NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament

COLORADO (22-7) UC SANTA BARBARA (25-6)

EAST REGIONAL, SATURDAY

Site: Santa Barbara.

Story line: The Gauchos, playing host to first- and second-round NCAA tournament games for the first time since 2000, hope the home crowd catapults them into the Sweet 16. The Buffaloes were a top-25 team all season but stumble into the tournament having lost five of their last nine games.

How they got here: UC Santa Barbara won its ninth consecutive Big West Conference championship. Colorado finished third in the Big 12 Conference and lost to Oklahoma in the conference tournament quarterfinals.

Common opponents: Santa Barbara lost to Texas Tech, 68-41, and to USC, 76-61. Colorado beat USC, 69-67, and lost to Texas Tech, 60-51.

Styles of play: Both teams run their offense through their centers. Santa Barbara’s Lindsey Hunter is a lean 6 feet 8 and is accustomed to shooting over much smaller opponents. Colorado’s Tera Bjorkland is a thicker 6-5 and often overpowers defenders.

X factor: UC Santa Barbara lost only once in the Thunderdome, to Ohio State on Dec. 28. Colorado is a solid road team at 7-4.

What to expect: Whoever gets the other team’s center in early foul trouble has a distinct advantage. If the score is close late, the game could come down to whose secondary standout steps forward, Colorado guard Kate Fagan (13.2) or UC Santa Barbara forward Kristen Mann (13.5).

-- Mike Terry