OrangeNehi
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Mike Singer of CBSSports.com wrote this great summary, with a bold prediction that favors Vols over both Iowa and UMass:
Iowa will face Tennessee in a battle of No. 11s in a match-up that almost no one thought would be necessary, at least from the Hawkeyes' perspective, maybe a month ago. On February 15, the Hawkeyes had four conference losses (Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin). Since then, Fran McCaffery's dark-horse team has nose-dived, losing six of seven, including horrible losses to Illinois and Northwestern. The committee's choice to give Iowa a play-in game shows how close they were to being left out of the tournament entirely. The most intriguing part of the matchup has to be momentum. Iowa has endured a steep fall, while the Vols have won five of their last six and nearly took down Florida in the SEC tournament.
Top Players in the First Four:
T.J. Warren, N.C. State: The ACC's Player of the Year in the First Four? Yep, we'll take that. The 6-foot-8 forward led the ACC in scoring at 24.8 points per game and could be a menace to Xavier's big men.
Jordan McRae, Tennessee: Another high-volume shooter, McRae averages 18.6 per game to go along with 3.5 boards per contest. The senior is anything but shy he pops more than six three-pointers per game.
Semaj Christon, Xavier: Christon, a 6-foot-3 sophomore, is an NBA prospect itching to make a splash on a national stage. He had 18 points in the Big East semifinal loss to Creighton, and will certainly dot a few highlight reels from the play-in games.
Roy Devyn Marble, Iowa: Marble averages 17.3 points per game for the Hawkeyes and is one of its only capable one-on-one scorers. Aside from a 3-for-11 night in the loss to Illinois, his production has actually increased during Iowa's recent lull.
Aaric Murray, Texas Southern: Texas Southern won the SWAC tournament in large part because of Murray, who had 27 points and 10 boards in the championship against Prairie View A&M. He has had some off-the-court issues (largely a reason he's bounced around from La Salle to West Virginia and finally, to Texas Southern), but the 6-foot-10 senior poured in 48 against Temple earlier this year.
Schedule:
No. 16 Albany vs. No. 16 Mount St. Mary's Tuesday, 6:40 p.m. ET. Winner faces No. 1 Florida.
No. 12 N.C. State vs. No. 12 Xavier Tuesday, 9:10 p.m. ET. Winner faces No. 5 Saint Louis.
No. 16 Cal Poly vs. No. 16 Texas Southern Wednesday, 6:40 p.m. ET. Winner faces No. 1 Wichita State.
No. 11 Tennessee vs. No. 11 Iowa Wednesday, 9:10 p.m. ET. Winner faces No. 6 UMass.
Bold Prediction (Love it -- OrangeNehi):
Tennessee beats Iowa, then beats UMass, to set up an intriguing Round of 32 game against Duke. Let's not forget the noise La Salle made last year (Sweet 16) coming out of Dayton as a First Four.
Iowa will face Tennessee in a battle of No. 11s in a match-up that almost no one thought would be necessary, at least from the Hawkeyes' perspective, maybe a month ago. On February 15, the Hawkeyes had four conference losses (Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin). Since then, Fran McCaffery's dark-horse team has nose-dived, losing six of seven, including horrible losses to Illinois and Northwestern. The committee's choice to give Iowa a play-in game shows how close they were to being left out of the tournament entirely. The most intriguing part of the matchup has to be momentum. Iowa has endured a steep fall, while the Vols have won five of their last six and nearly took down Florida in the SEC tournament.
Top Players in the First Four:
T.J. Warren, N.C. State: The ACC's Player of the Year in the First Four? Yep, we'll take that. The 6-foot-8 forward led the ACC in scoring at 24.8 points per game and could be a menace to Xavier's big men.
Jordan McRae, Tennessee: Another high-volume shooter, McRae averages 18.6 per game to go along with 3.5 boards per contest. The senior is anything but shy he pops more than six three-pointers per game.
Semaj Christon, Xavier: Christon, a 6-foot-3 sophomore, is an NBA prospect itching to make a splash on a national stage. He had 18 points in the Big East semifinal loss to Creighton, and will certainly dot a few highlight reels from the play-in games.
Roy Devyn Marble, Iowa: Marble averages 17.3 points per game for the Hawkeyes and is one of its only capable one-on-one scorers. Aside from a 3-for-11 night in the loss to Illinois, his production has actually increased during Iowa's recent lull.
Aaric Murray, Texas Southern: Texas Southern won the SWAC tournament in large part because of Murray, who had 27 points and 10 boards in the championship against Prairie View A&M. He has had some off-the-court issues (largely a reason he's bounced around from La Salle to West Virginia and finally, to Texas Southern), but the 6-foot-10 senior poured in 48 against Temple earlier this year.
Schedule:
No. 16 Albany vs. No. 16 Mount St. Mary's Tuesday, 6:40 p.m. ET. Winner faces No. 1 Florida.
No. 12 N.C. State vs. No. 12 Xavier Tuesday, 9:10 p.m. ET. Winner faces No. 5 Saint Louis.
No. 16 Cal Poly vs. No. 16 Texas Southern Wednesday, 6:40 p.m. ET. Winner faces No. 1 Wichita State.
No. 11 Tennessee vs. No. 11 Iowa Wednesday, 9:10 p.m. ET. Winner faces No. 6 UMass.
Bold Prediction (Love it -- OrangeNehi):
Tennessee beats Iowa, then beats UMass, to set up an intriguing Round of 32 game against Duke. Let's not forget the noise La Salle made last year (Sweet 16) coming out of Dayton as a First Four.
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