For the Villanova-Kansas and Wisconsin-Davidson games Friday night in the Midwest regional in Detroit, Ford Field is going for a novel approach.
As done at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, many football arenas which host basketball games have always put the court in one end of the stadium and placed seats on one side of the court. But this season, in Detroit and Houston, the courts are going smack dab in the middle of the stadium. With seats all around (see below link for a picture) the court, it will be able to fit 70,000 people, and will be a new feeling for the players - especially for jump shooters with nothing behind the baskets.
As the New York Times reports (no, it's not Stephen Danley), the court is also 27 inches above the ground, much like it is at Vanderbilt or Minnesota.
I can't say if this will help one team or the other, but anything that could screw up a guy like Mario Chalmers or Brandon Rush is a good thing for 'Nova.
I was surprised that Villanova made the NCAA Tournament, let alone won two games. The comeback against Clemson, a team that I though had Final 4 potential, was astounding. Then, the Wildcats certainly made Siena look like a mid-major in the second round, using good guard play to gain the lead, and an inside presence (14 after halftime from Dante Cunningham) to seal the deal.
Still, there are some other interesting Penn connections having success in the Tournament that you might not know about.
First, No. 13 Siena coach Fran McCaffery not only played for Penn in the early 80s, but was an assistant under current Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage a year later.
As a player, he let the Quakers to two Ivy titles and one NIT berth. He led the Ivies in steals in the 1981-82 season, and earned the coveted MIP, which, of course, translates to Most Inspirational Player. Don't ask me what that actually means.
Also, Stanford's Josh Owens, who had narrowed down his choices to Penn, Vanderbilt and the Cardinal, sees his club in the Sweet 16. In addition, Owens scored seven points in the rout of Cornell.
Owens has, in fact, been a monster against Ivy teams. In 75 minutes against everyone else, he's scored 11 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. but in only 29 minutes against the Ancient Eight (Harvard and Cornell, he didn't get minutes in the 11-point win over Yale) he scored 19 points on 62 percent shooting and corralled nine boards.
And finally, this isn't exactly a connection, but a record that could be broken. Penn is the only team to have ever beaten North Carolina in the state of North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament - in 1979 the year the 9th-seeded Quakers went to the Final 4. This season, the Tar Heels won two games at North Carolina State, and now play Washington State and potentially the winner of Louisville-Tennessee in the Sweet 16 in Charlotte.
After beating Iona by four, the '79 Quakers went into Raleigh and knocked off No. 1 UNC, 72-71, as first-team all-East regional players Tony Price and Tim Smith carried the Quakers to the Final 4 in Salt Lake City.
Can't win 'em all.
Greg Echenique, the highly regarded 6-9 center out of St. Benedict's Prep, decided on Rutgers today, Adam Zagoria of the Herald News reported. Echenique's parents had visited Penn over the final weekend of spring break, and he had said publicly that Penn was in the picture until the end. Other schools in the mix for Echenique's services had included Duke, Maryland, Villanova, Notre Dame and Miami.
The New Brunswick Home News Tribune and the Newark Star-Ledger also have articles, here and here.
With all Penn wrestlers eliminated from the tournament, I won’t be providing any bout summaries for the finals. However here are some interesting stats from the tournament surrounding the Penn team.
First, I’d like to provide an analysis of Penn’s record vs. the various conferences. Of the 74 teams here, Penn has faced wrestlers from a total of 19 teams. These teams, with Penn's results against them: Duquense (W), Northwestern (L), Ohio St (W), North Dakota State (W), Old Dominion (L), Michigan (L), Ohio (L), Nebraska (0-2), Stanford (W), Central Michigan (L), Oklahoma. St (1-2), American (L), Illinois (1-2), Pittsburgh (W), Minnesota (L), Iowa St. (L), Liberty (W), Virginia (L) and Army (L).
These 19 teams represent eight conferences, plus three (ND St., Liberty and Duquense) are independent. Penn's record by conference: Big 10: 2-5, Big 12: 1-5, Pac-10: 1-0, EIWA: 0-2, Indepenents: 3-0, CAA: 0-1, MAC: 0-2, EWL: 1-0, ACC: 0-1.
So overall, Quaker wrestlers were 8-16.
