gpikeBreakdowns of the First Four Games in NCAA Tournament
March 14th 2011 00:34
These four games are on TRU TV for Tuesday and Wednesday's action. First off Tuesday's games.
Arkansas Little-Rock vs UNC-Ashville: A battle of the 16 seeds here with the winner taking on Pittsburgh in the second round. The Trojans of Arkansas-Little Rock knocked off North Texas in the final of the Sun Belt with a last-second three pointer. Salomon Bozeman leads the way with 17 points per game. The Trojans are 19-16 on the year.
The Bulldogs of UNC-Ashville are 19-13. They pulled off a bit of a shocker in beating Coastal Carolina, 60-47 in the tourney final. Junior guards Matt Dickey and J.P. Primm lead the Bulldogs with 29 points between the two. The Bulldogs are on a six-game winning streak.
Neither team has a common opponent when looking at the schedule. Both teams surprised many by winning their conference tournaments. The Bulldogs have the better talent, but the Trojans have Bozeman who can be very streaky. UNC-Ashville wins here and takes on Pittsburgh.
UAB vs Clemson: Two 12-seeds fighting for the right to take on West Virginia. These two teams are controversial clubs for making the tournament. Though, cases could be made for both the Tigers and the Blazers to make the tournament. UAB is 22-8 and Clemson has a record of 21-11. UAB won the regular season crown for the Conference USA, but got upset by East Carolina in the conference quarterfinals. Clemson nearly upset North Carolina, just falling in the ACC tourney.
UAB played Duke during this year, losing 85-64. East Carolina faced off against Clemson, losing 71-59. Duke beat Clemson in their lone game of the year, while East Carolina went 1-2 versus UAB. Demontez Stitt leads the Tigers with 15 points, three assists and four rebounds. Stitt scored 25 versus North Carolina in ACC tournament loss. Jerai Grant contributes with 12 points and seven rebounds.
Jamarr Sanders averages 18 points and five rebounds for the Blazers. The guard scored 21 points against Duke. He has the talent to take over the game. Cameron Moore scores 14 points and pulls down 10 boards.
This game will be interesting as both teams are above-average, but not great. Clemson comes into the game with more momentum. The Tigers win and move on.
The late game on Wednesday pits two 11-seeds, VCU and USC. Again both teams were hugely on the bubble, and barely made the tournament. The winner faces Georgetown. USC is 19-14, and VCU is 23-11. Tennessee and UCLA are common opponents. USC beat Tennessee, while the Rams lost to the Volunteers. VCU beat UCLA, while the Trojans split their series with the Bruins.
Looking at the common opponents, you can see how similar these two teams are. Nicola Vucevic leads USC with 17 points and ten rebounds. Jio Fontan contributes with 10 points and four assists. The Rams have two solid forwards in Jamie Skeen and Bradford Burgess. Skeen averages 15 points and eight boards, Burgess goes for 14 points and six rebounds. The Rams nearly had the Colonial's automatic bid, but fell short versus Old Dominon. They whipped George Mason in the first round of the Colonial tournament.
USC is the big-name team here, though I think this is VCU's game to win. USC's claim to fame is beating Texas earlier in the season. They went up and down throughout the season, and became the PAC-10's fourth team to make the tournament. They end the season on a downer.
Wednesday's first game has Alabama State and Texas San-Antonio facing off as two 16-seeds. The winner plays Ohio State. The Roadrunners of Texas San-Antonio won a close game with McNeese State to advance. Alabama State beat Grambling State easily in the SWAC final. The Roadrunners are 19-13, and Alabama State is 17-17. No common opponent between the two teams.
Alabama State is led by Tramayne Moorer who averages 13 points and four rebounds. The Hornets after a very slow start are 11-1 in their last 12 games. They have great momentum heading into this game.
Texas San-Antonio has some talented players on their team. Devin Gibson does about everything, scoring 17 points, five rebounds, six assists. Melvin Johnson contributes with 15 points.
The Roadrunners are the better team, though the late season run the Hornets have been on, makes this a good game. Gibson takes the game over in the second half leading Texas San-Antonio into the second round and a game with Ohio State.
