ANALYSIS

By Ryan Fagan

updated 4:06 p.m. ET March 25, 2009

March legends are made during the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, when star players often lift their teams into the Final Four with exceptional performances. First, though, they must advance to the Elite Eight.

Here are five stars and the primary obstacles in their paths in Sweet 16 matchups:

Oklahoma F Blake Griffin vs. Syracuse big men Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson. Griffin -- just call him Mr. Double-double -- is one of those contain-don't-stop types who is capable of dominating a game. Against Michigan in the second round, he had 33 points and 17 rebounds.

But Syracuse has athletic big men Onuaku (6-9, 275) and Jackson (6-9, 240) to throw at Griffin. They did a great job in the second round against Arizona State forward Jeff Pendergraph, limiting him to nine points and two rebounds in only 24 minutes because of foul trouble. This, after Pendergraph had 22 and seven in the first round.

But the Orange aren't very deep. If Griffin can get Onauku and Jackson in early foul trouble -- something he's been pretty good at doing -- there isn't much in the way of post reinforcements. The notion of rarely used backups trying to handle Griffin would surely keep Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim up nights, if he allowed such negative thoughts to fester.

North Carolina F Tyler Hansbrough vs. Gonzaga F Josh Heytvelt. Chances are, at some point in the past day or two, you've heard about the last time these two schools met. In November 2006, Gonzaga played then-No. 2 North Carolina in Madison Square Garden and shocked the Tar Heels in rather convincing fashion, 82-74.

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The Bulldogs were figuring out who they were at the beginning of the post-Adam Morrison era, and that night the country found out about Heytvelt, then an emerging sophomore who had 19 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots. Hansbrough was the returning All-American but struggled with just nine points and nine rebounds.

Granted, that was a long time ago, but there are enough primaries left from both teams -- Matt Bouldin, Jeremy Pargo and Heytvelt for Gonzaga; Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Hansbrough for Carolina -- who remember that upset.

Hansbrough and Heytvelt both can play a physical style, and points in the paint will be at a premium in a matchup of two balanced squads.

Kansas C Cole Aldrich vs. Michigan State C Goran Suton. The triple-double (13 points, 20 rebounds, 10 blocked shots) Aldrich put up in the second round was impressive. With him patrolling the paint, Dayton's three starting post players were a combined 6-for-28 against Kansas.

But Suton is a different animal. He's a 6-10, 245-pound senior who has banged in the rough-and-tumble Big Ten for four seasons. His goal won't be to outscore Aldrich but rather to play defense and keep Aldrich off the offensive boards.

If Suton can limit Aldrich, Kansas is in trouble. The Jayhawks have relied heavily on their two most experienced players, Aldrich and point guard Sherron Collins, in the tournament. Nobody else on the team reached double figures in points the first two games.

2009 Men's NCAA tournament Quick guide to the teams, players, more

Memphis G Tyreke Evans vs. Missouri G J.T. Tiller. These two are the faces of the keys to the game -- Evans and his ability to attack the basket, both in transition and within the parameters of the halfcourt offense, and Tiller as the leader of a Missouri defense that can be described as swarming, scrambling and sweltering.

Missouri tends to cheat into passing lanes or dive for potential steals. Evans and his Memphis teammates must take advantage of that by attacking the basket. Tiller and his teammates must do a better job of staying in front the men they're guarding -- and not allow creases and angles to the basket. They didn't do that well in the second half against Marquette, and it almost knocked the Tigers out of the tournament.

Villanova F Dante Cunningham vs. Duke big men Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek.

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Cunningham's improvement as an offensive force helped the Wildcats stay in the thick of the Big East race all season, and his scoring ability is a big reason Villanova could be moving past Duke.

"As the years went on, things change," Cunningham said before the tournament started. "Developing as a player myself, understanding what the team needed to win more games, you know, I just had to become more of an offensive threat."

The Blue Devils have struggled at times to defend athletic big men, and that's exactly what Cunningham, at 6-8, 230, is. He's stronger than Thomas and quicker than Zoubek, and both Duke players have a tendency to get into foul trouble. Don't be surprised to see the Blue Devils turn to Kyle Singler, at least for key minutes, to guard Cunningham.

Also on NBCSports.com Rosenthal: Saints win with aggressive ‘ambush’ Trash Talk: How will Manning rebound from loss? NBA: ProBasketballTalk is here! Check out new blog NCAA BK: Who's in, who's out? Updated bracket projections Twitter: Follow us @nbc_sports

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