It was an exciting first weekend of the tournament, with 28 of the 48 games being decided by 10 points or less. All of the #1 seeds advanced to the Sweet 16, but we lost #2-seeds Tennessee and Ohio State, along with #3-seeds North Carolina and Iowa. There are two double-digit seeds, #13 Bradley and #11 George Mason, in the Sweet 16, and you can bet neither squad wants to go home. Several of the match-ups on Thursday and Friday are promising, so let’s get right to it.
ATLANTA
#1 Duke vs. #4 LSU – Thursday, 7:10 pm
This side of the region played to form, with the #1-seed Duke making its ninth-straight Sweet 16. Yes, you read that right. In a time of unprecedented parity in the college ranks, the Blue Devils have managed to win at least two tournament games every year since 1997. While J.J. Redick deserves a lot of credit for getting his team to the Sweet 16 (49 points, 50% shooting), Shelden Williams is the team’s tourney MVP thus far. The All-American scored 46 points and gathered 32 rebounds in Duke’s two wins.
Williams will have his hands full with LSU’s Glen Davis, who at 6’9” and 310 lbs, is somehow listed as a forward. Davis scored 43 points and cleared 21 rebounds in the two wins against Iona and Texas A&M. While Davis holds down the inside, Darrel Mitchell makes the team go on the perimeter. He scored 35 points in the first two rounds, including the game winning three-pointer, which put away the Aggies.
The Tigers have the size to give Duke problems, but they aren’t very deep. The game will likely come down to Redick’s shooting and the Davis/Williams match-up inside. Keep an eye out for freshman phenom Josh McRoberts, who scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the game against George Washington. Save for the UNC tilt on Senior Night, he seems to play better in the big games. Duke should win, but if they play well, the Tigers are certainly capable of pulling the upset.
#2 Texas vs. #6 West Virginia – Thursday, 9:40 pm
Texas forwards P.J. Tucker and LaMarcus Aldridge were great in the first two games, combining for 63 points and 41 rebounds. They also get good guard play from Daniel Gibson and Kenton Paulino, though Paulino was only able to play 20 minutes in the N.C. State blowout due to a knee injury.
West Virginia was a bit lucky when #3-seed Iowa lost in the first round to Northwestern State. In the second round, the Mountaineers dispatched the Demons, 67-54, behind a balanced attack that had four players in double figures. Mike Gansey (21 points, 16 rebounds over the first game) and Kevin Pittsnogle (32 points, 7 boards) led the Mountaineers through the first two rounds.
West Virginia has a “different” style of play with a lot of players on the perimeter shooting threes and making quick back cuts to the basket, and it can be difficult for an opponent to adjust on the fly. The Mountaineers can beat anyone if they shoot the ball well, but they have trouble rebounding, and Texas is big enough to expose this weakness. If this were the second game of the weekend, I’d really like West Virginia’s chances, but the Longhorns have three days to prepare for West Virginia’s quirky offense and I think they’ll get the win.
Read the rest of the preview at Bullz-Eye.
