Oregon's Aaron Brooks, left, battling Winthrop's Michael Jenkins for a loose ball in the Ducks' 75-61 victory Sunday in the Midwest Regional at Spokane, Wash., is averaging 17.6 points per game. Photo by The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS -- Breaking down a defense is not a big problem for Oregon senior guard Aaron Brooks, and that much is obvious to UNLV's coaches as they break down film of their next opponent in the NCAA Tournament.

"Brooks is so quick off the dribble and he shoots it so well," Rebels coach Lon Kruger said.

UNLV has quick, strong guards capable of containing Brooks, who averages 17.6 points and 4.4 assists per game as one of the top players in the Pacific-10 Conference.

The Rebels (30-6) meet the Ducks (28-7) in the Midwest Regional semifinals at approximately 6:40 p.m. Friday. The teams are similar in several ways.

Oregon has small guards who shoot well from long range in the 6-foot Brooks and 5-6 freshman point man TaJuan Porter. UNLV will defend those two with the combination of Wink Adams, Kevin Kruger and Michael Umeh.

The Rebels' Wendell White, a 6-6 forward, matches up favorably with the Ducks' 6-6 Malik Hairston.

In the paint, Oregon goes to 6-9 Maarty Leunen, who is more of a finesse player than UNLV centers Joel Anthony and Gaston Essengue.

"They play three real guards, kind of a hybrid at the four spot and a big man," Rebels assistant coach Greg Grensing said.

"The only difference, most notably, is the number of people we play compared to the number of people they play. They play eight kind of reluctantly, where we play nine, 10 or 11 pretty comfortably."

UNLV assistant coach Steve Henson is the team's primary scout of the Ducks. He said the Rebels must contain Brooks and Porter in transition and cut off their drives to the basket while also preventing them from passing out to the perimeter for open shots.

"Those two guys put a lot of pressure on your defense," Henson said. "Porter is a small, quick guy who can really shoot the ball."

All of Oregon's starters can shoot 3-pointers, but coach Ernie Kent's team tries to avoid getting into a half-court game.

UNLV was successful in speeding up the tempo in a 74-68 second-round victory over Wisconsin on Sunday. The Badgers preferred a slower style, but the Rebels dictated the pace.

"Against these guys, the dribble is going to be pressured, but it's going to be more contained," Grensing said. "Maybe we were trying to encourage Wisconsin to go a little faster."

The Ducks won the Pac-10 tournament by blowing out Southern California, another Sweet 16 team.

"They are extremely quick and awfully skilled," Grensing said of Oregon. "They present problems in transition, and they attack with a great deal of freedom. They are well balanced, with five guys scoring in double figures, and extremely active defensively."