But of those eight wins, three came from Big 10 and Big 12 schools. That's impressive since the Big 10 and Big 12 have dominated this tournament (just like they do every year). Looking at the team results you can see this. Of the top 16 teams coming into the finals, 13 were from these two conferences. (Cornell, at nine, was one of the three others). Looking at the individual results you can see this. Of the 10 weightclasses, the Big 10 has a wrestler in the finals of every single one, and four of the finals are All-Big 10 matches. And in the remaining six matches, two involve a Big 10 vs Big 12 wrestler. And looking at the fan base you can see this. Of all the fans here, the largest and most vocal sections are (in no particular order) Iowa, Ohio State, Missouri, Oklahoma St, Minnesota and Iowa St. Cornell, again proving an exception, has a large one as well. (As for the Penn cheering section, this weekend has given them little to cheer about, so I actually didn't know it existed until Penn Coach Zeke Jones told me they were in section 120.)
So for Penn to earn three wins against the two best conferences in America is pretty good (of course, they also had 10 losses to the two conferences).
In other news, Jordan Leen from Cornell won the 157 pound championship. He was the only EIWA wrestler in the finals.
St. LOUIS -- Welcome to the nightcap of day two here at the NCAA Wrestling Championships from Scottrade Center. Only two Penn wrestlers remain, sophomore No. 9 Rollie Peterkin (125 pounds) and junior Zack Shanaman (165). Both need a win in their first bout to earn All-American status. Peterkin faces No. 10 James Nicholson of Old Dominion and Shanaman No. 5 Stephen Dwyer.
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Peterkin starts off the fourth session for Penn, looking to earn his first All-American honor. The majority of the first period is even, but with just :07 left, Peterkin earns a takedown. Nicholson earns an escape in the second, but gets injured doing so. However, after roughly 1:30 of his 2:00 of injury time, he bounces back up. In the third, Peterkin, starting from the bottom position, escapes just eight seconds in, pushing his lead to 3-1. However, with just :25 showing Nicholson earns a takedown to tie it up. And Sudden Victory it is. After thirty seconds of close, but scoreless wrestling, Nicholson breaks through, earning a takedown with :28 to go. And just like that Peterkin's season is over. Immediately after the call, Penn coach Zeke Jones gets furious, jumping out of his chair with his arms raised in anger. Peterkin also is visibly upset, as he throws down his headgear in disgust. [NB I saw Jones a few minutes after the loss, and he had calmed down.]
Right as Peterkin lost, another 125-pounder captivated the attention of the crowd. Arizona State sophomore Anthony Robles was born with one leg, yet he was a state champion in high school, and has made a splash in the NCAA’s. Just like Peterkin, he came into tonight’s session needing one win to claim All-American status. But just like Peterkin, he lost a 5-3 sudden victory decision. Right as he lost on mat six, people around mat six started clapping as a sign of respect, and as news of his exit — so close to All-American status — spread, the entire stadium started clapping, rising to give him a standing ovation.
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The last match of the day, Shanaman vs Stephen Dwyer of Nebraska, was a back and forth affair. But in the end, Shanaman didn’t get enough. Dwyer paced the first with a takedown at 2:05 and an escape at :41, until Shanaman finally broke through with a takedown around :10. In the second, Shanaman continued his success with an escape at 1:00 to tie it up. In the third period both wrestlers scored. But it was Dwyer, with a takedown around 1:00, and not Shanaman with an escape towards the end of the period, that determined the match. Final score: 5-4 Dwyer.
With the loss, all Penn wrestlers have been eliminated. However, Coach Jones did say the team would stay tomorrow and watch the finals “so they can get the whole experience.”
This year marks the first time since 1996 that Penn left the national tournament without an All-American.
As for myself, I’ll continue blogging tomorrow, even without any Penn wrestlers in action. I’ll probably provide some statistical analysis, such as Penn’s record vs teams for various conferences, as well as updates on how Cornell is doing. (eighth place last time they updated it).
