NCAA Tournament

HOT TICKET: FRIDAY NCAA MATCH-UPS

It is time for the Madness to begin as the 2008 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament tipped-off last night in Dayton (OH) with the play-in game. Mt. St. Mary’s earned the right to face North Carolina on Friday with a 69-60 win over Coppin State.

The Big East will be strongly represented throughout the tournament with a record-tying eight conference representatives: Georgetown, Louisville, Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Marquette, West Virginia and Villanova. The action for the Big East teams will get under way on Thursday afternoon and we previewed Thursday’s action with our previous article in the Hot Ticket series, Thursday NCAA Tournament Match-ups.

Check below for our 1st Round Previews of the Big East teams in action on Friday and a possible look ahead to the Second Round:

Friday:

Midwest Region:

(15) UMBC vs. (2) Georgetown, 2:55 PM in Raleigh

The Big East regular season champions, the Georgetown Hoyas, begin their quest to return to the Final Four when they take on UMBC Friday afternoon. Georgetown senior center Roy Hibbert turned down million of dollars last season to return for another crack at a national title, his chance will begin in Raleigh.

Georgetown is coming off a conference tournament final loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday night and will face a squad from UMBC that went 13-3 in the America East and cruised to the conference tournament title with an average margin of victory of over 13 points in their three games.

Back in December, UMBC travelled to West Virginia to get a little taste of Big East basketball and fell to the Mountaineers, 86-62. On the season, they do own a road win over Richmond and also beat George Washington and Morgan State in their out of conference schedule. They also went to Ohio State and lost 92-83 in a game where Ray Barbosa pumped in a season-high 32 points.

Barbosa is the main man for UMBC, averaging nearly 17 points per game from the perimeter and Darryl Proctor adds 15 points and a team-high 8 rebounds a contest despite being just 6’4. Jay Greene, a 5’8 point guard, runs the show for UMBC and is among the NCAA leaders with 7.3 assists a game and an assist:turnover ratio of over 3.5:1

While UMBC is successful in the America East conference, the size, strength and athleticism of the Big East regular season champion looks to be a mis-match for Randy Monroe’s Retrievers.

Obviously, nobody on UMBC matches the size of Roy Hibbert inside at 7’2, but Vernon Macklin, Pat Ewing and DaJuan Summers all will have decided height advantages when on the court and the quality players will keep coming in waves for the Hoyas.

With the style Georgetown plays, look for them to be efficient offensively and stingy on defense while controlling the boards. They will have to check Barbosa on the perimeter as he can light it up in a hurry, but overall, there are just too many weapons for the Hoyas to face a serious threat in this game.

The winner will face potential 2008 NCAA Tournament media darlings Gonzaga or Davidson on Sunday. Davidson is an interesting threat in this bracket as, despite a 10-seed, will be playing close to home. Of course, the Zags are no stranger to the Big Dance and have been known to create their own Madness in the past.

(12) Villanova vs. (5) Clemson, 9:50 PM in St. Petersburg

Everyone’s favorite upset line, the five seed versus a 12. Well, as the Big East’s last team in, for Villanova to get to round 2, they will have to hope the upset streak of 12’s over 5’s continues as the Wildcats take on Clemson from the ACC.

Clemson enters the Tournament after finishing as the runner-up to North Carolina in the ACC Conference Tournament. The Tigers earned the right to face the Tar Heels with their exciting win over Duke in the semifinals.

Clemson began the season 10-0 and that included wins over Mississippi State and Purdue. The stumbled with a tight loss to Ole Miss and then lost at UNC-Charlotte, but finishes a solid 10-6 in the always competitive ACC.

Clemson is a deep team, not afraid to go 11 deep and are led by 6’5 junior wing KC Rivers who averages 15 PPG and over 6 rebounds while connecting on 41% (77-188) from beyond the arc. Senior guard Cliff Hammonds adds 11.5 PPG and leads the team with 4 assists a game and freshman bruiser, standing at a solid 6’7, 240 lbs, Trevor Booker is a force in the paint adding 11 pts and a team-high 7’4 rebounds. Clemson does not have a lot of size with Booker and 6’9 James Mays (11 pts, 7 rebounds a game) . They are also on the young side with Booker, Demontez Stitt, Terrence Ogelsby and Jerai Grant playing key roles in their rotation.

Jay Wright and his young Villanova Wildcats had to scrap and clam to get to the Big Dance, basically winning an ‘elimination’ game over Syracuse in the 1st Round of the Big East Tournament. The Wildcats have a 10-man rotation, depending on the health of Casseim Drummond, but none of the 10 are seniors and four of them are freshman.

However, it is a sophomore who makes the Wildcats go in 6’2 Scottie Reynolds, who led the team with 15.6 ppg and 3.3 assists. In the paint, a pair of athletic forwards log most of the time in 6’8 bookends Antonio Pena, a redshirt freshman, and Dante Cunningham, a junior. Cunningham is one of those ‘glue’ guys who gets some points (10 ppg), rebounds (6.5) and mixes in some steals, blocks and assists while doing most of the defensive work inside.

Villanova won seven of their last 11 games, including a wins over NCAA teams Connecticut and West Virginia, along with the victory over the Orange. Their losses were against Marquette, Villanova and twice to Georgetown, including the controversial finish at Georgetown where the Hoyas made two free throws with under a second left. It was the second loss of the season in a similar fashion for the 20-12 Wildcats.

Their improved play down the stretch also came about when freshman Corey Stokes gave the team a much needed lift from the perimeter and Shane Clark also played well down the stretch, give the Wildcats more options on the offensive end.

