams might leave for the North Carolina job? For Kansas to advance, it needs to keep the explosive Wade from taking over the game. If Marquette wants to still be playing Monday night, it must limit the touches of Collison inside, no easy task against a player as apt to knock down jumpers as bang down low.

-- Paul Gutierrez

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How they match up: Texas is at once physical and athletic in averaging 85.5 points in the tournament; defensive-minded Syracuse is lean and long in holding teams to 61.5 points. The Longhorns, the only No. 1-seeded team to advance to the Final Four, rely on the ultra-quick and unselfish-to-a-fault Ford to break down defenses and get his teammates involved with flashy passes. The opportunistic Orangemen use a suffocating 2-3 zone defense (6.8 blocks, 9.5 steals a game) to disrupt opponents and create offense, most of it by freshman of the year Anthony, who’s averaging 17 points in the tournament.

Keys to the game: How Texas deals with Syracuse’s zone defense will determine the outcome. Because the Orangemen have no answer for Ford (who does?) the point guard will penetrate the gaps in the zone, setting up kick-out passes to shooters on the perimeter. But if the Longhorns, who have been shooting 37.3% from three-point territory, struggle with their outside shots, it won’t matter how deep Ford gets into the heart of the defense.