NCAA Bracket 2011: Mountain West's UNLV, BYU and SDSU Second Round Matchups
With the NCAA tournament's first round officially getting underway later today I thought I would share my thoughts on how the Mountain West's representatives in the big dance would fair.
UNLV, BYU and San Diego State all are hungry to showcase their talents on a national level.
With the current T.V. deal on the Mountain network, teams in the MWC are pigeon-holed on the Mountain Network, CBS College Sports, both of which are not available in all areas of the U.S. (and cost extra on top of regular cable T.V. fees,) and the occasional weekend spot on Versus.
Here are the second round match-ups the dancing members of the Mountain West Conference are facing.
Southwest Region: No. 8 Seeded UNLV Runnin' Rebels
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UNLV comes into the tournament playing their best ball of the season despite their devastating last second loss to San Diego State in the semi-final round of the Mountain West Tournament.
Their senior leader Tre'von Willis had a tough start to the year with his suspension, then struggled through much of the season while he recovered from off-season knee surgery. Finally hitting his stride late in the Mountain West season, he is back to his old self again, leading the Rebels to a strong finish of the regular season.
With their confidence still high after the loss to SDSU in the MWC tourney, UNLV has the players and the depth to challenge any team it may face in the tourney.
UNLV's first opponent Illinois, is a decent match-up for the Rebels. The story lines of UNLV coach Lon Krueger facing his one of the school's he coached in the past are abound, but the game is played on the court, not by the coaches.
UNLV heads into the match-up the hotter team, and looks to be more confident than Illinois which will play a major roll in the game.
The Rebels smothering defense can shake a team up and knock them on their heels quick. If the Rebels come out and utilize their full court press early they could take Illinois out of the game immediately.
The Rebels forward Chace Stanback started the year on fire, went through a long slump and has now emerged from his slump during the rebels last few games. Look for him and Wills to carry most of the offensive load, with strong contributions by guards Oscar Bellfield and Anthony Marshall as well.
Getting Kansas transfer Quintrell Thomas in a good flow on both sides of the court early will also pay huge dividends for the Rebs. Illinois has two impressive big men,Mike Tisdale and Mike Davis, both who are not very physical but are taller than the Rebel bigs.
Thomas is known for being a gritty, physical player and should have no problem making up what he lacks in inches to Davis and Tisdale with his over-bearing style of play.
Keeping Demetri McCamey contained will be will also be key for the Rebels. If he is aggressive and taking it to the basket, UNLV will have a tough time. The Rebels need to pressure him into shooting outside shots, something he has been known to settle for in games that he is pressured throughout.
In all I think the Rebels opening round game against Illinois will be a battle, but ultimately will be decided by UNLV's over-bearing defense.
Prediction: UNLV 72 Illinois 61
Southeast Region: No. 3 Seeded BYU Cougars
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Since the brackets have been announced there have been a few analyst who are hinting that BYU might be a one and done against their second round opponent Wofford. I don't see the reasoning behind this call at all.
BYU will have no problem disposing of Wofford due to their one man show Jimmer Fredette.
Wofford doesn't have a dominant big man that will create match-up problems for the Cougars since their star forward Brandon Davies was removed from the team amid a Honor Code scandal.
With no one to give BYU problems down low the Cougars can rely on Jimmer to create his own shots as wels as driving to the basket with out worrying about a Kawhi Leonard type of player to be down there to alter his shot. This will create double-teaming on Jimmer and he has the luxury to kick it out to his sidekick Jackson Emery who has been a reliable outside shooter much of the year(though he has struggled some in the last few games.)
Wofford does shoot the ball very well. As a team they rank eighth in field goal percentage in the NCAA, led by senior forward Noah Dahlman who averages 20 points-per-game. If they are on their game on Thursday then the match-up could be interesting, but Jimmer has been waiting for prime-time all year and he will thwart any big run that Wofford has to offer.
Prediction: BYU Cougars 75 Wofford Terriers 61
West Region: No. 2 Seeded San Diego State Aztecs.
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Kawhi Leonard and San Diego State enter post-season play coming off a historic year. Going a team best 30-2 and winning their second straight Mountain West Tournament crown, SDSU looks to make a serious run to the Final Four.
Only having lost to one tea all year, BYU who took them down twice, the Aztecs are still questioned by many if they deserved the no. 2 seed that they were awarded.
I believe they did and they couldn't have asked for a better region to play in then their own West. With the first two games to be played in Tuscon , it will be a short few hour drive form sunny San Diego. This should help the crowd presence at any of the game s that they play in Tuscon feel like they're almost home games.
SDSU has drawn the University of Northern Colorado out of the Big Sky Conference as their first game of the NCAA tourney. The Big Sky champs really pose no threat to the Aztecs and should be an easy 40 minutes for SDSU.
Look for Kawhi Leonard, Malcom Thomas and the rest of SDSU to shine in the first game of their NCAA tournament season.
Prediction: No. 8 San Diego State Aztecs 86 No. 15 University of Northern Colorado Bears 59
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