KSR College takes a Quick Glance At Today's Games
KSRcollege.com would like to bring you all a quick glance at each of the teams participating in today's 3rd set of NCAA tournament games. Each of us at KSR College were randomly assigned NCAA tournament teams to cover for the duration of the tournament. At the conclusion of the selection show, we each compiled a brief summary of information about each of our teams. We will have a preview with a bit of background information on each team’s season/expectations before each block of games today and tomorrow.
Game 1: Western Kentucky (16) vs. Kentucky (1)
(Western Kentucky by Rick Noush)
In Kentucky the only way you could have avoided hearing about the Toppers’ miserable midseason breakdown, is if you’re house is under a rock. Western was 5-11, they had an OT loss to Louisiana-Lafayette where the Ragin’ Cajuns had 6 players on the floor for the final minute of the game, and their only positive came when they gave #4 Louisville (yes, they were 4th at one point this year) a slight scare before losing by 10. Ken McDonald was fired and the season appeared to be a wash.
Assistant coach Ray Harper was named interim head coach, and got the Toppers headed in the right direction by the start of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. They won 4 games in 4 days with plenty of drama along the way. George Fant and Derrick Gordon have been the team’s leaders this season and are pushing forward to get a chance to play the in-state powerhouse Wildcats in the Yum! Center.
(Kentucky by Meagatron)
After the Cats lost to Indiana on a horrible buzzer beater, they bounced back and proved just how dominant they honestly are. But the SEC tournament came and went and the Wildcats headed back to Lexington without the SEC Conference Tournament Title. Two losses this season, and they can’t allow another with #8 within reach. With big time returners such as Terrence Jones, Doron Lamb, and Darius Miller, as well as another #1 freshmen class that includes Marquis Teague, Anthony Davis, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, the best team in the nation is the team to beat. Head Coach John Calipari is only in his third year with the Cats but has an undefeated home record, and is a pro at developing young players.
Selection Sunday announced the Cats as the #1 overall seed in the tourny, and placed them in the South region with rivals like Duke, Connecticut, and Indiana. Rematches from this season and previous tournaments will fuel Cal and his Cats to “refuse to lose” until they cut down the net in New Orleans April 2nd. It won’t be an easy Road to the Final Four, though. Even with the SEC Player of the Year (among many other awards), UK has to beat very good teams along the way.
This is their 52nd NCAA appearance, 11th time being seeded #1, and their 13th 30 win season. Dominance is no stranger to the Kentucky Wildcats.
Game 2: Wichita St. (5) vs. VCU (12)
(Wichita St. by Laura Leigh Rossoll)
The shockers have lived up to their name so far this season. They are 27- 5 on the season and have really shown what talent they have. The shockers have had some difficulty with ranked teams though. They lost to Creighton and to then No. 15 Alabama.
The shockers earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after winning the Missouri Valley Tournament. In the first round of the tournament, they will face 12th-seeded VCU, with the winner likely moving onto the No. 4 seed Indiana in the second round.
(Virginia Commonwealth University by Tara Bilby)
The VCU Rams are 28-6 overall and 15-3 in conference play.They are apart of the CAA (Colonial Athletic Association) conference where they won their tournament by beating Drexel which earned them a berth to the NCAA tournament. The rams made an impressive run in the NCAA tournament last year, making it to the final four as an 11 seed and upsetting a total of 5 teams, ending the season ranked 6th in the country, the highest in the school's history.
Forward Juvonte Reddic leads the team in rebounds per game with 6.8 along with leading the team in blocks with 42. Senior Bradford Burgess leads the team in points per game with 13.3 while gaurd Darius Theus leads the team in assists per game with 4.8. The rams are coached by Shaka Smart who has been there since '09.
Game 3 : Western Virginia (10) vs. Gonzaga (7)
(West Virginia by David Jackson)
West Virginia comes into tournament with a record of 19-13. After going 9-9 in the Big East in the regular season and finishing in 8th place, the Mountaineers bowed out of the conference tournament in a second round overtime loss to Connecticut. West Virginia is led in scoring by seniors Kevin Jones (20.7 ppg) and Darryl Bryant (17.2 ppg).