Tipoff is at 7:10 tonight. Here's your dose of previews:
ST. LOUIS —With the graduation of Matt Valenti and Matt Herrington, Penn had no returning All-Americans in wrestling this year. But with a win tonight in the third round of the NCAA tournament, both sophomore Rollie Peterkin ad junior Zack Shanaman will become All-Americans. However, if either of them lose tonight here at the Scottrade Center in downtown St. Louis, they will be eliminated from the tournament, despite coming so close to entering the history books. No pressure, right? “I just need to focus on this next match and ignore all of the implications,” the 125-pounder Peterkin said. “Every match is going to be tough. It was tough losing [yesterday] but I’ve got momentum.” Both Shanaman — who wrestles at 165 — and Peterkin lost their second round bout yesterday after winning in the first round, so they’re in the wrestleback portion of the bracket. Even though, losing yesterday wasn’t ideal, Shanaman is still fine with his current status. Being a win away from All-American “is good,” he said. “It’s where I want to be. Hopefully I can win one more. Actually hopefully I win a lot more.” A win clinches All-American status, but after that there are still three more matches to determine the third through eighth place winners. While Shanaman did qualify last year for Nationals, this is the first national tournament for Peterkin. “It’s a different mindset,” Peterkin said of the NCAA’s. “It’s a whole new experience, the big crowds. There’s lots of pressure every match since it’s a new level of competition.” And with an All-American spot up for grabs tonight, that competition will be even higher.
And welcome back to the Scottrade in St. Louis, where the NCAA wrestling championships have reached day 2. I'm Zach Klitzman and I'll be providing updates throughout the day.
Here are the standings heading into today's action. Penn is currently in 27th place with 8.5 points (Iowa paces the field with 29.5, and Cornell is tied for ninth with 17.5). The Quakers have had four of their wrestlers eliminated, and the remaining four (Sophomore No. 9 Rollie Peterkin at 125, Junior Cesar Grajales at 149, Junior Zack Shanaman at 165, and Senior Lior Zamir at 184) are in the consolation bracket after going 1-1 yesterday. A loss for any of these four will eliminate them.
And after a rousing rendition of AC/DC's Thunderstruck (the Wisconsin SID just turned to me and said, nothing like a little AC/DC to start a wrestling match), we're ready for some grappling.
First up is Peterkin, facing unseeded Nikko Triggas of Ohio State. The match is actually pretty boring, as Rollie gets an Early takedown in the first, and then a reversal half way through the second. He also dominates riding time, on way to a 5-0 win. He will face Eric Hoffman of North Dakota State later this session, so stayed tuned for that match.
Previewing the later matches, we have Grajales vs. Brandon Carter of Central Michigan, Shanaman vs. Roger Smith-Bergsrud of Illinois, and finally Zamir vs No. 11 Rocco Caponi of Virginia.
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In the second match of the day, another wrestler got shutout. But this time it was Penn's. Carter got a takedown on Grajales with just :07 left in first, and he then doubled his lead in the second with a reverse Down 4-0 going into the third, Grajales needed a strong comeback, as he was also down in riding time. But with zero points either way in third, that’s it for Grajales. After the final whistle sounded, Penn Coach Zeke Jones hung his head, probably not in shame, but he certainly wasn't happy.
The third Penn match of the day, Shanaman v Smith-Bergsrud, was intriguing. The first period was a dead heat with zero riding time seconds at any point. The second was the exact opposite. With Shanaman starting in the top position, he literally rode for the entire period, yet he earned ero points. However, in the third he earned an escape just ten seconds in, as he got away from the down position. Bolstering his lead with a takedown at :50, despite a Smith-Bergsrud escape around :30, Shanaman advacned, finishing with enough riding time to get a 4-1 win. He will face Ethan Headlee of Pittsburgh later this session.
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Zamir vs Rocco Caponi: In the last Penn match of the second round of the wrestleback portion, Zamir took on the 11 seed Caponi. Zamir actually took an early lead (something Coach Jones said the team had to do), getting a takedown. However, at the 1:50 makr Caponi tied it up with a reversal. The two then continued to roll around on the matt, until Caponi suddenly pinned Zamir in a time of 2:11. However, there was some debate as to how long Caponi actually held down Zamir. Regardless, the result stood, and Zamir ended his career on a sour note.
However, while Penn went 2-2 in the thrid consolation round, the Quakers went 2-0 in the fourth. In the first match, Peterkin faced Eric Hoffman of NDSU, and he earned a takedown around 1:30 left in the first. The second was scoreless, but by the end of period, despite being only up 2, he had 3:33 of riding time. The third was also scorelesss, but with 1:33 total riding time, Peterkin earned a 3-0 victory and is now one away from being an All-American.
The second consolation fourth round matchup was even more exciting. Shanaman and Ethan Headlee of Pittsburgh wrestled even, as it was 0-0 after the first, with zero accumulated riding time. In the second Shanaman broke out the scoring with an escape. In the third Headlee earned an escape, tying the bout as it went down to its last minute. However, with just 22 seconds left in the meet, Shanaman earned a takedown, and with the 3-1 win he also is a win away from reaching All-American status.
