SPORTS MEMO
Recommendation: Kansas
Few expected Villanova to make it this far, but despite being one of the last teams to make the tournament, they are still a Big East team that won 20 games during the regular season. The Wildcats are nothing more than a solid team playing its best basketball of the season. Guard Scottie Reynolds is performing
up to his capabilities, and the defense is making key stops when needed. The only hope for Villanova in this one, however, is to string multiple stops on the defensive end together, something
few teams were able to do against the offense of Kansas. And after playing the suspect defenses of Clemson and Siena, Villanova must now face a team capable of completely taking Reynolds out of the game. UNLV went to line 34 times vs. only 15 for Kansas, yet the Jayhawks won by 20. The reason was KU?s defense, which allowed its first two opponents to shoot 33-of-100 from the floor. For the season, Villanova shot just 43% as a team, a number we will likely see against KU?s stout defense.
It is a unique situation because Villanova is better than its No. 12 seed, but Kansas will be the best team the Wildcats have faced all season and nothing suggests that they are strong enough to make this a game. Look for Villanova?s run of hot shooting to come to a halt as we lay the points with Kansas.
Recommendation: Davidson
In one of the more amazing statistical stories of the tournament, the Wildcats scored 47 second half points against the vaunted Georgetown
defense and for the game, shot just 39% to the Hoyas? 63% and somehow came away with the victory. The reason was Stephen Curry, who is currently the tournament?s Most Valuable Player. He is getting plenty of support from his teammates, especially on defense, but expect Wisconsin to respect Curry a bit more than Georgetown did. Wisconsin is as stingy as its comes on the defensive end. They allowed Kansas State?s Michael Beasley and Bill Walker to get their allotment of points and completely took out the rest of the Wildcats
squad. They?ll face a similar situation here in guarding Curry. It?s been 12 games since the Badgers allowed 70 points or more and even if Curry goes off for 30-plus, the Wildcats are going to need to continue getting help from the supporting cast. The best comparison
we can give you in terms of what to expect offensively out of Davidson is when they lost to UCLA 75-63. Curry was limited to 15 points and the Bruins used their physical prowess to bully Davidson
in the paint. Wisconsin has that type of defense, but their lack of offense should allow Davidson to keep within striking distance at all times. We expect this game to go down to the last few minutes
and we?ll back the Wildcats catching a fair amount of points
Recommendation: Memphis
Memphis didn?t look the part of a No. 1 seed in its narrow win over Mississippi State. The Bulldogs played a physical game and were able to find success working the ball down low and fouling out both Robert Dozier and Joey Dorsey. And for the first time, we actually saw the Tigers? poor free throw shooting play a role. It wasn?t in the straight up outcome of the game, but Memphis should have covered the 9-point spread had it not been for the 15-of-32, 47% effort from the line. Memphis has now covered only three times in its last 15 games. Michigan State is finally playing up to its capabilities. They beat Pittsburgh at its own game by outrebounding them 33 to 20 and making life miserable
for the Panthers on the perimeter. Guard Drew Neitzel continued his up and down play with five points against Temple and 21 vs. Pitt. But his biggest issue is going to be guarding Chris Roberts-Douglas and Derrick Rose. Even with Memphis? proneness for mistakes, Michigan State is going to have a huge uphill battle keeping those two from having big games. In our opinion, if Memphis shows up, they are at least 10 points better
than the Spartans on a neutral court. With the short line, you?re better off taking who you think will win the game outright
and we feel Memphis should advance. Lay the points
Recommendation: Texas
It won?t take Texas but two minutes of watching a tape of Stanford
to know that if they can stop Brook Lopez, then they?ll have a big advantage. The Cardinal repeatedly were able to get Lopez the ball in the win over Marquette and each and every time he either got a good look or was able to kick to an open player on the perimeter. The Longhorns will try and counter Lopez with junior center Connor Atchley. Keeping Atchley out of foul trouble is imperative for Texas. He?s not much of a scorer, but any production they can get from him will be an added bonus. A lot of Lopez? success against Marquette
came from him not having to do much work on the defensive end. Stanford is a strong defensive bunch, but a lack of quickness on the perimeter nearly cost them the game against Marquette. Guard Jerel McNeal had a field day with 30 points on 13-of-25 shooting. Texas? defense is vastly underrated
and we need to point out they?ve held nine of their last 12 opponents to 40% or lower from the floor. Even with that advantage
of Lopez down low, we expect Stanford to struggle to score. Keep in mind, this is a team that shot only 45% as a team on the year and close to 40% outside of both Lopez brothers. We?ll take the Longhorns in this one laying less than a bucket.