2007 March Madness Breakdowns
East |
West |
South
- Get Picks For All the
NCAA Tournament Games
Midwest
Bracket
No. 1 Florida
Gators - SEC (29-5)
Basically:
Now is when
we find out whether or not all the future NBAers made the right move
coming back to defend their title. Although Florida staggered down the
stretch, losing three of their last five regular-season games after
taking 17 in a row, winning the SEC title was never the priority here.
The focus has been on March from day one, and now’s the time to prove
whether the Gators were merely disinterested during the end of the
regular season and waiting to go on a roll, or whether this squad,
though talented and experienced, doesn’t have “it,” however you want to
define it, compared to 2006.
Strengths:
The Gators
have been tested in the toughest pressure situations college basketball
can throw at a team, and there will no doubt be a high level of
confidence once NCAA play begins. With a strong inside-outside game and
several different offensive options, they own the backboards, have two
solid shot-blockers in Joakim Noah and Al Horford and share the
basketball well.
Weaknesses:
When Lee
Humphrey isn’t hitting the three, like he didn’t late in the year, the
offense struggles since defenses pack it in on the big guys. Florida
isn’t a great foul shooting team, and it commits a lot of turnovers. It
could get burned with an attitude that believes it can just turn the
spigot back on once the tourney arrives.
Players You
Should Care About:
Horford has a lot of
NBA scouts salivating because of his great body, fine instincts and
ability to dominate the paint at both ends. You won’t find a more
versatile and harder-working big man than Noah, who has a live body and
the desire to make an impact offensively and defensively. Taurean Green
can score from all over and will set up his teammates, though he kicks
it away a little too often, and Corey Brewer is electric off the dribble
and extremely effective defending the perimeter. Humphrey has the
ability to burn people badly from beyond the arc, and Chris Richard is a
solid interior reserve.
Best Wins:
Arkansas
(SEC Championship) 77-56, Ohio State 86-60
Worst Losses:
at Florida
State 70-66, at LSU 66-56
Tournament Prediction:
The Final Four before losing to UCLA in a rematch of the 2006 national
championship. Watch out for Purdue, if it gets past Arizona in the 8/9,
to give the Gators a nightmare of a time for about 35 minutes because of
the inside game.
No. 16 Jackson
State Tigers – SWAC (21-13)
Basically:
After starting out the season 0-4, the Tigers started winning
close game after close game joining Mississippi Valley State as the only
two SWAC teams that could play. After finishing second in the regular
season behind the Delta Devils, they rolled in the tournament finishing
with a resounding 81-71 win led by a monster game from Trey Johnson, the
school’s all-time leading scorer. While it’ll be a shock if they come
within 20 in the opening round, Johnson is worth watching.
Strengths: Steals and aggressive defense. JSU is good a forcing
turnovers and keeping opposing team’s field goal percentage to a
minimum. This is a deep, deep team full of relatively tall specialists
that rotate in bunches to keep the defense fresh, and do everything
possible to get Johnson room to operate. However ....
Weaknesses: … the offense is Johnson, Johnson, and more Johnson.
No one else on the team averages in double figures. Outside of Johnson,
there aren’t any consistent threats from three-point range, and there’s
not anything to worry about on the offensive boards. While the defense
comes up with a ton of steals, it also has major problems with fouls.
Players You Should Care About: Johnson’s the real deal. Averaging
27 points per game, the 6-5 senior is an unstoppable machine when he
gets on a roll from inside and out against everyone on the schedule. He
hung 36 on Alabama, 32 on Memphis, and 27 against Illinois. Julius Young
and Grant Maxey take turns being the number two scoring option.
Best Wins:
Mississippi Valley State (SWAC Championship) 81-71, at UTEP 100-97
Worst Losses: UC-Davis 66-58, at Arkansas-Pine Bluff 59-54
Tournament Prediction:
Johnson will score 25 in a 30-point loss to the Gators.
