No. 9 Oregon (18-13) at No. 8 Mississippi St (22-10)

By Jimmy Sirody
Don Best senior writer

Mississippi State and Oregon will provide a startling contrast when they square off Friday night in the opening round of the South Regional at Alltel Arena in Little Rock.

The high octane Ducks of the Pac-10 average 76.8 points a game and surpassed 90 points five times this season. By contrast, the Bulldogs have allowed an opponent to score in the 80's just twice.

Oregon struggled against UCLA and Washington State, the two top defensive teams in its conference, losing all four meetings, whereas the Ducks were 7-1 against the Pac-10's four worst defensive outfits. However, the Ducks have enough weapons to open up the black hole formed by Mississippi State's shot-blocking tandem of James Varnado and Charles Rhodes.

The Bulldogs are a team that excels in the kind of grind-it-out games that are commonly seen in the NCAA tournament. Their guards are quick and athletic, and if they make a mistake on the perimeter, Varnado is there to erase it. Mississippi State averages 7.9 blocked shots, second nationally only to Connecticut. It's a definite factor in the Bulldogs ranking second nationally in field-goal percentage defense (.368).

The Ducks have five excellent scoring options, led by guard Tajuan Porter. He hit 8-of-12 three-pointers in Oregon's win over UNLV in the Sweet 16 last year. The Ducks usually win when Porter is in the groove.

Oregon doesn't score much inside and that's MSU's strength. Coach Ernie Kent's crew may have too many options for the Bulldogs to deal with. However, the Ducks don't have much in the way of defense and they usually give up just as many layups as they generate.

Mississippi State isn't especially deep. If the Bulldogs get into foul trouble, it's a problem, especially up front. Conversely, Oregon has eight players that average 12 minutes per game.

In a game that figures to come down to the wire, free-throw shooting could be a major factor. Mississippi State is one of the worst in America at the charity stripe, converting a mere 64 percent.

Most offshore books opened the Bulldogs as a 2-point favorite with the 'total' set at 143.

The winner will face either top seed Memphis or No. 16 Texas Arlington in the second round on Sunday.

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