Welcome back to the Scottrade Center in St. Louis for the 2008 Division I wrestling championships. We started this session by being asked to "rise as one nation" and "join together in singing our national anthem." Well it wasn't purely a capella, as they did have an organ accompainment.
Back to wrestling. To recap the first session, Penn went 2-6, with No. 9 125-pounder Rollie Peterkin and 165-pounder Zack Shanaman the only winners. As such Penn will send six wreslters to the "wrestlebacks" the consolation portion of the tournament. However, first tonight will be the championship brackets, with Peterkin to face No. 8 Brandon Precin of Northwestern and Shanaman to face No. 10 Michael Cannon of American.
In the wrestleback portions, which will directly follow the completion of the second round of the championship half of the bracket, the six Quaker wrestlers will face single elimination. Junior Rick Rappo (141) will face Germane Lindsey of Ohio, junior Cesar Grajales (149) will face Lucas Espericueta of Stanford, Redshirt Freshman Scott Giffin (174) will face No. 8 seed Gabriel Dretsch
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The first match in session two for Penn was a nail bitter, as No. 9 Peterkin and No. 8 Precin were neck and neck for the majority of the bout. With :55 to go in the first, Precin got a takedown, but Peterkin immediately earned a reversal to keep it tied at 2. Then with just over a minute left in the second, Peterkin earned an escape to take a lead. However, with :30 seconds left Precin got a takedown. So heading into the third it was 4-3 Precin. Peterkin wouldn't score again. Precin earned both a near fall 2 and a reversal to clinch the win, advancing 8-3. Peterkin must now win at least three in a row if he wishes to place eighth or better.
Meanwhile the bout of the first day is going on at 133 pounds. Top seed Franklin Gomez of Michigan State faces Big 10 rival and unseeded Reece Humphrey of Ohio State. The bout was 4-3 humphrey before Gomez pulled out a miracle escape, starting with the bottom position with 8 seconds left. The 4-4 match went to two one minute, and two thirty second overtimes. Before in the third thirty-second OT both grapplers earned an escape point. However, Gomez had four extra seconds of riding time, giving him the win. But it was not without controversy. With only a second left, it appeared Humphrey had earned a takedown of Gomez, but the ref had called them out of bounds right before the apparent winning move.
Penn’s second matchup at the championship level was delayed, as a two sudden victory and four thirty second overtime periods match between No. 11 Tyler Sherfey of Boise State and No. 6 Matt Kochler of Pittsburgh occured on the same mat. In the end Kochler got an escape, but with :08 seconds left Sherfey tied it up. However, Kochler had superior riding time.
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Back to Penn wrestling. Zack Shanaman was up next, facing 10th seeded Cannon. The first was back and fort tie, as an early takedown by Cannon and a late reverse for Shanaman knotted the score up at 2 apiece. However, Cannon got a last second escape so it was 3-2 Cannon at end of first. In the second a stall warning gave Shanaman a point to tie around 1:00 left. 3-3 going into third. But in the third Cannon got both an escape and a takedown to take a 6-3 lead. Although Shanaman got an escape point with :15 to go, it wasn't enough. With Shanaman and Peterkin losing, all Penn wrestlers are now down to single elimination. So Penn's streak of two years with a national champion has come to a close.
For more information, including coach and player reactions, see tomorrow's DP.
Tipoff for (12)Villanova vs. (5)Clemson is at 9:50 tomorrow. Here are preview articles galore:
(11)St. Joe's vs. (6)Oklahoma is at 7:40, and I'll have links for that game up later.
To summarize the Cornell game, Cornell got crushed. The box score is here and a recap is here. As a Penn fan, I want to see Ivy League teams get better seeds in the future, so I was disheartened to see such a blowout. Here the Times wraps things up and looks at what Stanford can expect in its next game, against Marquette.
Giant Killer?
Yeah right.
Scratch that last remark. It is as bad as it could be, because it couldn't be much worse than being down 38-17 at halftime. Cornell missed three key shots in the last minute and a half, and Stanford pounced to stretch their lead from around 14 to 21 in a matter of moments.
Steve Donahue's club has problems. Cornell shot just 5-for-32 from the field, compared with 16-for-32 for Stanford. The Big Red were supposed to have the advantage from deep, but they've only hit 2 of 14 three-point shots. Louis Dale, who was on a hot streak coming into this game, has been playing out of control and has had trouble finishing over the Cardinal's big men. He hasn't scored yet after 8 shot attempts. Jeff Foote has 3 fouls, and Adam Gore hasn't gotten open enough to take quality shots.
