ST. LOUIS - Florida and Butler meet for the first time today since 2000. Basketball fans can hope the game is as good as that one.

Mike Miller's winning shot sent the Gators to the win against Butler in the NCAA Tournament.

Today in the Midwest Regional semifinals, the defending champion Gators will want to use their superior size and athleticism to make this a full-court game. The Bulldogs will want to slow things, choose when to take three-pointers and rely on tough defense (they're 21-0 when holding teams to fewer than 60 points).

But that might not be enough considering Brian Ligon is Butler's tallest starter at 6-foot-7 and figures to be in over his head against the terrific Joakim Noah-Al Horford combination.

NEVADA-LAS VEGAS vs. OREGON: The Rebels have the father-son story of Lon and Kevin Kruger. The Ducks have diminutive point guard Tajuan Porter, who hits the big-time shots.

Seventh-seeded UNLV was picked to finish in the bottom of half of the Mountain West Conference. Oregon wasn't noticed until the Pacific-10 tournament.

Relying on deep backcourts with not much up front, the teams mostly are mirror images of each other, so expect a fast- paced, exciting game in the Midwest Regional semifinal. Kevin Kruger must play well at point guard for the Rebels to have a chance.

At 6-2, Kruger is 8 inches taller than Porter, and he must use that to his advantage if UNLV wants to advance.

VANDERBILT vs. GEORGETOWN: After three somewhat disappointing seasons, the Commodores' Derrick Byars set his alarm clock for 5:30 a.m. in the offseason and went to work.

Byars took 20,000 shots, added 15 pounds of muscle and increased his bench press by 50 pounds.

"We are going to have to give him different looks, with different guards who can do different things," Georgetown center Roy Hibbert said of Byars.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA vs. NORTH CAROLINA: Tyler Hansbrough stood out on the wing, swishing three-pointers, dribbling between his legs and laughing. Chances are, the guy nicknamed "Psycho T" will look a lot different the next time he steps onto the court.

For the Trojans, stopping Hansbrough will be a key in tonight's East Regional semifinal - he totaled 54 points and 19 rebounds in the first two games of the tournament.

The Tar Heels' up-tempo offense will prove a challenge to the Trojans, as will North Carolina's superior depth.

SMITH HIRED BY MINNESOTA: Kentucky's Tubby Smith will be Minnesota's new men's basketball coach, a Minnesota school official said.

ALFORD TO NEW MEXICO: Iowa men's coach Steve Alford is leaving to take the job at New Mexico.

PORTLAND OUT: Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland, a former Colorado coach, resigned, ending a 27- year tenure that included 606 wins and allegations she discriminated against lesbian players.

EX-CSU COACH HIRED: Arkansas will introduce Louisville's Tom Collen, a former Colorado State coach, as its new women's basketball coach today.