FACTS & STATS: Site: Reliant Stadium (44,000) -- Houston, Texas. Television: CBS. NCAA Tournament Record: Stanford 21-14, Texas 31-28. Series Record: Series is tied, 1-1.

GAME NOTES: Into the Sweet 16 for the fifth time in the last seven years, the Texas Longhorns now set their sights on Stanford as the programs collide in the NCAA Tournament's South Regional Semifinals at Reliant Stadium in Houston. Texas joins Duke and Kansas as the only teams in the nation to have made it this far in the tourney in five of the last seven seasons. Second-seeded Texas, which lost to the Jayhawks in the Big 12 Conference Tournament title game for the third straight year a couple of weeks ago, has bounced back well with victories over Austin Peay and Miami-Florida in the first two rounds of this event. However, after crushing the Governors by 20 points, UT was given a rough time by the Hurricanes in a game that was decided by just three points on Sunday, 75-72. As for the third-seeded Cardinal, it too ran past first- round opponent Cornell by a sizeable margin (77-53), but then was truly tested over the weekend by Marquette in a game that was decided by a single point in the final moments of overtime, 82-81. With the win, Stanford is now 21-14 all- time in the tournament, while the 'Horns are 31-28. This game marks just the third meeting between these two programs, with each claiming a win previously. The most recent encounter took place in Chicago in December of 2001, with the Longhorns capturing an 83-75 overtime triumph. The winner of this game faces off against the survivor of the Michigan State/Memphis battle on Sunday for the right to head to San Antonio and the Final Four.

Needing a minor miracle on Saturday, the prayer was answered by Stanford standout Brook Lopez who deposited an awkward show from the baseline with just 1.3 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Cardinal the one-point win over Marquette. Brook Lopez finished with 30 points on 10-of-20 shooting from the field and 10-of-11 at the free-throw line, while brother Robin tacked on 18 points and cleared a team-best nine rebounds. Mitch Johnson added nine points, but it was his 16 assists that made his 44 minutes on the floor so important. The team's leading scorer with his 21.7 ppg, the 30 points by Brook Lopez was second only to the 31 he put up against Washington on the road at the end of January and showed that his mere four points versus Cornell was nothing to be concerned about. Although, since stringing together four straight games with at least 10 rebounds, he has totaled just 12 boards in the last three contests and that should be a concern, especially since his average says he's bringing down 11 rpg. Then again, Stanford is doing the job on defense more than anything else this season, limiting opponents to just 39.3 percent shooting from the floor and 61.0 ppg as a result.

Ahead by 16 points with just over four minutes to play in the second half, the Longhorns nearly let themselves get swept away by the Hurricanes in what became a too-close-for-comfort 75-72 decision in Little Rock on Sunday. A.J. Abrams, who sank a pair of free throws with just over nine seconds to play, finished with a game-high 26 points and was again a huge threat out on the perimeter as he made 6-of-10 beyond the arc. Damion James posted a double- double with 16 points and 16 rebounds, while Connor Atchley and D.J. Augustin tallied 15 and 12 points, respectively. Augustin, who also handed out eight assists to make up for his mere 4-of-14 shooting from the field, has posted a total of 25 dishes in the last three games, compared to a mere five turnovers. Abrams, who has been held to single digits in just seven games in 2007-08, has connected on six three-pointers in each of the first two tournament games for the Longhorns, something that was done just once previously in program history.

Already tied for the most wins in a single season in school history, the Longhorns have reason to believe that the ride is far from over. However, the squad will have trouble in the paint trying to lock down on the Lopez Brothers, which means Augustin and Abrams will have to be that much more productive out on the perimeter.

Predicted Outcome

Texas 74, Stanford 69