ORAL ROBERTS EAGLES
 Coach: Scott Sutton |  Record: 21-11

 
Overview: Oral Roberts is a tough team with a proven group of frontcourt performers, and is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1984. By beating Chicago State in the Mid-Con tourney final, the Golden Eagles made up for the near miss of a season ago. Oral Roberts entered the 2005 tourney as the top seed, only to see its NCAA berth snatched away when 7th seeded Oakland nailed a buzzer beater. Injuries to key players like Ken Tutt and new roles for others made for some tough stretches during the season, but they have finally gotten healthy and started to gel in the past couple of weeks.

Potential Difference Maker: While Ken Tutt ended up being named the Mid-Con tourney MVP, it's still Caleb Green who carries this team on his broad shoulders. He ranks in the top 50 nationally in rebounding with nearly nine a contest and his 21-point per game scoring clip puts him in the top 20 in Division I.

On Offense: They want to do three basic things on offense. Get the ball to Green on the block, get the ball to Larry Owens off the block and get Tutt the ball for an open shot. They prefer an up-tempo style.

On Defense: Mostly man-to-man. They are a much better defensive team then they had been in the past couple of years. Owens and Yemi Ogunoye are great one-on-one defenders. Green is a liability defensively, but Owens and Ogunoye do a great job helping. This is also a good shot-blocking team.

Strength: They are very good in an up-tempo game. They have excellent depth and guys that really understand their roles. Chris Riouse is an excellent zone-buster off that bench.

Weakness: They are not a great ball-handling team. That might be their Achilles.

Key to Success: They have to do a better job of taking care of the basketball. You can get away with that a little more in the Mid-Continent Conference, but it will be exposed in the NCAA tournament. Obviously they also need to shoot it well and Green has to continue to get to the line. He went to the free-throw line over 300 times. That’s a staggering stat.

How to Beat Them: Really get after them and force them out of rhythm on offense. They are a very good offensive rebounding team so you need to keep them off the boards.