No. 8 Arizona
Wildcats – Pac 10 (20-10)
Basically:
Go ahead and
try to figure out this team. The Wildcats struggled mightily at home
after the first of the year, but closed the season with three straight
conference road victories. There is no denying the talent, especially on
the offensive end. It’s just a question of whether they’ll show the
discipline and toughness to make something happen in the tournament, or
if they’ll try to play shoot-em-up and lose to the first disciplined
team they face.
Strengths:
Again, this
team can score some points. It’s good close to the hoop. It has players
that can fire away from long range, and point man Mustafa Shakur is a
strong distributor. This is one of the nation’s better rebounding and
free throw shooting teams.
Weaknesses:
Defense,
defense, and well, defense. The Wildcats allowed opponents to make 35.9%
of their three-pointers and 45.8% of all field goal attempts in league
play. No wonder they lost so many games to teams which scored in the
high 70s and above. Shakur is an excellent point, but the team still
commits too many turnovers to be considered a threat to advance too far.
Players You
Should Care About:
You won’t have forward
Marcus Williams to care about too much longer since he’s heading to the
NBA. He’s an excellent open-court player and gets where he needs to go
off the dribble. Freshman Chase Budinger is an all-around revelation who
jumps out of the gym and can shoot, pass and rebound. Veteran big man
Ivan Radenovic is productive scoring and on the boards but don’t expect
too much defense from him. Shakur isn’t a star, but he can distribute,
score and defend pretty well.
Best Wins:
at Oregon
77-74, Louisville 72-65.
Worst Loss: North Carolina 92-64
Tournament Prediction:
One and out. Purdue will
have too much defense for the Wildcats.
No. 9
Purdue Boilermakers – Big Ten (21-11)
Basically:
From last place a year ago to a return to the Big Dance, it’s
been quite a turnaround in 2006-2007 for Purdue and second-year coach
Matt Painter. The best news? The Boilers have just two seniors on the
roster and a gaggle of underclassmen that have gotten valuable minutes
this season. While it doesn’t figure to have a long shelf life in the
tournament, just getting a taste of the postseason will serve the
resurgent program well over the next few years. Don’t expect many
miracles.
Strengths: Pressure defense. While the offense has been
hit-or-miss all year, the defense has helped keep the season afloat.
The Boilermakers pressure the ball with a deep collection of guards and
create plenty of turnovers. Eight steals a game kickstarts the
transition game with points generated off the defense.
Weaknesses: Frontcourt depth. After starters Carl Landry and
Gordon Watt, the front line is incredibly thin at the forward and center
spots. If either of the starters gets in foul trouble or needs a
breather, Purdue becomes extremely vulnerable around the basket.
Players You Should Care About: Landry is a 6-7, 250-pound space
eater, who’s tough to stop once he establishes position in the low
post. He averages 19 points and seven rebounds a game while giving
Purdue some much-needed senior leadership. The other senior, David
Teague, pumps in 14 points a game and is one of the team’s most active
defenders. The Boilers need some offensive help for Landry and Teague,
and freshman Chris Kramer has shown glimpses lately that he might be
that guy.
Best Wins: Virginia 61-59, Indiana 81-68
Worst Losses:
at Indiana
State 89-70, at Michigan 71-55
Tournament Prediction:
The offense will show up in the first
two rounds getting by Arizona in a good performance before giving
Florida all it can handle in a tight loss.
No. 5 Butler
Bulldogs – Horizon League (27-6)
Basically:
It’s not quite right to call Butler a possible George Mason
since it was ranked as high as tenth at one point, but a team that was
considered among the middle-of-the-pack in the Horizon League grew into
something special. The Bulldogs have cooled off over the last month,
but enter the tournament as one of those collections of unknowns that
absolutely no one wants to face. Oh, and forget the notion that Butler
will cower in fear when it begins playing schools from the bigger
conferences. Before starting the league schedule, it played, and beat,
Notre Dame, Indiana, Tennessee, Gonzaga and Purdue.
Strengths: Shooting. The Bulldogs run a conservative offense
that relies on crisp passing, limited turnovers and some of the
deadliest shooters around. They knock down nine three-pointers a game,
hit 76% from the line, and lead the nation in fewest turnovers. When
they get hot behind the arc, it’s all but over.
