Duke Vs 16, But Who Will It Be?

The NCAA does not want you to call it a play-in game, but in all honesty that is exactly what it is. Duke is the #1 seed that will play the winner of this game, but which one of these two possible Cinderellas are ready for an NCAA win?

If I was to tell you that a team would make the NCAA Tourney after starting the season 0-11, you would laugh. I would have no credibility and you would probably ignore everything else I had to say.

That being said, the Golden Lions of Arkansas Pine Bluff did just that. Throughout that horrid stretch the best teams they faced were Georgia Tech and Kansas State.

Pine Bluff is not one of those teams that has one shining star. Only two players on the roster average more than ten points per game. They have a true team mind set and spread the scoring around. They have five players that average eight or more points per game.

Their best player is Terrance Calvin. A 6'2 guard that averages 10.4 points per game, 4 assists per game, and 5.2 rebounds per game.

Taking the court against Pine Bluff will be the Eagles of Winthrop.

At one point this season Winthrop was 7-9. At that point a post season NCAA bid was only a thought in the back of their minds, but after a strong second half of the season here they are.

Like Pine Bluff they play with a team mindset. They only have one player that scores more than ten on average, however as a team they have six players that get more than six points per game.

Their best player is Reggie Middleton. A 6'1 guard that averages 10.3 points per game, 2.9 assists per game, and 3 rebounds per game.

In this game the guard battle of Middleton and Calvin could be the difference. It is tourney time and someone is going to need to step up. Along with the other players, this has the chance to be a competitive game, but it wont be the best game of the week by any means.

This could be a very sloppy, low scoring, and uneventful game. The winner gets the chance to play a very good Duke team and will be a huge underdog.

No #1 seed has fallen to a 16 seed. Don't expect one of these two to do it. There are better 16 seeds in this tourney.

I expect Winthrop to pull ahead with about four minutes to go in this one. Coach Randy Peele will have this Winthrop team ready to defeat the guys from Arkansas Pine Bluff.