Saturday's West Regional Games

No. 7 West Virginia (28-10) vs. No. 2 Duke (28-5)

1:10 p.m., Washington D.C.

The 411: The Blue Devils survived Belmont’s upset bid but Duke looks like a team that might get beat in the second round for the second consecutive season. The Mountaineers have reached the Sweet 16 two of the last three seasons. The strategy: West Virginia will try to run at Duke’s perimeter players and force them to dribble instead of shoot. The Blue Devils will have a difficult time matching up with forwards Joe Alexander and Alex Ruoff. Duke will need to keep West Virginia from getting easy baskets inside or from offensive rebounds.

The key players: Duke’s Kyle Singler vs. West Virginia’s Joe Alexander. The Blue Devils rely on Singler for a bit of everything and the same goes for Alexander. If Alexander scores 20, West Virginia could pull off the upset.

No. 6 Purdue (25-8) vs. No. 3 Xavier (28-6)

3:40 p.m.

The 411: The Boilermakers rely on four freshmen and a junior-college transfer. Only four players on the roster have NCAA Tournament experience. Xavier didn’t get past the second round last year when they came within a missed free throw of upsetting top-seeded Ohio State.

The strategy: Purdue uses a physical style and likes to impose its will on teams on the defensive end (ask Baylor). The Boilermakers will try and slow the Xavier offense with their body-banging style. The Musketeers are deep. The key players: Purdue’s Chris Kramer vs. Xavier’s Drew Lavender. Kramer is Purdue’s defensive stopper while Lavender is the man who makes Xavier’s offense go. Lavender hasn’t been at full speed because of an ankle injury.

No. 1 UCLA (32-3) vs. No. 9 Texas A&M (25-10)

8:15 p.m., Anaheim, Calif.

The 411: The Aggies have made the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season. The Bruins are trying to each the Final Four for the third straight year. A&M beat BYU in a hard-fought first-round game while UCLA barely broke a sweat against out-manned Mississippi Valley State.

The strategy: Freshman Kevin Love is UCLA’s top scorer and rebounder. He does it with fundamentals. The Aggies have several athletic post players they can use against Love. A&M should try to double-team Love and force other Bruins to make plays. The Aggies need to avoid silly fouls against Love. UCLA’s team-oriented defense will be a challenge for the A&M back court.

The key players: Texas A&M’s Dominique Kirk vs. UCLA’s Darren Collison. Kirk needs to keep the Aggies’ offense running against Collison and the Bruins’ relentless defense.