NCAA Tournament 2012: 7 Players Forcing Us to Question Their Skills

Thursday's NCAA tournament action did not disappoint on many levels, but some very talented players did. 

Players expected to lead upset bids or dominate over a lesser opponent failed to show up. This is bound to happen, but their skills should be questioned nonetheless.

Fans can expect players to underwhelm throughout the tournament. But will the disappointing players from Thursday right their ship? Or will they be the players underachieving throughout the Big Dance?

That is yet to be determined, but here are seven players that definitely did not live up to expectations in Thursday's pairings.

Will Cherry, G, Montana

Will Cherry and his Montana Grizzlies were expected to give Wisconsin a much better game than they did. 

Cherry failed to show up for the Grizzlies, immediately halting any hopes for an upset bid. 

Cherry finished the game with nine points on 3-of-14 shooting. He had zero assists and two turnovers. Cherry failed to reach expectations yesterday on every level. 

Wisconsin plays extremely sound defense, but great players find a way to transcend those hurdles. Cherry was benched in the first half because of missed shots. 

Nine points are one thing, but Cherry needed to get his teammates involved when he realized he was having an off day.

Eleven missed shots halt possessions and kill momentum, especially for an mid-major. 

Andre Drummond, C, UConn

Andre Drummond came to UConn surrounded by lofty expectations and NBA lottery potential. He failed to live up that hype for most of the regular season, but saved his worst for Thursday. 

Drummond had two points, three rebounds and four blocks against Iowa State Thursday night. He seemed lost for the majority of the game, and attempted just four shots. 

The Huskies needed Drummond to produce down low. He provided solid defense, but three rebounds is not even close to admirable. 

Drummond is a phenomenal athlete for his size. He is an intimidating presence in the paint, and he runs the court like a deer. 

The Huskies were hoping his ability would help carry them to a third-round matchup against Kentucky. Instead, Drummond floundered, and the defending champs went home early.

Darryl Bryant, G, West Virginia

The West Virginia Mountaineers were lucky enough to play their second-round game in Pittsburgh. Gonzaga did not seem to mind and whooped the Mountaineers in their own backyard. 

West Virginia's second-leading scorer, Darryl Bryant, did not live up to his regular-season statistics. He scored nine points on 2-10 shooting. He also had two turnovers, but no assists.

Bryant has made big shots throughout his Mountaineer career. He was only a small part of the problem on Thursday, but he seemed as overwhelmed as anyone.

The Mountaineers were not ready as a whole, but you expect more from productive veterans. 

Garrett Stutz, C, Wichita State

Wichita State versus VCU was one of the most anticipated matchups of Thursday's slate. It lived up too the hype, but Shockers center Garrett Stutz did not. 

Stutz finished the game 2-of-11 from the floor for a grand total of four points. He battled foul trouble throughout the game and never got comfortable. 

In Stutz's defense, VCU's "havoc" defense does not create his style of play. The game's pace was too fast for the seven-footer to get involved and he looked out of place most of the time.

The Shockers needed Stutz to provide balance on offense. He was not able to produce, and that was a big reason the Shockers were sent packing. 

Casper Ware, G, Long Beach State

Casper Ware entered Thursday's action as one of the most anticipated players to watch in the entire tournament. That ended with Long Beach State's loss to New Mexico, and Ware's subpar performance.

Ware did have 17 points and six assists, but he was incredibly inefficient. Ware shot 5-of-19 from the field.

The 49ers stayed in the game until the end. Ware was expected to make something happen down the stretch, but he did not look comfortable. He consistently deferred to other players and had two costly turnovers. 

The best players emerge when it means the most to their team. Ware sunk into the shadows when the 49ers needed big plays. 

Ware is talented, but he seemed bothered all day by the stingy Lobo defense.

The Whole Syracuse Team

Syracuse narrowly avoided joining the tournament record books for all the wrong reasons on Thursday.

Without help from the officials down the stretch, Syracuse would probably be watching the next round from their couches. 

The Orange did not do anything particularly bad; however, they looked scared most of the game. Granted, the Orange were without their starting center. But they should be able to beat a No. 16 seed with or without Fab Melo.

This is nothing against UNC-Asheville. The Bulldogs never stopped coming at the Orange and forced them to play basketball for 40 minutes. 

Despite no glaring holes in their boxscore, the Orange did not look like a No. 1 seed on Thursday. Fans around the nation should be questioning this team.

When they need a big bucket, who will take the shot? Right now, that is way up in the air.

Perry Jones III, F, Baylor

Has anyone seen Perry Jones III? If so, you may want to let Scott Drew know he still exists. 

Jones was almost nonexistent in the Bears' victory over South Dakota State last night. He finished the night with two points. He did snag 11 rebounds, but Jones was never involved on the offensive end of the floor. 

The Bears had an obvious size advantage over the Jackrabbits. Jones should have had a dominant performance. Instead, he was stagnant and inconsistent.

This is not news to Bear fans. Jones is known as one of the most talented players in college basketball, but he disappears all too frequently. 

Jones will need to turn things around if the Bears want to make a deep run in this year's tournament.

His skills should not be questioned, but his desire and focus should be. That may be worse.