Subscribe
Subscribe

NCAA Tournament: South Region preview

By Leon Saffelle

NCAA Tourney previews: EAST | SOUTH | MIDWEST | WEST

Did you know?

Recommended Stories

Beware No. 4 Purdue. First-round foe Siena has pulled off upsets in the last two NCAA Tournaments and been a tough out in the second round. The MAAC champions have three seniors — Alex Franklin (16.3 ppg, 8.0 rpg), Edwin Ubiles (15.2 ppg), and Ronald Moore (6.8 ppg, 7.8 apg) — who have been starters since they arrived. They helped the Saints to a double-overtime win over Ohio State in 2009 and a 21-point rout of No. 4 seed Vanderbilt in 2008. — Kevin Dunleavy

FIRECRACKER SPECIAL » We’d pay for ringside seats to this heavyweight fight

Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody vs. Old Dominion’s Gerald Lee

East Region breakdownThe Dark HorseRichmond has won tournament games seeded 12th through 15th. As a No. 7, the Spiders are more dangerous, especially in the second round vs. struggling Villanova. The Spiders are tough to prepare for, running the Princeton offense and using a lot of zone. They’ve also won four of their last five vs. ranked opponents. — John KeimThe Party CrasherNo mid-major conference has produced more NCAA upsets than the Colonial Athletic Association. Defensive-minded ODU, a winner at Georgetown in December, fits the Cinderella slipper nicely. More than one CAA coach has compared ODU favorably to the George Mason team that went to the Final Four in 2006. — Kevin DunleavyOne and DoneThe Big East is the best conference in college basketball but not because of Louisville. Rick Pitino’s fullcourt pressure is formidable, but his offense relies far too heavily on the playmaking of guard Edgar Sosa (13.3 ppg, 4.5 apg) and the outsized reputation of forward Samardo Samuels (15.3 rpg. 7.0 rpg). — Craig StoufferThe Examiner predicts …What a shocker! The selection committee has paved an easy path for TV ratings monster Duke. Despite the committee’s best efforts, the Blue Devils will not get past Villanova. Forget the Wildcats’ 2-5 finish. Veteran guards Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher have the experience and the game to get the Wildcats back on track for the Final Four. — Kevin Dunleavy

First round » The best first-round matchup in the South Region is No. 6 Notre Dame against No. 11 Old Dominion, pitting 6-foot-8 Irish star Luke Harangody (22.4 ppg, 9.2 rpg) against ODU’s top scorer, 6-10 Gerald Lee (14.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg). Harangody has 3-point range and is a better rebounder. But the Monarchs’ senior is skilled and deadly from midrange, hitting 54 percent of his shots. A week off gives Harangody more chance to heal the torn thumb ligament in his shooting hand that forced him to the sidelines for three weeks last month. Who has the better supporting cast? This will be a test of the Irish’s skill against the Monarchs’ athletic ability. — Kevin Dunleavy

The Favorite » Duke

The bracketNo. 1 DukeNo. 16 Ark.-PB/Win.No. 8 CaliforniaNo. 9 LouisvilleNo. 5 Texas A&MNo. 12 Utah St.No. 4 PurdueNo. 13 SienaNo. 6 Notre DameNo. 11 Old DominionNo. 3 BaylorNo. 14 Sam Houston St.No. 7 RichmondNo. 10 St. Mary’s (Ca.)No. 2 VillanovaNo. 15 Robert Morris

The team most everyone loves to hate has done nothing this season — except exactly what it needed to do to earn a No. 1 seed. A down year for the ACC isn’t Duke’s fault. Aside from the second Maryland game, the Blue Devils cut off passing lanes with their trademark gambling-style defense and torched their conference opponents with a stack of skilled perimeter offensive weapons: Jon Scheyer (18.7 ppg, 5.1 apg), Kyle Singler (17.5 ppg) and Nolan Smith (17.4 ppg). Scheyer and Smith are fearless gamers. After a slow start, Singler is playing his best basketball of season, which helped strengthen Duke’s sizable but soft frontcourt, personified by 7-foot-1 senior Brian Zoubek.

Achilles’ heel » Outmuscling Duke on the inside alone won’t lead to an upset, although it will help. But the Blue Devils’ curse remains what it has been for most of the last decade, an over-reliance on the jump shot. If its offensive rhythm is disrupted, Duke will have a fight on its hands. — Craig Stouffer

Related Content

Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

NEWS

POLICY

COMMENTARY

RESTORING AMERICA