Cornell is on pace to break the Tournament record for lowest shooting percentage in the shot-clock era. They're at 15.6 percent right now; the lowest ever was when Prarie View A&M shot 23 percent against Kansas.
Michigan State 72, Temple 61
Things aren't looking good for Cornell either, although only being down 12 with three minutes to go isn't nearly as bad as it could be, considering how awfully they have shot the ball. Also, who is the kid running the point for Cornell, and what did he do with Louis Dale?
Coming live from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, this is the NCAA Wrestling Championships. I’m Zach Klitzman and I’ll be providing updates through Saturday, as eight Penn wrestlers look to advance in the national tournament. 330 wrestlers are competing from now until the Finals Saturday evening, representing 74 schools.
Interestingly, the Penn squad has switched uniforms. Instead of going with the solid blue singlets they’ve used throughout the season, they’ve switched up to solid red ones. I’ve yet to had a chance to interview any players or coach Zeke Jones about it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re special NCAA-only singlets.
(Before I get in much farther, let me say that the internet is spotty at best here in the St. Louis Blues' home stadium, so apologies there).
It's roughly 1:30 Central time, and three Penn wrestlers have already competed in the opening round. Ninth-seeded sophomore Rollie Peterkin (125 pounds) dominated his first round opponent, unseeded Jonathan Bittinger of Duquesne, winning with a technical fall 17-1.
However, the second Penn match of the day was less favorable for the Quakers. Junior Rick Rappo (141) faced #3-seed, Kellen Russell of Michigan. The bout went scoreless through two periods, although Rappo forced some injury time in the first when Russell went down with a head injury. But the 25-5 freshman bounced back from the injury, and scored a quick takedown 10 seconds into the third. Russell held on, scoring another takedown and escape, advancing with the 5-0 decision. However, despite the close score, and the zero-zero tie throughout the first two periods, Russell pretty much dominated the match, as Rappo was on bottom throughout most of the bout.
The third bout went similar to Rappo's. Junior captain Cesar Grajales (149) faced a high seed, Jordan Burroughs, the fourth-seed from Nebraska. And just like Rappo's it was scoreless after the first period. However Burroughs drew first blood, earning an escape point with :45 seconds to go in the second. However, just six seconds into the third, Grajales tied it up with an escape of his own. But there's a reason why Burroughs is seeded and Grajales is not. With just under 25 seconds, Grajales had the Cornhusker in a hold, but Burroughs escaped, and then got the reversal, earning three points. With so little time left, Grajales couldn't earn any points, losing the bout 4-1.
I'll stop for now, as there are no Penn wrestlers at 157 pounds. The next Penn wrestler is 165-pounder Zack Shanaman.
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First, I should add that at one point the jumbotron revealed team scores. At that point Penn was in 22nd with 3.5, but that was before Shanaman's upset. (last year the Quakers came in 25 with 28 points).
After the break for the 157 weightclass, I'm back. The second half started with two bouts against ranked Oklahoma State wrestlers. First was junior Shanaman going up against the seventh-seed, Jake Dieffenbach. Dieffenbach had a lead of 4-2 right before the second period was to end, but Shanaman tied it up at the buzzer with a takedown. Finally, with an escape point just fifteen seconds in, Shanaman took the lead. He then played steady defense, holding on for the 5-4 upset win.
While the Shanaman win was the highlight for the team so far, the second Penn-OSU matchup was not as favorable to the Quakers. Redshirt Freshman Scott Giffin (174) faced ninth seed, Brendan Mason of OSU, but the match was more similar to Rappo's then Shanamans. Mason earned a quick takedown n in 1st, and with an escape and another takedown again, he earned a 5-0 win to even the heads up records of Penn and Oklahoma state wrestlers.
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The next bout, though not against a Cowboy wrestler, was against a Big 12, seeded wrestler. Senior captain Lior Zamir (184) (who was incorrectly called a junior over the PA system) faced top-seed Jake Varner of Iowa State. Varner was 25-0 on the season and was runner-up at the 2007 NCAA Championships. during which he defeated Zamir, 5-0, in the first round of the NCAA Championships. And this year it wasn't any different.
With :47 left in the first, Varner earned a takedown. and while the scoreless second kept the match close heading into the third, Varner got both a escape around 1:20 and a takedown at 1:01. In the end it was yet another 5-0 shutout loss for Penn.
