Three double-digit seeds are in the Sweet 16 this year. All have at least one signature tournament win and all are dangerous. But can this trio of underdogs keep up the pace?
Saint Mary’s » After matching up well with Richmond and Villanova — two teams with very little inside presence — the Gaels get a true frontcourt battle against Baylor. The Bears have the size and bodies to combat mammoth center Omar Samhan, including 6-foot-10 Ekpe Udoh — a potential NBA lottery pick. Saint Mary’s shoots well, but Baylor has more athletic guards in LaceDarius Dunn and Tweety Carter. Still, the Gaels already eliminated one team with exceptional backcourt players (Villanova), so the real test is inside. Can Samhan stay out of foul trouble? He’ll have to for Saint Mary’s to advance.
Washington » Quincy Pondexter and Isaiah Thomas have carried the Huskies so far, scoring 70 of Washington’s 162 points in the tournament. The Huskies are red hot, riding a nine-game winning streak into their East Region semifinal against West Virginia. The real question is: When will the other side show? Washington began the season in the top 10, but lost five games to teams with an RPI higher than 96. West Virginia’s frontcourt of Devin Ebanks, Kevin Jones and Da’Sean Butler will make life difficult for Pondexter, so the burden — both scoring and facilitating — may fall squarely on Thomas.
Cornell » This is the team we’d least like to face. Consider this: Wisconsin holds teams to 57 points a game (partly from its slow offensive pace). Cornell had that with 15 minutes left in regulation against the Badgers on Sunday. Can the Big Red keep this up? If they continue to shoot well, there’s no reason to believe they can’t. In fact, if Cornell played Duke in the Sweet 16, we’d take the Big Red in a heartbeat. But Kentucky is a different story. Can Cornell’s guards keep John Wall in front of them? Can Jeff Foote stand toe-to-toe with DeMarcus Cousins? It’ll be tough.
