Mark J. Terrill / AP

Missouri's J.T. Tiller, who scored 23 points in Thursday's victory over Memphis, leads a team that prides itself in playing "the 40 fastest minutes in basketball."

By Ryan Fagan

updated 10:29 a.m. ET March 28, 2009

GLENDALE, Ariz. - No doubt, the old cliche "Where there's a will, there's a way" has a deeply imbedded element of truth.

Well, what about when there are two very stubborn, very strong wills? Which will survives and advances in the NCAA Tournament?

We'll find out Saturday, when the contrasting styles of Connecticut and Missouri butt heads on the court at the University of Phoenix Stadium with a berth in the Final Four on the line. And we'll find out in the first five minutes of the game, when both teams will attempt to set the tempo.

"Every game of this tournament, we've jumped out on teams early because we want to impose our will and let them know that we're UConn and we're here," Connecticut senior guard A.J. Price said. "That's what we try to do; that has a mental effect on certain teams. I don't think tomorrow will be any different. We're going to come out and be very aggressive early and try to impose our will."

If Price and his teammates have their way, the final score will be in the 70s. Missouri would prefer to hit the 70s with seven or eight minutes left on the clock.

"That's what we try to do every game, just impose our will on them, get them out of their element and play that fast, up-tempo that we like to play," Missouri senior J.T. Tiller said.

Memphis and Marquette, Missouri's two most recent victims, discovered that knowing about the speed at which the Tigers play is different from actually facing it on the court.

"It was funny, because we heard Memphis talk about the Maryland press and how they did against it," forward DeMarre Carroll said. "But nobody in the world, I think, plays the way we play or do the things we do or press the way we press. You might be ready for Maryland, but it's totally different from Missouri."

The Tigers' style can be intoxicating for opponents. What player doesn't like to get out and run, with the lure of a breakaway dunk or highlight-reel pass as a reward? The problem is, that's exactly what Missouri wants, and the Tigers, with their 11-man rotation, are much more adept at winning at that pace.

Keeping his teammates from falling into that trap is Price's job.

"I know the game well enough to know what we need to do to win," he said. "I'll come out [Saturday] and do my best to try and execute our game plan."

Even if that means playing slower than UConn normally plays, as a way to make sure they don't get sucked in.

Slideshow   Man in the middle Take a look at Hasheem Thabeet, the former Connecticut defensive star more photos

"To a certain extent, you can almost say that," Price said. "This is something different for us. [Against] most teams, we would like to run, we want to speed the game up, we would like the pace of the game to be faster. With this team, I don't think we want the game as fast as they want it to be. ... We are going to pick and choose when we need to attack their pressure to score and break their pressure just to get it over [the timeline]. We need to run some offense, make them play defense and use our advantage and go inside."

On the inside is where the Huskies have the advantage, with forwards Jeff Adrien and Stanley Robinson and, of course, center Hasheem Thabeet, the co-Big East player of the year. If he's controlling the paint, as he did against Purdue in the Sweet 16, the Tigers could be in trouble. That's why their goal is to draw him out of the paint.

"We've got to get him up and down the court," Carroll said. "We've got to play to our advantage, me and Leo [Lyons], you know, versatile big men. So hopefully we can get him running up and down the court, and fatigue could be a big factor in this game."

Price has a confident warning about that tactic, though. "The thing is, I don't think we need to keep it from happening," he said. "He's not your typical 7-foot-3 guy. He's agile, he's mobile, he can move, he can run like a wing man. When they get him out there [Saturday], they'll find out very quickly that he can play at this pace of their game."

And the crowd will find out very quickly which team has the strongest will.

More news

Terry Gilliam / AP

Spartans take big step forward

Arc's five up, five down: After No. 11 Michigan State's 58-48 upset of No. 3 Ohio State, you'd be a fool to discount the Spartans' national title chances now.

Seton Hall beats Pittsburgh 73-66

  Herb Pope scored 19 points, including four free throws in final 10 seconds, and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead Seton Hall to a 73-66 victory over Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Headlines

• Label

Battle-tested Buckeyes set for date with Spartans

No. 25 Harvard holds off Penn, still unbeaten in Ivy

Judge: Laurie Fine's past not relevant in suit

How is 'Cuse winning with bad rebounding?

Faster, stronger: Metamorphosis of the big man

No. 5 Tar Heels moving on after Duke loss

Arc: History doesn't bode well for Murray State

Gillispie OK with 0-11 Big 12 record; likes effort