Weaknesses: Inside game. With no regular taller than 6-7,
there’s no low-post presence, and worse, the defense is prone to getting
killed on the boards. Against teams with big, physical frontlines, the
Bulldogs could get bullied out of the tournament.
Players You Should Care About: Guard A.J. Graves has used a sweet
stroke to lead Butler in scoring at just over 17 points a game. The
junior has missed only six free throws all year and is solid down the
stretch. The big early season run wouldn’t have been possible without
transfers Pete Campbell and Mike Green. Campbell set a Horizon League
record for three-point accuracy during league play while Green has been
a revelation, leading the team in rebounds and assists to go along with
14 points a game.
Best Wins: at Tennessee 56-44, Gonzaga 79-71
Worst Losses:
at
Illinois-Chicago 73-67, at Indiana State 72-64
Tournament Prediction:
Flip a coin on the first round matchup against ODU. The better defense
will be the better offense sending the Bulldogs home early.
No. 12 Old
Dominion Monarchs - Colonial
(24-8)
Basically:
It was
between ODU and Drexel for an extra Colonial team to join Virginia
Commonwealth, and the selection committee took the Monarchs thanks to a
road win over Georgetown and blowout wins over the Dragons. This was a
red-hot team down the stretch winning 12 in a row before getting dumped
79-63 by George Mason in the Colonial tournament.
Strengths: The defense is among the best in the country and the
offense doesn’t screw up. The formula has worked over the second half of
the season with an aggressive D that’s great at pressuring the ball on
the perimeter and stingy on the inside. The guards are extremely careful
with the ball and good at making the right passes to find the open man.
Weaknesses:
Shooting.
While the offense is good from three, it’s not anything special from
midrange in. This is a very, very small team that needs everyone to hit
the boards at all times and needs help on any team with size on the
inside. However, ODU was able to beat Georgetown, one of the best inside
teams in the tournament.
Players You
Should Care About:
6-7 senior Valdas
Vasylius is one of the team’s biggest players and one of the best
all-around scorers and rebounders. He’s not the best passer, but he’s
needed for a little bit of size inside and for his go-to ability when a
big basket is needed. Drew Williamson is the best passer, but he needs
to score for ODU to make any noise. Several players contribute points,
but if Williamson isn’t scoring, it’s usually all on the shoulders of
Vasylius to carry the load.
Best Wins:
at
Georgetown 75-62, Virginia Commonwealth 79-63
Worst Losses:
George Mason
79-63, James Madison 72-65
Tournament Prediction: A last-second win over Butler will be the
yearly 5/12 upset, and then the Monarchs will have Maryland in big
trouble before going stone-cold from the field.
No. 4 Maryland
Terrapins - ACC (24-8)
Basically:
The Terps
are testament to the strength of the ACC, because while they’ve hovered
just above .500 in league play, they’re still a dangerous team with the
potential to do some major damage if everything breaks right. It also
helps that they’ve gotten better, and hotter, as the season has gone on.
After two years in the post-season wilderness, this aggressive,
high-tempo squad is a threat to be a big sleeper.
Strengths:
The defense
is generally excellent, even though its scoring defense (67.6 ppg)
isn’t quite as tight as it could be. The Terps keep teams from scoring
on the perimeter and can stifle them inside, too, thanks to a pair of
good shot-blockers. They offense has three players with more than 100
assists and boasts a balanced scoring attack that has five players in
double figures.
Weaknesses:
Because of
the freshmen at the guard spots, it does cough it up a lot. Maryland
isn’t an overwhelming rebounding team and it has only one truly reliable
three-point threat, wing Mike Jones. While, their desire to play an
up-tempo style can help opposing offenses get cranked up.
Players You
Should Care About:
Jones is a classic
long-range gunslinger, while forwards James Gist and Ekene Ibekwe can
rebound, score and swat away shots. Junior guard D.J. Strawberry is the
Terps’ Mr. Everything. He leads the team in scoring and steals, has a
strong, 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio, and rebounds well. Freshmen point
men Greivis Vasquez and Eric Hayes are relatively careful with the ball.
