While 68 teams is still too many for the NCAA tournament, VCU inaugurated the era of the First Four in fine fashion. The Rams put the rest of the field on notice last year when they held USC to one field goal in the final nine minutes of their clash in Dayton, Ohio, taking the first step in a journey to the Final Four. Neither of the No. 14 seeds that meet Tuesday, BYU (25-8) or Iona (25-7), looks quite as capable of a similar tear, but both have plenty to prove.
The Cougars could have used junior forward Brandon Davies (15.0 points, 7.3 rebounds per game) last March. While Jimmer Fredette willed BYU to the Sweet ?16, scoring 98 points in three games, Davies watched from the bench, having been suspended for violating an honor code provision that prohibits premarital sex. While Davies and Noah Hartsock (16.7 ppg, 5.2 rebounds per game) give the Cougars an inside presence, this year they have lacked a complementary takeover scorer.
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Iona is the team to watch for those who believe Drexel, Oral Roberts, Washington and others were unjustly snubbed by the selection committee. The Gaels play extremely fast (nation-leading 83 points per game) and got their season started the same way. An 89-63 pummeling of Maryland in Puerto Rico was the highlight of 10 wins in their first 12 games.
Davies and Hartsock will have their hands full with Iona big man Mike Glover (18.5 ppg, 9.0 rpg), but the leader of the Gaels’ fast break is MAAC player of the year Scott Machado (13.6 ppg, 9.9 assists per game), who could be a prime-time attraction by the weekend.
– Craig Stouffer
