By Stephen F. Holder, Times Staff Writer
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Upset special
Life can sometimes be frustrating for Florida State fans, but if the Seminoles play the way they're capable, perhaps the team that lost close calls against teams such as North Carolina will shine through. Leonard Hamilton's teams consistently play smothering defense, evidenced by FSU's impressive top rank in ACC defensive field-goal percentage (.364).
That's a trend
No. 1 seed Kansas faces Boston University in its first game, and the odds are the Jayhawks will win handily. After all, they don't lose a whole lot of opening games in the NCAA Tournament. Only twice since 1981 — in 2005 and 2006 — have the Jayhawks not advanced in their first-round games. They're more likely to wind up in the Final Four than lose their first contest. That would not be considered acceptable for a program that has 39 tournament appearances, 13 Final Fours and three national titles.
By the numbers
.514 Kansas' team field-goal percentage, tops in the nation. The Jayhawks pile up the points as a result of their sharp shooting, averaging 82.4 points. That's fifth in the country. Kansas has four players in its rotation who shoot better than 50 percent from the field, and that's going to be hard to beat this time of year.
32 Games in which Purdue's JaJuan Johnson finished in double figures this season. That would be every one of the Boilermakers' games in 2010-11. The 6-foot 10 senior averaged 20.5 points and scored a season-high 31 on Dec. 18 against Indiana State.
2 Consecutive NCAA Tournament losses by Vanderbilt to teams outside of major conferences. The Commodores have lost tournament games to Siena in 2008 and Murray State last year, their past two appearances.
5 Losses by Georgetown in its past six games. The Hoyas have dropped games to UConn (twice), Cincinnati (twice) and Syracuse since Feb. 16. Not exactly a confidence-building run for this 21-10 team.
Stephen F. Holder, Times Staff Writer
Clairvoyant Pitino?
Louisville faces Morehead State in its first game, and coach Rick Pitino appears to know his opponent well. In illustrating a point last week about the lack of rebounding among today's players, Pitino used Morehead's Kenneth Faried as an example. Remember, this was days before the brackets were released on Sunday.
"Today, college kids don't put the backboard numbers on the glass that they used to, they want to shoot jump shots, they don't have the mind-set for that," Pitino said, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal. "If you can recruit somebody like (Faried) from Morehead State … then you've got yourself a gem for a few years."
Faried averages 14.5 rebounds, most in the nation.
Best first-round game
No. 8 UNLV vs. No. 9 Illinois
This game has all kinds of potential to go down to the wire as both have the ability to test opponents. The Rebels started fast this season before falling back. But they're heating up again, winning six of their final seven heading into the tournament. Illinois can claim wins over Michigan State, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Gonzaga. This probably won't be a high-scoring affair. UNLV opponents shoot 40.0 percent; Illinois limits teams to 40.1 shooting accuracy. If one team has an advantage, look for Illinois to rely on its balance — six players averaging double figures. UNLV coach Lon Kruger formerly coached at Illinois.
Player to watch
The Hansbrough name just seems to roll off the tongue this time of year. A few years after his brother enjoyed a dominant March run of his own, Notre Dame guard Ben Hansbrough tries to duplicate former North Carolina star Tyler's efforts in the tournament. Ben shoots with deadly accuracy from the field, nailing 48.6 percent of his shots. He dishes 4.3 assists per game, making him far more than a one-dimensional scorer. Basically, Notre Dame isn't a No. 2 seed without the guy.