By The Associated Press

SAN ANTONIO - Much of the talk surrounding the Texas-Michigan State matchup revolves around which team is tougher.

Texas came out of the Big 12, which prides itself on physical play. Michigan State is from the Big Ten and built a reputation for toughness by advancing to the regional final in four of the last five years and winning the 2000 national title.

"This might be the best rebounding team we've faced all year," Izzo said. "It should be an old-fashioned fistfight."

"We're looking forward to it," Texas forward Brian Boddicker said.

Izzo toughens up his players with a drill the Spartans call "the War." The coach says he'll consider changing the name.

"I hate to call it 'the War' drill, since we really are at war," Izzo said.

The drill is pretty simple: Five guys stand around the basket and fight for the ball when it comes down. Although his players talk about getting banged around, Izzo said that, remarkably, no one ever gets hurt. The Spartans endured a series of injuries this season, but none during the drill.

"I think we'd be better off doing 'the War' drill for two hours and the sissy stuff for 10 minutes," Izzo said.

The Longhorns run a similar drill. In true Texas fashion, they call it "Circle the Wagons."

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MINNEAPOLIS - As the Marquette players and coaches lined up to cut down the nets after beating Kentucky in the Midwest Regional final on Saturday, one of the loudest ovations was for Golden Eagles special assistant Trey Schwab.

Schwab suffers from Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, a disease that affects the lungs' ability to process oxygen. Wherever he goes, he carries a portable oxygen machine that sends fresh air into his lungs.

The disease is deteriorating his lungs, and he could very well die within the next few years if a donor isn't found.

Earlier in the week, his name moved to the top of the list for a lung transplant. Now he has to wait for word from the University of Wisconsin Medical Center in Madison that doctors have a new lung for him.

Because there are only a few hours from the time a person dies until their lungs can be transplanted to another person's body, Schwab doesn't know yet whether he'll be able to travel with the team to New Orleans for the Final Four.

"We'll have to play it by ear and see how we can do that one," he said.

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MINNEAPOLIS - Marquette freshman guard Jared Sichting logged only one minute against Kentucky on Saturday. But it was a meaningful minute.

With the win already secure, Sichting, who's from Minnetonka, Minn., entered the game with 1:17 to play.

"We didn't play anyone from Minnesota this year, so this is the only chance that we had to play in the state," he said. "To do it in front to my family and all the people that still remember me from high school, it's great and unreal. ... I'm ecstatic. I can't even talk."

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ALBANY, N.Y. - Last year's loss to Indiana in the national semifinals still bothers Oklahoma seniors Hollis Price and Quannas White.

"We were so close to getting to that Monday-night game and that loss hurt us," Price said. "We didn't play our best basketball, which hurt the most.

"Ever since the loss to Indiana, this is all we've talked about. Last week, Quannas came in my room at 3 a.m. and was like, 'We're so close.' That's something we always talk about."

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SAN ANTONIO - The crowd at the Alamodome on Sunday will by mostly dressed in burnt orange, with half screaming "Texas" and the other answering "Fight."

The chant began an hour before tipoff Friday night and will surely start long before the Longhorns and Michigan State play in the South Regional final.

But the Spartans won't be intimidated. They were one of the few teams to win at Kentucky this season, and they eliminated Florida in Tampa last weekend.

"That's why Coach scheduled the year he did for us," point guard Alan Anderson said. "Games like that prepare us for this."

Of the 33,009 people in the stadium Friday night, the vast majority were rooting for Texas. "It was amazing to see how many people came out to support us," Texas guard T.J. Ford said.

When Michigan State won the national title in 2000, it played the regional semifinals and final in Auburn Hills, Mich., so Spartans coach Tom Izzo might know what to expect.

"Even though our program has experience, our team doesn't, other than a few guys," Izzo said. "It'll matter a hair, but the crowd will help them a little. So it balances out."