Best Wins:
North
Carolina 89-87, Michigan State 62-60, Duke 72-60
Worst Losses:
Miami 63-58 and 67-62
Tournament Prediction:
After winning a
high-scoring, high-octane shootout over Davidson, the Terps will get
outgunned by the Gators.
No. 13 Davidson
Wildcats – Southern (29-4)
Basically:
Davidson won
its last 13 games of the season including a 72-65 win over Bobby Cremins’
College of Charleston team for the Southern title. The last loss was to
Appalachian State in late November for the only defeat since November, a
blowout at Duke. Freshman Stephen Curry, son of former NBA star, Dell,
leads a high-octane offense that bombs away as well as any team in
America, but also hits the glass well. This is a high-energy team that
isn’t the sleeper many will make it out to be.
Strengths: Rebounding and three points. This isn’t a big team
with the tallest players in the rotation topping out at 6-8, but it’s
very, very active on both ends of the floor when the ball’s in the.air.
This isn’t a lazy team when it comes to hitting the glass. It also helps
that the balanced offense with four good scorers doesn’t miss all that
often from outside, especially from three, averaging 9.6 three pointers
made per game.
Weaknesses: Defense. The lack of size means few blocked shots and
not enough stops. The offense is so potent that it doesn’t mind giving
up points in bunches, because it’ll almost always pull out a firefight.
While this is a high-energy team, it’s sometimes too careless with the
ball.
Players You
Should Care About:
Curry might be the
nation’s best mid-major guard. Spurned by the ACC, the 6-0, 180-pounder
is a pure scorer who’s stunningly good at weaseling his way to the glass
to average 4.6 rebounds per game. Jason Richards is the quarterback of
the attack averaging 7.3 assists per game, while Thomas Sander and Boris
Meno are thick, athletic glass-eaters who don’t get pushed around.
Best Wins:
College of
Charleston 81-73, 73-63 and 72-65
Worst Losses: at Missouri 81-75, Appalachian State 81-74
Tournament Prediction:
The Wildcats will get their licks in against Maryland and might score
the most points of any first round loser.
No. 6 Notre Dame
Fighting Irish – Big East
(24-7)
Basically:
One of this year’s biggest surprises, the Irish return to the
tournament with the wind at its back. Notre Dame began the season as a
slow, one-dimensional team that did one thing really well—shoot the
three. With the gradual infusion of two freshmen, point guard Tory
Jackson and power forward Luke Harangody, however, it’s morphed into a
far more dynamic group with inside-outside potential on offense.
Battle-tested from playing in the Big East and peaking under Mike Brey,
the Irish are well-positioned to exceed its seed.
Strengths: Perimeter shooting. There aren’t many better finesse
teams in the country than the Irish, which leads the Big East in
scoring, passes the ball well and is hitting almost 40% of its
three-pointers. With Jackson pushing the ball in transition and the
forwards kicking it out to sharpshooters Collin Falls and Russell
Carter, the Notre Dame offense is humming.
Weaknesses: Defense. The Irish can be a little sloppy at times
on defense, particularly in the low-post, where it still lacks enough
physical types to combat quality big men. Notre Dame is unbeaten at
home, but away from the Joyce Center, where it’ll spend the rest of the
year, the team is under .500.
Players You Should Care About: Russell Carter is the go-to guy
averaging 17 points and almost five rebound a game. An emotional player
with terrific athleticism, he can score from any spot on the court.
Collin Falls is a 6-5 marksman, who can take over a game from behind the
arc. Since replacing Kyle McAlarney at the point in January, Jackson
has ignited the Irish, while emerging as one of the country’s most
valuable freshmen.
Best Wins: Maryland 81-74, Marquette 85-73
Worst Losses:
South
Florida 69-63, St. John’s 71-68
Tournament Prediction:
Notre Dame will slip by Winthrop before getting outbombed by Oregon.