The next match saw Thomas Shovlin (197) face off against Patrick Bond of Illinois, the 9 seed. It was scoreless in first and second, but just 12 seconds into the third Bond got an escape. However, an escape from Shovlin tied it up. And with both wrestlers not willing to give up any points, we got our first Sudden Victory match for Penn. But Bond got a takedown with just eight seconds left, even though he was dangerously close to being out of the circle. So Bond advanced with a 3-1 win.
Finally in heavyweight there was Trey Mclean against Jared Rosholt, the number five seed from Oklahoma State. And Rosholt just dominated. He got a quick takedown in first minute, and followed that up with a near fall three. And with just one second left in first, he earned the fall against the junior from Penn. With the win OSU is now 2-1 against the Quakers.
Also, they announced the attendance for session one as 15, 513 which is higher than the average attendance from last year's meet.
That's it for the first sesssion. The second round will commence at 6:30, so look for more updates then. I'm off to enjoy the comp dinner, as well as watch some sweet NCAA tournament basketball games.
Here are a few previews of the Cornell-Stanford game, which I will be tuning in to, come hell or Poli-Sci recitation:
After the jump, my thoughts on what Cornell has to do to win, along with some more stats.
You have to think that the clash of the NCAA's brainiacs will be a close one. Cornell is in many ways the kind of Tournament team Jay Bilas is always labeling "dangerous" (incidentally, he'll be calling the game for CBS, along with rookie Carter Blackburn). The Big Red shoot very well from the floor and especially well from the free-throw line, and don't turn the ball over much. They led the Ivy League in turnover margin (+.74) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.14).
There's one more interesting aspect of this matchup. While Penn has tried to slow things down into the half-court its last two trips to the Tournament -- with more success against Texas two years ago than against Texas A&M last year -- Cornell might be put in the unusual position of trying to speed things up. The Cardinal prefer to play behind the opposing defense in transition to let their big men get into their offense, and they work more effectively in the half court. Cornell has speedy point guard Louis Dale and great spot-up shooters in Ryan Wittman and Adam Gore. If Cornell gets numbers down the floor and hits a few buckets in transition, it could do some damage quickly; and in the half-court game, it will likely have an easier time attacking from the perimeter.
Stanford coach Trent Johnson singled out Wittman in his remarks to the media today.
"I think we'll just have to do a good job of staying with him and not really getting lost in transition and giving up some three-point shots in transition," Johnson said.
Defensively, I'm not really sure what Cornell will do to stop Stanford. It will be especially hard to do that in the paint. Stanford gets blocked an average of just 5.9 times for every 100 two-point shots it takes, the third-lowest rate in the nation. Brook Lopez can get his 20 and 10 and Cornell can still be competitive, as long as the rest of the Cardinal isn't hitting a lot of twos as well. Stanford gets 50 percent of its point production from its '4' and '5' players, about 10 percent more than the Big Red gets from their frontcourt.
“Stanford plays their way,” Cornell coach Steve Donahue told reporters. “Very deliberate; very disciplined. They don't really get out of it for anybody, watching their film. They're going to run their certain sets, they're going to get their pace of the game, and they're going to be physical."
Now, for the stat comparison you've been waiting for.
Record
Stanford: 26-7
Cornell: 22-5
RPI
Cornell: 65
Stanford: 14
Strength of schedule
Cornell: 265
Stanford: 56
Points per game (differential)
Cornell: 77.1 (+9.0)
Stanford: 70.7 (+10.1)
Field-goal % (3-point %)
Cornell: 49.2 (41.4)
Stanford: 44.9 (36.0)
Free-throw %
Cornell: 76.3
Stanford: 69.6
Rebounds/game (differential)
Cornell: 33.9 (+1.2)
Stanford: 38.8 (+10.0)
3-point FG attempts/total FG attempts (%)
Cornell: 35.1
Stanford: 27.1
There are lots of variables at work, but don't hold your breath. ESPN.com gives Cornell a 16% chance of pulling the upset, and I'd be hard-pressed to argue with that number.
To start off, I believe that as a Penn fan you have to root for Cornell.
Not only are the Big Red repping the Ivy League, former Penn assistant Steve Donahue is as likable a guy as it gets. Cornell is clearly better than anyone else in the Ivies and deserves to be there. The Big Red also don't dive like Brown, cheat like Harvard, or pop their collars like Princeton. Okay, never mind, we like to do that too.
