ANYBODY KNOW HOW TO STOP KENTUCKY?

Byline: Owen Canfield Associated Press

Utah coach Rick Majerus thinks he knows how to combat Kentucky's depth.

"Food poisoning," he said.

The coach who's always quick with a one-liner wasn't joking however when he really assessed the Wildcats, the top seeds in the Midwest Regional and strong favorites to reach the Final Four.

"We have a good team. We've played a good schedule," Majerus said Wednesday. "But we've not played the likes of these guys."

Kentucky (30-2) went through the Southeastern Conference regular season undefeated, something that hadn't been done in 40 years. The Wildcats have good size, great quickness, can shoot the 3-pointer and have more quality depth than anybody around.

"If anyone beats them this year, they will have earned their title," said Louisville coach Denny Crum, whose team could wind up facing Kentucky in the regional finals, "because I still think they are by far the best team."

Utah (27-6) will counter Thursday night with one excellent player in forward Keith Van Horn, plus a solid group of supporting players. Van Horn is a second-team All-American and two-time Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year who is healthy this week - last weekend, he missed the first-round game due to the flu.

In Brandon Jessie and Michael Doleac, the Utes have enough size and strength to present problems for Kentucky's frontline. The unknown - as it is with just about everyone who plays Kentucky - is whether Utah will be able to handle the Wildcats' pressure and get good shots.

Virginia Tech did a good job against the press in a second-round game last week, but got worn out by Kentucky's parade of players and wound up losing by 24.

TODAY'S NCAA GAMES EAST SEMIFINAL Georgetown vs. Texas Tech, 4:30 p.m., Ch. 2. UMass vs. Arkansas, 7 p.m. x MIDWEST REGIONAL

Kentucky vs. Utah, 5 p.m. Wake Forest vs. Louisville, 7:30 p.m. x x -- time approximate

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Photo Utah coach Rick Majerus is laughing now, but he finds the thought of facing Kentucky is anything but humorous. Associated Press Box TODAY'S NCAA GAMES (see text)