No. 11 Winthrop
Eagles – Big South (28-4)
Basically:
Yeah,
winning the Big South title isn’t exactly like dominating the ACC, but
Winthrop owned the league from start to finish with an unbeaten
conference record while rolling through the tournament closing out with
an 84-81 win over VMI. Head coach Gregg Marshall has been one of the
best in the nation leading the Eagles to 18 straight wins and 22 of
their last 23 with the only defeat coming at Texas A&M. The other three
losses came at North Carolina, Maryland and Wisconsin; no shame there.
This is a veteran team with a senior backcourt that isn’t going to be
fazed by the big stage.
Strengths: Defense and three point shooting. There are some
decent offenses in the Big South, particularly VMI’s, but the Eagles
still held just about everyone in check, especially over the second half
of the season, while the offense is jelling at just the right time. This
is a balanced offense able to score inside and out with good deep
shooting from being the arc. With three good scorers in center Craig
Bradshaw and guards Michael Jenkins and Torrell Martin, there are
several options.
Weaknesses: Free throw shooting. For a team that can shoot like
this one, especially from deep, it’s amazingly poor from the line
hitting a mere 62% of its chances. There wasn’t a need to be clutch all
that often throughout the season, with most of the wins decided with
several minutes left to play, but the free throw problems could be the
difference between being a deep sleeper able to get into the Sweet 16
and a quick first round out.
Players You
Should Care About:
Jenkins needs to get
hot and hit from the outside early on. He’s one of the nation’s better
three point bombers and demands attention on every possession. Martin,
who had issues with a knee injury late in the year, is more than fine
and should do a little of everything well. Too big for most guards, the
6-5 senior is great at hitting the glass as well as scoring inside and
out.
Best Wins:
at
Mississippi State 75-63, VMI 108-76, 100-96, 84-81
Worst Losses:
at Texas A&M
71-51, at Maryland 71-60
Tournament Prediction:
Everyone's big tournament sleeper will get knocked out right off the
bat.
No. 3 Oregon
Ducks – Pac 10 (26-7)
Basically:
After an
18-1 start that included a signature win at Georgetown, but little else,
the Ducks cooled somewhat down the stretch and enter the tourney as
something of a mystery. Are they the high-flying team of December and
January or the squad which lost six of eight at one point in the next
month? How well this team commits to defending well will likely
determine how far they go in the tournament.
Strengths:
With all
five starters in double figures, there’s no doubt Oregon can score. The
team is strong off the dribble and can bomb opponents from beyond the
arc. Great at forcing turnovers, the offense helps the cause with tight
ball security. This is also one of the nation’s best free throw shooting
teams.
Weaknesses:
When
opponents shoot better from the field than you do, it can be a problem,
and that was a big contributor to the late-season slide. Oregon is a
little better at stopping the three-pointer, but it’s not a good
rebounding club having posted a minus-2.0 margin in Pac-10 games.
Players You
Should Care About:
Guard Aaron Brooks does
a little bit of everything – scoring, rebounding, shooting from long
range, passing and defending – and does most of it all quite well.
Fellow guard Bryce Taylor is another versatile type, while tiny (5-6)
Tajuan Porter is an excellent marksman. Malik Hairston rounds out the
fine perimeter contingent and can score well off the dribble and get
some work done on the boards. Junior Maarty Leunen is strong inside but
is often left alone to battle bigger foes.
Best Wins:
USC (Pac 10
Championship) 81-57, at Georgetown 57-50, UCLA 68-66
Worst
Losses: at
California 63-61, at Stanford 88-69
Tournament Prediction:
The balanced offense will obliterate Miami and run past Notre Dame
before going cold against either Wisconsin's or UNLV's defense.
No. 14 Miami
University RedHawks – MAC
(18-14)
Basically:
It took a prayer of a three-point bank shot by Doug Penno, a
little bit of controversy, and several minutes of discussion for Miami
to beat Akron and get into the tournament as one of the biggest
surprises of the conference championship season. After a 5-10 start to
the year, MU turned into the third best team in the MAC East before
entering the conference tournament on an uninspired two-game losing
streak. Tremendous defense and a three-pronged offensive attack won the
MAC title, but it’s going to take one of the team’s best efforts of the
year to get into the second round.
