Where was Carter?

A surprising non-factor in the Penn game and the Aggies' close win over 6-seed Louisville was Texas A&M's Josh Carter. After I got to praise him as the nation's number one three point shooter (51.6%), he goes out and hits 1-of-6 against the Quakers, and only went 1-of-2 in limited time in the foul fest a day later.

And it wasn't like he was getting blanketed - the Quakers started the game in a zone. Penn was more focused on stopping Acie Law's drives and Joseph Jones in the post, so Carter was left wide open from the right corner, he just couldn't hit anything. He kept gunning, and time after time was off. He didn't even attempt a shot after his five first-half misses.

To state the obvious, Texas A&M wins more often when he hits threes. But he's so valuable to a team with such a good point guard and such a solid man on the inside that if Carter is automatic from three, a defense must either let Law and Jones tear them up, or let Carter drop eight threes like he did at Nebraska last month.

If Carter gets out of his slump, you have to believe A&M is going to Atlanta.

Note: Carter's 16.6% against Penn was his worst shooting day since he shot 0-for-3 in a two-point loss to Texas Tech in January.