Point guard

This will likely be the key matchup of the game. If Connecticut is to have a chance at an upset, senior Ricky Moore will have to lock up high school teammate William Avery as he did Ohio State's Scoonie Penn in Saturday's semifinals. Avery will likely guard Huskies point guard Khalid El-Amin, who played under control against the Buckeyes. Edge: Even.

Small forward

This matchup also will be an interesting one, between Connecticut's Richard Hamilton and Duke's Chris Carrawell. Carrawell is to Duke what Moore is to Connecticut, his team's best on-the-ball and most versatile defender. He will have one of his toughest tasks in Hamilton. Edge: Duke.

Power forward

Though Connecticut's Kevin Freeman spent a great deal of time guarding Ohio State swingman Michael Redd, he will likely go back inside against Shane Battier tonight. Battier might be a little too big and strong for Freeman.Freeman is an aggressive rebounder. Edge: Duke.

Center

Elton Brand has won a couple of national player of the year awards, but that didn't prevent him from getting into foul trouble against the Spartans. The Huskies need to get Brand on the bench for a couple of long stretches. The only problem is that Jake Voskuhl is even more foul-prone. Edge: Duke.

Bench

The Blue Devils have several high school All-Americans in reserve, including one future college All-American in freshman forward Corey Maggette. Jim Calhoun used five players off the bench against Ohio State, getting five points and five rebounds from Edmund Saunders. Edge: Duke.

Coach

Mike Krzyzewski has been in eight Final Fours, reaching the championship game four times and winning back-to-back titles in 1991 and 1992. This is Calhoun's first Final Four, but he has coached in enough big games.Edge: Duke.

Pub Date: 3/29/99