By Ken Cross
LEXINGTON, Ky. – I told a radio show yesterday that my fascination with college basketball is like Edison’s fascination with the light bulb! I want to find more ways to watch, get involved, and stay fascinated with the myriad of strategies of all the teams in college basketball.
Lexington, Ky. sees the South region kick things off as
(8) Louisville matches up with (9) Creighton at 12:15 on Thursday. Both teams are under-seeded as the Cardinals won 21 out of their last 23 and lost the ACC championship game to Duke. Creighton defeated UConn in the Big East semis and led St. John’s early before losing to them in the Big East title game.
This game could feature the Cardinals’ athleticism against the size of Creighton. Terrence Edwards and Chucky Hepburn are a tough matchups as both are scorers and Hepburn is tough off the dribble as a playmaker. Creighton brings 7-0, 235 Ryan Kalkbrenner in the middle where he shoots 65.5 percent from the field. Steven Ashworth and Jamiya Neal are a pair of guards who complement each other very well as both are versatile playmakers.
Pat Kelsey did an incredible job in helping this team fight through injuries after he did a superior job in bringing a winner back to Louisville.
(1) Auburn matches up with (16) Alabama State at 2:50 as the Tigers are the overall No. 1 seed in the tournament and Coach Bruce Pearl’s squad seems like a good pick to make it to the Final Four. Johni Broome leads the Auburn inside game as the Tigers depth and versatility at guard are major keys in this teams potential. Auburn won the deep SEC outright in the regular season as they finished 15-3 while bourgeoning Florida, who won the SEC Tournament, finished 14-4. The Tigers spent eight weeks as the AP’s No. 1 this season.
Alabama State won its matchup in Dayton in amazing fashion as Micah Simpson played quarterback on an inbounds pass and found Amarr Knox on a length of the court pass. Knox laid the ball in at the buzzer and the Hornets defeated St. Francis, 70-68, in Dayton Tuesday evening. Alabama State won 11 of it’s last 12 games in the SWAC, including a 60-56 win over Jackson State in the SWAC championship game.
Drop to the Midwest bracket on Thursday evening and you find (2) Tennessee matched up against (15) Wofford. The Volunteers spent five weeks as the AP No. 1 team and beat Auburn, 70-65, in the SEC Tournament semifinals before losing to Florida in the championship game. The Volunteers have won 10 of their last 13 and could meet Kentucky in the Sweet 16 if each team wins it’s first two games.
Wofford had a strong season in the Southern Conference where the Terriers defeated Furman in an exciting 92-85 championship ame. Wofford boasts a balanced scoring attack, led by Corey Tripp who gets 14 points per game.
Tennessee is led by Chaz Lanier and Zakai Zeigler and Jordan Gainey’s game has risen throughout the season. Igor Milicic transferred over from Charlotte where he has turned into a tough inside-outside matchup where he finds his three and shoots 59.3 percent from the paint.
Coach Rick Barnes has another stellar defense as the Volunteers limit opponents to 38.2 percent from the floor (2nd/CBB) and only 63 ppg. (11th/CBB).
The last game of the day pits (7) UCLA against (10) Utah State at 9:45. The Bruins are finishing their first season in the Big Ten, but still feel like a member of the “Conference of Champions,” i.e. the Pac-12. UCLA is led by Tyler Bilodeau in the middle and a pair of quality forwards in Eric Dailey, Jr. and Kobe Johnson. Skyy Clark is a solid point guard, who worked with Johnson as playmakers.
MIck Cronin orchestrates the same type of defensive characterization as Rick Barnes. His Bruins limit shots as they give up only 51.8 field goals per game (8th/CBB).
Coach Jerrod Calhoun’s Utah State Aggies were in the mix throughout the tough Mountain West Conference season. Offensively, they have continued to be one of the best offenses in college basketball in scoring 80.9 ppg (32nd/CBB). The depth of shooters and the three-point game make Utah State a very tough challenge for UCLA. Ian Martinez, Maison Falslev, and Dexter Akanno produce a highly sustainable three-point game for the Aggies.
This game could turn into a matchup in a war of attrition between the UCLA defense and the Utah State offense.