Anyway, No. 14 Cornell, No. 11 Saint Joseph's, No. 12 Temple and No. 12 Villanova are all underdogs, but some aren't by much.
In Vegas, No. 6 Oklahoma is a mere 1.5-point favorite over the Hawks - the only line that's more even is No. 7 Miami vs. No. 10 St. Mary's. Temple is +6.5 against No.5 Michigan State and Villanova is +6 against No. 5 Clemson. Finally, Cornell is getting 14.5 points against the No. 3 Cardinal.
First, I truly believe St. Joe's is going to win. Not only are the Sooners slightly overseeded in many people's minds, the Hawks are a very good team. Ahmad Nivins and Rob Ferguson are forces down low, Darrin Govens and Tasheed Carr are good ball-handlers and scorers, the lanky Garrett Williamson is a solid defender and 6-foot-10 guard Pat Calathes is a matchup problem for anyone. If you're a traditional guard, he'll shoot over you. If you're a forward, he's drive right past you.
Also, the Hawks play their best basketball when they are desperate.
St. Joe's made a nice run in the Atlantic 10 Tournament, soundly beating Fordham, Richmond and then 3-seed Xavier, all games it needed to win. Perhaps once rumblings started of them being in the NCAA Tourney even with a loss to Temple, the Hawks lost the desperation Phil Martelli wanted them to be playing with, and dropped a 69-64 decision to their Philly rivals. When I stepped into their locker room, it was dead silent, and Ive never seen someone look as angry and depressed as the captain Carr was after that game. Look for St. Joe's to come out firing against a team it can definitely beat.
Temple will have to play a very good game for an upset, while Villanova and Cornell will have to play great ones.
The Owls are playing great basketball, and should have been higher than a 12-seed. Michigan State is a great team, but not only guards Mark Tyndale (an absolute beast - had 15 rebounds against Charlotte in the semifinal) and Dionte Christmas (can score with the best of them) are playing well, the supporting cast - from 5-8 Chris Clark to 6-9 Lavoy Allen to 7-foot Sergio Olmos - is better than it ever has been. This should be a game, and it's hard to pick against the Owls.
Villanova and Cornell may have a shot, but it's slim. The Wildcats slip into the Tournament, and play Clemson, a team that really has Final 4 potential. The Tigers are 4-5 against Tournament teams, but four of those losses are to North Carolina or Duke, including having fallen twice to the Tar Heels in overtime and again last weekend by a thread. Scotty Reynolds is getting more help these days, but K.C. Rivers and Clemson's multiple big men inside as well as shooter Terrence Oglesby should be too much for Villanova
True, it didn't do much in the non-conference schedule, but it's hard to go against Cornell's win streak. Still, does it have a shot of stopping the Lopez twins? Probably not. But any team that shoots as well as the Big Red do, both from the field (49.2 percent, 41.4 from three) as well as from the line (76.3 percent) can be prime for a big upset.
If you're interested, Big Red reserve Jon Jaques is contributing to the New York Times' NCAA Tournament blog. In his first entry, he discusses the difficulty of preparing for the NCAA Tournament when all of the other teams are still competing in conference tournaments. He also talks about Selection Sunday and the emotions surrounding it, and he does a good job of putting the fanfare in perspective, especially for an Ivy League team. You can follow it here.
The whole schedule is after the jump, with games of particular interest to The Buzz in bold.
THURSDAY
12:20 p.m.: (3)Xavier vs. (14)Georgia (Washington, D.C.)
12:25 p.m.: (1)Kansas vs. (16)Portland State (Omaha, Neb.)
12:30 p.m.:: (5)Michigan State vs. (12)Temple (Denver, Colo..)
2:30 p.m.: (6)Marquette vs. (11)Kentucky (Anaheim, Calif.)
Approx. 2:50 p.m.: (6)Purdue vs. (11)Baylor (Washington, D.C.)
Approx. 2:55 p.m.: (8)UNLV vs. (9)Kent State (Omaha, Neb.)
Approx. 3:00 p.m.: (4)Pittsburgh vs. (13)Oral Roberts (Denver. Colo.)
Approx. 4:55 p.m.: (3)Stanford vs. (14)Cornell (Anaheim, Calif.)
7:10 p.m.: (6)Southern California vs. (11)Kansas State (Omaha, Neb.)
7:10 p.m.: (2)Duke vs. (15)Belmont (Washington. D.C.)