Arkansas Little-Rock vs UNC-Ashville: A battle of the 16 seeds here with the winner taking on Pittsburgh in the second round. The Trojans of Arkansas-Little Rock knocked off North Texas in the final of the Sun Belt with a last-second three pointer. Salomon Bozeman leads the way with 17 points per game. The Trojans are 19-16 on the year.
The Bulldogs of UNC-Ashville are 19-13. They pulled off a bit of a shocker in beating Coastal Carolina, 60-47 in the tourney final. Junior guards Matt Dickey and J.P. Primm lead the Bulldogs with 29 points between the two. The Bulldogs are on a six-game winning streak.
Neither team has a common opponent when looking at the schedule. Both teams surprised many by winning their conference tournaments. The Bulldogs have the better talent, but the Trojans have Bozeman who can be very streaky. UNC-Ashville wins here and takes on Pittsburgh.
UAB vs Clemson: Two 12-seeds fighting for the right to take on West Virginia. These two teams are controversial clubs for making the tournament. Though, cases could be made for both the Tigers and the Blazers to make the tournament. UAB is 22-8 and Clemson has a record of 21-11. UAB won the regular season crown for the Conference USA, but got upset by East Carolina in the conference quarterfinals. Clemson nearly upset North Carolina, just falling in the ACC tourney.
UAB played Duke during this year, losing 85-64. East Carolina faced off against Clemson, losing 71-59. Duke beat Clemson in their lone game of the year, while East Carolina went 1-2 versus UAB. Demontez Stitt leads the Tigers with 15 points, three assists and four rebounds. Stitt scored 25 versus North Carolina in ACC tournament loss. Jerai Grant contributes with 12 points and seven rebounds.
Jamarr Sanders averages 18 points and five rebounds for the Blazers. The guard scored 21 points against Duke. He has the talent to take over the game. Cameron Moore scores 14 points and pulls down 10 boards.
This game will be interesting as both teams are above-average, but not great. Clemson comes into the game with more momentum. The Tigers win and move on.
The late game on Wednesday pits two 11-seeds, VCU and USC. Again both teams were hugely on the bubble, and barely made the tournament. The winner faces Georgetown. USC is 19-14, and VCU is 23-11. Tennessee and UCLA are common opponents. USC beat Tennessee, while the Rams lost to the Volunteers. VCU beat UCLA, while the Trojans split their series with the Bruins.
Looking at the common opponents, you can see how similar these two teams are. Nicola Vucevic leads USC with 17 points and ten rebounds. Jio Fontan contributes with 10 points and four assists. The Rams have two solid forwards in Jamie Skeen and Bradford Burgess. Skeen averages 15 points and eight boards, Burgess goes for 14 points and six rebounds. The Rams nearly had the Colonial's automatic bid, but fell short versus Old Dominon. They whipped George Mason in the first round of the Colonial tournament.
USC is the big-name team here, though I think this is VCU's game to win. USC's claim to fame is beating Texas earlier in the season. They went up and down throughout the season, and became the PAC-10's fourth team to make the tournament. They end the season on a downer.
Wednesday's first game has Alabama State and Texas San-Antonio facing off as two 16-seeds. The winner plays Ohio State. The Roadrunners of Texas San-Antonio won a close game with McNeese State to advance. Alabama State beat Grambling State easily in the SWAC final. The Roadrunners are 19-13, and Alabama State is 17-17. No common opponent between the two teams.
Alabama State is led by Tramayne Moorer who averages 13 points and four rebounds. The Hornets after a very slow start are 11-1 in their last 12 games. They have great momentum heading into this game.
Texas San-Antonio has some talented players on their team. Devin Gibson does about everything, scoring 17 points, five rebounds, six assists. Melvin Johnson contributes with 15 points.
The Roadrunners are the better team, though the late season run the Hornets have been on, makes this a good game. Gibson takes the game over in the second half leading Texas San-Antonio into the second round and a game with Ohio State.
Jamaar Sanders and UAB look to continue their season
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