AROUND THE NATION
March 16, 2010
Double digit seeds that deserve your attention
You can't fill that bracket out without picking some
lower seeded teams to pull some surprises. And with
the way things have shaped up this season, this
tournament might have more surprises than usual.
Which of the double digit seeds has the best shot of
pulling an upset? I'm going to stay away from
discussing Siena, simply because everyone outside of
West Lafayette is already picking them to beat a
Purdue team that appears to be in a death spiral.
So in the Non-Siena portion of the competition,
which lower seeded teams do I like? Let's start with
the Ivy League.
I love Cornell...but maybe not in this game
Jay Bilas really likes Cornell as a 12th seed in the
East, and to some extent I have to agree. The Big
Red have played two of the 1-seeds tough this
season, losing by five at Syracuse back in November
and by five to Kansas in early January.
In terms of hoisting up 3-pointers, Cornell shoots
43% from that distance, a figure that leads the
country. They're also not sloppy with the basketball
either, ranking 17th nationally with a 1.34
assist-to-turnover ratio. Statistically there's an
awful lot to like about this team.
But in Temple they face an athletically superior
bunch that really clamps down on the opposition.
Only Princeton and Northern Iowa have held opponents
to fewer than the 56.1 points a game that Temple is
allowing. Cornell will be a fashionable upset pick,
but proceed with caution on that one.
So do I love old Dominion more?
While I waver on Cornell, I find myself fixating on
the 11th seed in the South, Old Dominion. They won
the CollegeInsider.com tournament last year the CAA
tourney last week. Something's telling me this team
might be a little tournament tested...
The presence of Gerald Lee means the Monarchs have
the beef to bang with the best of 'em. The 6-10,
250-pound big man is the perfect fit for Blaine
Taylor's physical, defensive minded style. They
rebound well and don't let the opposition get into a
comfort zone.
Against 6th seeded Notre Dame, pay close attention
to the halftime score. If it's a low scoring affair
then it plays right into ODU's hands. This team has
held 18 opponents this season to 60 or fewer points.
UTEP is also catching my eye
Staying on the theme of size and toughness, I turn
my attention to UTEP, the 12th seed in the West.
This is a team that has lost a little bit of luster
in the eyes of some after dropping the Conference
USA final to Houston.
But don't go and abandon this ship just yet. That
was their first loss since January 13, and they
match up very favorably with 5th seeded Butler.
Honestly, I don't think Butler has an answer for
UTEP's wide load, Derrick Caracter. He should
terrorize the Bulldogs down low.
Tony Barbee has the Miners play a swarming type of
defense that can cause fits for the opposition. So
far on the season, UTEP is 17th nationally in steals
per game with 8.8 a contest and is only allowing
teams to shoot 39% from the field.
If the bombs connect, look out for Sam Houston
State
Sam Houston State is faced with a Baylor frontline
that towers over theirs. But coming out of a guard
oriented league like the Southland, the 14th seeded
Bearkats could have an answer for the height
disadvantage: bombing from long range.
This team has put up 744 3-point attempts to this
point, a figure that only long range happy teams
like Eastern Kentucky and New Mexico State have
managed to exceed. Back in November, the Bearkats
made 18 treys in losing a 10-point decision at
Kentucky.
If Bob Marlin's team makes that many against Baylor,
a ticket to the second round would probably be in
the offing. But alas, I can just as easily see the
Bears pounding it down low and ending SHS's
tournament pretty quickly.
John Stansberry is in his thirteenth season as
a senior writer for collegeinsider.com. Check out
John's blog
LonelyTailgater.com.
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