Strengths: Defense, defense, defense. The RedHawks allow just
57.7 points per game with a suffocating defense that challenges every
shot with relentless pressure. While there are only three scoring
options, everyone stays fresh defensively with a decent rotation of nine
players. As good as the defense is, it doesn’t commit many fouls.
Weaknesses: The offense isn’t just limited; it’s positively
stagnant at times. If forwards Tim Pollitz, Nathan Peavy and Michael
Bramos aren’t all scoring, MU isn’t getting any production with the
team’s fourth leading scorer, Penno, averaging just 4.9 points per game.
There’s not much in the way of three-point shooting, so if MU gets down,
it doesn’t have the firepower to mount much of a comeback.
Players You Should Care About: Pollitz is the team’s most
consistent scorer, Peavy is the team’s hottest scorer, and Bramos has
grown into a good third option. Now only are these three the main
offensive options, they’re also the team’s three best rebounders.
Everyone else is along for the ride on offense getting used just for
their defense.
Best Wins:
Akron (MAC
Championship) 53-52, Toledo (MAC semifinal) 58-53
Worst Losses: at Buffalo 68-51, at Bowling Green 68-64
Tournament Prediction: A 15-point loss to Oregon for a quick
exit.
No. 7 UNLV
Rebels
– Mountain West
(28-6)
Basically: It’s taken a couple of years of hard labor, but Lon
Kruger has the Rebels back in the tournament for the first time in seven
years and feeling good about the future. The present doesn’t look too
bad, either. Behind a deep backcourt, UNLV overcame some nagging
injuries to finish second in the regular season in a top-heavy Mountain
West Conference. Kruger’s been in this position many times before,
which is a good thing because there isn’t a player on his roster that’s
played games of this magnitude.
Strengths: Guard play. There’s no head of the monster to be cut
off at UNLV which is to say it’s very deep and particularly talented at
guard. The Rebels shoot well and compound turnover-free basketball on
offense with eight steals and more than five blocks a game on defense.
Several players step up from all over the place to produce in key
situations.
Weaknesses: Low-post game. With all that quickness and talent
in the backcourt, UNLV sacrifices something in the frontcourt with a
smaller lineup that’s short on bangers. After beefy Joel Anthony, who’s
rejecting three shots a game, the Rebels lack the size to crash the
boards and get second-chance opportunities.
Players You Should Care About: Senior forward Wendell White has
played through pain all year to lead UNLV in scoring and rebounding, but
the closest thing to a most valuable player this year might be the
coach’s son, Kevin Kruger. Playing the point beautifully, the Arizona
State transfer averages 13 points a game to go with an assist to
turnover ratio of better than 2:1. Wink Adams is one of the few
underclassmen contributing, pumping in 14 points a game and leading the
team in steals.
Best Wins: BYU (Mountain West Championship) 78-70, at Nevada
58-49
Worst Losses:
UC Santa
Barbara 79-76, at Wyoming 86-76
Tournament Prediction:
The guards will beat Georgia Tech but won't be able to handle Wisconsin.
No. 10 Georgia
Tech Yellow Jackets – ACC
(20-11)
Basically:
Back in
early February, the idea that the Yellow Jackets would be playing in
this tournament was laughable. The young Techsters were mired in a slump
in which they lost five of seven and couldn’t develop any consistency.
Hey, what do you want when your top two players are freshmen? By winning
seven of nine down the stretch, this became one of the hotter teams in
the ACC and was able to work itself into an at-large bid.
Strengths:
Tech has the
ability to score efficiently thanks to frosh Javaris Crittenton and
Thaddeus Young, a tremendous inside-outside duo that has the ability to
get hot and win a few games on their own. They shoot well as a team from
behind the arc and can rebound well against just about anybody, thanks
to a collection of willing board men, although none stand out.
Weaknesses:
Turnovers
are a big issue. Because Crittenton is a frosh, he’ll cough it up too
many times making immature plays. So will Young. And so will many of
their teammates. Tech also struggled defensively in league play allowing
rivals to make 47.5% of their field goal attempts and 34.4% of their
long-range tries. Staying out of foul trouble is also an issue.