7:20 p.m.: (4)Washington State vs. (13)Winthrop (Denver, Colo..)
7:25 p.m.: (8)Brigham Young vs. (9)Texas A&M (Anaheim, Calif.)
Approx. 9:40 p.m.: (3)Wisconsin vs. (14)Cal State-Fullerton (Omaha, Neb.)
Approx. 9:40 p.m.: (7)West Virginia vs. (10)Arizona (Washington, D.C.)
Approx. 9:50 p.m.: (5)Notre Dame vs. (12)George Mason (Denver, Colo.)
Approx. 9:50 p.m.: (1)UCLA vs. (16)Misssissippi Valley State (Anaheim, Calif.)
FRIDAY
12:15 p.m.: (2)Tennessee vs. (15)American (Birmingham, Ala.)
12:25 p.m.: (7)Gonzaga vs. (10)Davidson (Raleigh, N.C.)
12:30 p.m.: (5)Drake vs. (12)Western Kentucky (Tampa, Fla.)
12:30 p.m.: (7)Miami vs. (10)St. Mary's (Little Rock, Ark.)
2:45 p.m.: (7)Butler vs. (10)South Alabama (Birmingham, Ala.)
2:55 p.m.: (2)Georgetown vs. (15)Maryland-Baltimore County (Raleigh, N.C.)
3:00 p.m.: (4)Connecticut vs. (13)San Diego (Tampa, Fla.)
3:00 p.m.: (2)Texas vs. (15)Austin Peay (Little Rock, Ark.)
7:10 p.m.: (6)Oklahoma vs. (11)St. Joseph's (Birmingham, Ala.)
7:10 p.m.: (1)North Carolina vs. (16)Mount St. Mary's or Coppin State (Raleigh, N.C.)
7:20 p.m.: (4)Vanderbilt vs. (13)Siena (Tampa, Fla.)
7:25 p.m.: (8)Mississippi State vs. (9)Oregon (Little Rock, Ark.)
Approx. 9:40 p.m.: (3)Louisville vs. (14)Boise State (Birmingham, Ala.)
Approx. 9:40 p.m.: (8)Indiana vs. (9)Arkansas (Raleigh, N.C.)
Approx. 9:50 p.m.: (5)Clemson vs. (12)Villanova (Tampa, Fla.)
Approx. 9:55 p.m.: (1)Memphis vs. (16)Texas-Arlington (Little Rock, Ark.)
We all knew that Fran Dunphy and his Temple Owls would be going to the Big Dance after beating St. Joe's in the A-10 championship on Saturday, but the Hawks' fate was uncertain. After yesterday's loss, Phil Martelli said, "I've told everybody, if you believe in a greater power than us, pray your (butt) off. Right now, I have to believe in the power of prayer."
Maybe it has something to do with Easter weekend approaching, but not only were Martelli's prayers answered -- so too were those of Holy War rival Villanova. Both Big 5 squads were very much on the bubble heading into today, and both found their way into the tournament bracket.
While Villanova snagged a 12 seed, St. Joe's wound up with an 11 seed, which is a bit suspect. Why? Because Temple, the A-10 champion, got stuck with a 12 seed. The two teams split the regular season series, but the Owls beat the Hawks in the A-10 championship game, when it counted most. It seems pretty unfair that the Hawks would wind up with the better seed. But hey, it's just one seed, and when has the tournament selection committee ever been perfectly accurate or fair?
And to top it all off, Notre Dame won more games this season than it ever has before, earning a 5 seed. The dozen or so of you non-Jews at Penn clearly need to go to church more often.
In any event, it is the first time since 1999 that three Big 5 teams have made the tournament. Now, in the one year that Penn finally fails to make the tourney, you have your pick of Cornell or three Big 5 teams to root for.
Okay, I was wrong. Cornell -- with an RPI of 65 -- got a 14-seed, not a 13 like I thought, outdone by Winthrop (with an RPI of 109), Siena (67), Oral Roberts (53) and San Diego (94). In retrospect, a relatively poor strength of schedule outside the Ivies (186th in the country) probably hurt. Still, for the second season in a row the seeding of the Ivy representative leaves a sour taste in your mouth.
Cornell will have to deal with third-seeded Stanford, which is playing just around six hours by car from campus. They've been playing well lately, too, but so have the Big Red.
P.S.: It's okay to root for Cornell here, even if you're a Quaker at heart, so no angry comments please.
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