Part
II – Tuesday Evening
First
of all, there are 2 play-in games tonight. Right now, at the half,
Florida-Gulf Coast is pummeling Fairleigh-Dickinson in a 16 vs. 16
game with little import but the right to lose to North Carolina by
40.
But
the 2nd game is a doozy, Vanderbilt vs. Wichita St.; two
11 seeds that each have potential to wreak havoc in later rounds.
Wichita State guards Fred Van Vleet and Ron Baker have already been
to the Final Four as freshman, and were key players on the undefeated
regular season team 2 years ago. Such seasoned and successful
leadership from the backcourt is usually a recipe for tournament
success, and is basically unheard of in an eleven seed. According to
efficiency guru Ken Pomeroy, the Shockers have the most efficient
defense in the country, also usually a harbinger of deep bracket
runs. But if Wichita St. has a weakness, it's a lack of size inside.
And Vanderbilt has three 7-footers. Plus Vandy shoots the 3 as well
as anybody I've seen this year. Both these teams lost a bunch of
games they shouldn't have, especially early in the season, but in
Wichita State's defense, their worst stretch was when Fred Van Vleet
was out with an injury.
My
prediction, Vandy's Wade Baldwin is the best player on the court
tonight, but Fred and Ron and Evan Wessel and Anton Grady extend
their senior season at least one more game. Shockers, 69-58.
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