Bob Huggins coaches the Mountaineers. West Virginia made it to the Final Four most recently in the 09-10 season after upsetting Kentucky in the Elite Eight. The school is located in Morgantown, WV and has an enrollment of more than 29,000 students. Famous alumni include Jerry West and Adam “Pacman” Jones.
(Gonzaga by Tara Bilby)
Gonzaga is 25-6 of the season and 13-3 in conference play. They are apart of the West Coast Conference where they had an impressive win over BYU in the semifinals, beating the cougars 77-58, after losing to them earlier in the season 73-83, but beating them later in regular conference play 74-63. They lost to St. Marys in the WCC championship game 74-78 in overtime.
The bulldogs are lead by Freshman gaurd Kevin Pangos who leads the team in PPG with 13.8 and assists per game with 3.4. Junior Elias Harris leads the team with rebounds per game averaging 8.7. He also averages a 50.5% field goal percentage. The team is lead in blocks by center Robert Sacre with 45. They are coached by Mark Few who is in his 23rd year coaching at Gonzaga.
Game 4: South Dakota St. (14) vs. Baylor (3)
(South Dakota St. by Caroline Hall)
This is the FIRST team in their state to make it to the NCAA tournament after they received their automatic berth when they won the Summit League Championship. They are the 14th seed in the south, so they could potentially meet our mighty Cats...which wouldn't be too great for them. They barely got through their championship after they went into OT after they battled back from a four-point half time deficit against Western Illinois.
Some of their strongest players are Minnesota native Nate Wolters who played pretty well during the regular season but for some reason was weak against WIU. He only made 5 of 22 attempted shots but senior Griffan Callahan hit a clutch three pointer with less than a minute left in overtime.
South Dakota will play Baylor the first round in the tournament in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Which could be the end of the road as Baylor is projected by some to make it all the way to the Elite Eight.
(Baylor by Andrew Cassady)
Atlanta 3 Baylor Bears: The Baylor Bears were seen as a national championship contender this season based on the return of star player Perry Jones III. Despite the expectations and talent the bears never materialized into that team. Baylor finished this season with a record of 26-6 with a strength of schedule ranked 12th and an RPI of 8th. The Bear’s best wins came against San Deigo St, St. Mary’s, and against Kansas to go to the big 12 championship.
Baylor is lead by sophomore Perry Jones III with 14 ppg and 7.7 rpg. They have a ton of talent and big names such as Quincy Acy, Quincy Miller, Pierre Jackson, and Deuce Bello. First up for Baylor is the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, winners of the Summit League.
(Western Kentucky by Rick Noush)
In Kentucky the only way you could have avoided hearing about the Toppers’ miserable midseason breakdown, is if you’re house is under a rock. Western was 5-11, they had an OT loss to Louisiana-Lafayette where the Ragin’ Cajuns had 6 players on the floor for the final minute of the game, and their only positive came when they gave #4 Louisville (yes, they were 4th at one point this year) a slight scare before losing by 10. Ken McDonald was fired and the season appeared to be a wash.
Assistant coach Ray Harper was named interim head coach, and got the Toppers headed in the right direction by the start of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. They won 4 games in 4 days with plenty of drama along the way. George Fant and Derrick Gordon have been the team’s leaders this season and are pushing forward to get a chance to play the in-state powerhouse Wildcats in the Yum! Center.
(Kentucky by Meagatron)
After the Cats lost to Indiana on a horrible buzzer beater, they bounced back and proved just how dominant they honestly are. But the SEC tournament came and went and the Wildcats headed back to Lexington without the SEC Conference Tournament Title. Two losses this season, and they can’t allow another with #8 within reach. With big time returners such as Terrence Jones, Doron Lamb, and Darius Miller, as well as another #1 freshmen class that includes Marquis Teague, Anthony Davis, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, the best team in the nation is the team to beat. Head Coach John Calipari is only in his third year with the Cats but has an undefeated home record, and is a pro at developing young players.
Selection Sunday announced the Cats as the #1 overall seed in the tourny, and placed them in the South region with rivals like Duke, Connecticut, and Indiana. Rematches from this season and previous tournaments will fuel Cal and his Cats to “refuse to lose” until they cut down the net in New Orleans April 2nd. It won’t be an easy Road to the Final Four, though. Even with the SEC Player of the Year (among many other awards), UK has to beat very good teams along the way.