Players You
Should Care About:
Crittenton has his
faults, but he’s done a fine job running the team and creating for
himself. He’s an adequate long-range shooter, a fine free-throw man and
good defensively. Young may be 6-8, but he can step outside, too. His
best work, however, is done closer to the glass. Junior wing Anthony
Morrow is a good outside shooter, while Ra’Sean Dickey provides good
bulk and reliable scoring inside.
Best Wins:
North
Carolina 84-77, Duke 74-63
Worst Losses:
at Miami
90-82, at Wake Forest 85-75
Tournament Prediction:
As dangerous as a ten-seed can get, Tech will give UNLV a hard time
before losing late.
No. 2 Wisconsin
Badgers –
Big Ten (29-5)
Basically:
A
rock-solid team all season long, and ranked No. 1 for a few days in late
February before getting drilled by Michigan State 64-55 in East Lansing,
Wisconsin has the veterans, the tournament experience, and the right
makeup to make a deep run in the tournament as long as it forces teams
to play its tough, deliberately slow-paced style. Few teams can play
well in the clutch like this one, and few will be more dangerous as long
as it doesn’t get down big early.
Strengths: Rebounding. All five players attack the glass while
there’s a good blend of size up front and speed in the backcourt to get
to the class. Bo Ryan coached teams rarely make mistakes, are good at
frustrating top players, great at forcing turnovers, and phenomenal at
doing it without committing many fouls.
Weaknesses: Shooting and free throws. The Badgers don’t have the
type of offense that can survive in a shootout. The three-point shooting
is timely, but not consistent, while the lack of decent free-throw
shooting might become the Achilles heel late in the tournament. For a
team so great at defense, it doesn’t come up with many steals.
Players You Should Care About: Alando Tucker is a Player of the
Year star who can take over a game by himself and go from being
non-existent for stretches to dominant. He can jump out of the gym and
is tremendous at getting offensive rebounds, but he struggled in two key
games against Michigan State and Ohio State, both losses. 6-11 center
Brian Butch dislocated his elbow against Ohio State and is out, at best,
until the second week of the tournament, so Jason Chappell and Greg
Stiemsma have to play bigger, more physical roles on the inside.
Best Wins: Ohio State 72-69, Marquette 70-66
Worst Losses: at Missouri State 66-64, at Michigan State 64-55
Tournament Prediction:
After surviving a really, really, really big scare against Texas A&M-CC,
the Badgers will beat UNLV and Oregon in business-like fashion before
getting blasted by Florida in the Elite Eight.
No. 15 Texas
A&M –Corpus Christi Islanders
– Southland (26-6)
Basically:
The Islanders survived a wild Southland Conference
championship game against Northwestern State to secure the automatic
bid, and now they hope to use their size and experience to make some
noise in the first round. Of the eight main players in the rotation,
seven are seniors and the other is a junior. They’re six points away
from being winners of 22 in a row with close losses to Sam Houston and
Lamar to ruin the run.
Strengths: Scoring. One of the best shooting teams in the nation
averaging over 52% from the field and averaging close to 80 points per
game, the Islanders are fantastic at moving the ball around to get the
right shot and are tremendous at finishing off possessions. Having a
veteran team with too much size for most to contend with makes it easy
to get makeable shots.
Weaknesses: Turnovers. Strangely enough, considering how good
A&M is at passing, there are way, way too many turnovers and mistakes on
the offensive end. While there are plenty of good shooters from the
outside, the offense tends to become way too reliant on the inside game.
Players You Should Care About: Two things tournament favorites
don’t want to deal with: veteran guards and a good big man. A&M has
both. 7-0 senior Chris Daniels leads the team with 15 points and close
to seven rebounds per game as the focal point of the inside game, while
senior guards Josh Ervin and Taurean Mitchell each do a little of
everything well and are good at distributing the ball.
Best Wins: Northwestern State (Southland Championship) 79-78, Sam
Houston 85-68
Worst Losses:
at
Mississippi State 96-72, at Lamar 78-77
Tournament Prediction:
The size inside and all-around scoring will push Wisconsin to the final
seconds.