Guard play is always key in the NCAA Tournament and the Wildcats will need an efficient game out of Reynolds and hopefully he and freshman Corey Fisher are ‘on’ together. Fisher was their most hyped recruit in their most recent class, but has often struggled with his shooting and decision-making, if he can harness his game with Reynolds, they are suddenly a very tough out in this tournament.

The winner of this game will then meet up with the winner of Siena and Vanderbilt on Sunday. I do think whoever is victorious between Villanova and Clemson has a very good shot at reaching the Sweet 16.

West Region:

(13) San Diego vs. (4) Connecticut, 3:00 PM in St. Petersburg

The West Coast Conference received three bids to the NCAA Tournament after San Diego beat conference favorites St. Mary’s (CA) and Gonzaga to earn the automatic bid the Big Dance. The Toreros have won 13 of their last 15 games under head coach Bill Grier and might be one of the most under-appreciated sleepers in this tournament.

Connecticut definitely knows the West Coast Conference is not a pushover, they were beaten earlier this season in Boston by Gonzaga, the team USD beat to earn their trip to the Tournament.

Is San Diego Tournament tested? Check out this schedule, they have played NCAA Tournament teams Kentucky (won), USC, UNLV, South Alabama, Boise State, Gonzaga (1-2) and St. Mary’s (2-1).

Guard Brandon Johnson leads the way for the Toreros averaging 17 points a game. The 6’0 guard also leads the team in assists and steals. He will be looking to prove those numbers against AJ Price, one of the top guards in the Big East. 6’7 forward Gyno Pomare will have his hands full against the UConn frontline. The senior averages 14 points and a team high 7.4 rebounds, but he will face a tall order with 7’3 Hasheem Thabeet and 6’7, 240 lb Jeff Adrien manning the paint for Jim Calhoun’s Huskies.

After missing the NCAA and NIT last season, UConn is backing the national picture this season. In a typical high-major vs. mid-major match-up, UConn appears to be too big and too athletic for San Diego, however UConn will need to be smart on offense, take advantage of their mis-matches and not let the underdogs hang around to gain confidence. The improvements from Thabeet and Price throughout the season should carry UConn into the second round. San Diego has played some tough teams this season, but the sight of a 7’3, 255 lb force in the middle will be a new experience for the West Coast Conference champions.

Despite losing their first game in the Big East Tournament, UConn has won 13 of their last 16 games against Big East competition and out of conference match-ups with Indiana and Georgia Tech, they should continue their solid play this weekend in the NCAA Tournament.

The winner will face this year’s top Mid-Major team, Drake, or Western Kentucky on Sunday. Many people are on the Drake bandwagon, but again, if UConn plays anywhere near their potential, they should be in the Sweet 16. They are just too big and strong for these teams from mid-major conferences and need to use their advantages.

East Region

(14) Boise State vs. Louisville (3), 9:40 PM in Birmingham

In one of the most dramatic championship week finales, Boise State earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament by outlasting New Mexico State, 107-102, in the WAC Conference Championship game in triple OT. Their reward? A date with Louisville in the 1st round.

Newark (NJ) native Reggie Larry leads the way for the Broncos averaging nearly 20 pts and just over 9 rebounds a game. The 6’6, 225 lb forward will do a little bit inside and outside and play with intensity. Another senior, 6’9 Matt Nelson, also battles inside, averaging over 15 pts and 7 rebounds a contest. The rest of the Broncos are not shy about launching the ball from beyond the arc, including seniors Tyler Tiedeman (14 ppg) who has hit over 49% of his 166 attempts and Matt Bauscher, who connects on nearly 45%. Boise State is an experienced group, led by those four seniors and sophomore point guard Anthony Thomas.

Obviously, my knowledge of Boise State is limited, but the WAC and WCC seem to be playing at a higher level each and every season. They have beaten NCAA teams such as BYU and San Diego. They have also faced Washington State and were beaten soundly by Siena in their bracket buster contest.

BYU is a common opponent for Louisville and Boise State as the Cougars managed a victory over the Cardinals in December. That Louisville team will not resemble the one on the floor Friday as UL was without both David Padgett and Juan Palacios. Padgett seems to be the key to the Cards success and the Big East coaches acknowledged his importance by voting him to the 1st team all-conference in the Big East.

Louisville had won nine in a row until their regular-season finale loss at Georgetown, which decided the regular season championship in the Big East. They then dropped their first game of the Big East Tournament to Pittsburgh in overtime. They now have to get past those disappointments and get back to winning basketball.

In their loss to Pitt, Earl Clark was huge, scoring 19 pts and grabbing 9 rebounds before fouling out. Clark is a tough match-up for anyone and I expect Louisville to go to him more in the NCAA Tournament. With Padgett’s ability to pass and Clark’s versatility, this is a frontcourt duo that other teams will be hard pressed to match and when you add in the uber-athletic Terrence Williams, he brings another dynamic to UL that few teams have.

The key for Louisville is consistent guard play. Jerry Smith has been in a shooting slump of late and Edgar Sosa can be a roller-coaster at the point guard position. Coach Rick Pitino has tried many different approaches to brining out the best in his guards, now he will have to let them go out and play and hope the lessons have been learned, because one bad game by the backcourt and it is likely season over for Louisville.

The winner of this contest will meet the winner between St. Joseph’s and Oklahoma. Louisville was a trendy pick to go far in the tournament before losing their last two games, now the talk on the Cards has died down…trust us, they are still a BIG TIME threat in this tournament, but their guard play will likely dictate their success.

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