This is their 52nd NCAA appearance, 11th time being seeded #1, and their 13th 30 win season. Dominance is no stranger to the Kentucky Wildcats.
Game 2: Wichita St. (5) vs. VCU (12)
(Wichita St. by Laura Leigh Rossoll)
The shockers have lived up to their name so far this season. They are 27- 5 on the season and have really shown what talent they have. The shockers have had some difficulty with ranked teams though. They lost to Creighton and to then No. 15 Alabama.
The shockers earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after winning the Missouri Valley Tournament. In the first round of the tournament, they will face 12th-seeded VCU, with the winner likely moving onto the No. 4 seed Indiana in the second round.
(Virginia Commonwealth University by Tara Bilby)
The VCU Rams are 28-6 overall and 15-3 in conference play.They are apart of the CAA (Colonial Athletic Association) conference where they won their tournament by beating Drexel which earned them a berth to the NCAA tournament. The rams made an impressive run in the NCAA tournament last year, making it to the final four as an 11 seed and upsetting a total of 5 teams, ending the season ranked 6th in the country, the highest in the school's history.
Forward Juvonte Reddic leads the team in rebounds per game with 6.8 along with leading the team in blocks with 42. Senior Bradford Burgess leads the team in points per game with 13.3 while gaurd Darius Theus leads the team in assists per game with 4.8. The rams are coached by Shaka Smart who has been there since '09.
Game 3 : Western Virginia (10) vs. Gonzaga (7)
(West Virginia by David Jackson)
West Virginia comes into tournament with a record of 19-13. After going 9-9 in the Big East in the regular season and finishing in 8th place, the Mountaineers bowed out of the conference tournament in a second round overtime loss to Connecticut. West Virginia is led in scoring by seniors Kevin Jones (20.7 ppg) and Darryl Bryant (17.2 ppg).
Bob Huggins coaches the Mountaineers. West Virginia made it to the Final Four most recently in the 09-10 season after upsetting Kentucky in the Elite Eight. The school is located in Morgantown, WV and has an enrollment of more than 29,000 students. Famous alumni include Jerry West and Adam “Pacman” Jones.
(Gonzaga by Tara Bilby)
Gonzaga is 25-6 of the season and 13-3 in conference play. They are apart of the West Coast Conference where they had an impressive win over BYU in the semifinals, beating the cougars 77-58, after losing to them earlier in the season 73-83, but beating them later in regular conference play 74-63. They lost to St. Marys in the WCC championship game 74-78 in overtime.
The bulldogs are lead by Freshman gaurd Kevin Pangos who leads the team in PPG with 13.8 and assists per game with 3.4. Junior Elias Harris leads the team with rebounds per game averaging 8.7. He also averages a 50.5% field goal percentage. The team is lead in blocks by center Robert Sacre with 45. They are coached by Mark Few who is in his 23rd year coaching at Gonzaga.
Game 4: South Dakota St. (14) vs. Baylor (3)
(South Dakota St. by Caroline Hall)
This is the FIRST team in their state to make it to the NCAA tournament after they received their automatic berth when they won the Summit League Championship. They are the 14th seed in the south, so they could potentially meet our mighty Cats...which wouldn't be too great for them. They barely got through their championship after they went into OT after they battled back from a four-point half time deficit against Western Illinois.
Some of their strongest players are Minnesota native Nate Wolters who played pretty well during the regular season but for some reason was weak against WIU. He only made 5 of 22 attempted shots but senior Griffan Callahan hit a clutch three pointer with less than a minute left in overtime.
South Dakota will play Baylor the first round in the tournament in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Which could be the end of the road as Baylor is projected by some to make it all the way to the Elite Eight.
(Baylor by Andrew Cassady)
Atlanta 3 Baylor Bears: The Baylor Bears were seen as a national championship contender this season based on the return of star player Perry Jones III. Despite the expectations and talent the bears never materialized into that team. Baylor finished this season with a record of 26-6 with a strength of schedule ranked 12th and an RPI of 8th. The Bear’s best wins came against San Deigo St, St. Mary’s, and against Kansas to go to the big 12 championship.
Baylor is lead by sophomore Perry Jones III with 14 ppg and 7.7 rpg. They have a ton of talent and big names such as Quincy Acy, Quincy Miller, Pierre Jackson, and Deuce Bello. First up for Baylor is the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, winners of the Summit League.
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