Florida State (#5, East, Boise pod)

vs. Wisconsin (#12)
Mar. 20 @ 9:55pm

Vegas Line: Florida St. -2.5

Thanks to Vegas Watch for providing these graphs that measure the moving average of a team’s spread (moving avg.) over time vs. the spread for each individual game (indiv).  If a team’s moving average is higher than zero, then Vegas currently has a higher opinion of them than Pomeroy, and vice versa.

General Profile

Location: Tallahassee, Florida
Conference: ACC, at large
Coach: Leonard Hamilton, 125-90 (as of 3/10)
08-09 Record: (25-9), 10-6)
Last 12 Games: 8-4
Best Win: 73-70, North Carolina, 3/14/2009
Worst Loss: 73-59, Northwestern, 12/3/08
Offensive Efficiency Rating: 105.3 [106]
Defensive Efficiency Rating: 88.0 [8]

Nuts n Bolts

Star Player: Toney Douglas – 20.8 ppg/3.0 apg
Unsung Hero: Toney Douglas – He could be an All-America candidate if he played at UNC or Duke, and has good reason for feeling left out after losing the ACC POY to Ty Lawson.
Potential NBA Draft Picks: None
Key Injuries: No injuries to report
Depth: 36.5% (#49)
Achilles Heel: Turnovers – the Seminoles are 290^th in the nation when it comes to turnover percentage.
Will Make a Deep Run if: They take good care of the ball on offense. On defense, FSU could be a big problem for teams like Wake Forest and UConn that can’t, or don’t, shoot the three ball well – FSU’s defense is strongest when opponents are inside the arc.
Will Make an Early Exit if: Douglas goes cold – the other Seminoles are much better defenders than scorers.

NCAA History

Last Year Invited: 1998 – Round of 32
Streak: 1
Best NCAA Finish: 1972 – National Runner-Up
Historical Performance vs. Seed (1985-present): n/a

Other

Six Degrees to Detroit: Current Pistons Assistant Coach, Dave Cowens, is the highest drafted Seminole in NBA history, going 4^th overall to the Celtics in the 1970 draft.
Distance to First Round: 2,432 miles.
School’s Claim to Fame: It isn’t surprising that FSU’s most famous alumni played football for the Seminoles. However, the fact that that alumni happens to be the mustachioed actor that your mom still swoons over, Burt Reynolds.
School Wishes it Could Forget: FSU wishes we would all forget the NCAA report that recently said 61 Seminole student-athletes from the football, baseball, softball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s swimming, men’s and women’s track and field and men’s golf teams committed academic fraud during 2006 and 2007.
Prediction: FSU is coming off the school’s best showing ever in the ACC tournament, and could definitely take Wisconsin and then four-seed Xavier to make the Sweet 16. However, Toney Douglas & Friends would likely meet Pitt at that point, and although their big men could make things interesting for Blair, expect FSU to fall to Pitt in the Boston.

Major RTC stories: None.

Preview written by... Matt the Intern

Kansas (#3, Midwest, Minneapolis pod)

vs. North Dakota State (#14)
Fri. 3/20 at 12:30 pm
Vegas Line: -10

Thanks to Vegas Watch for providing these graphs that measure the moving average of a team’s spread (moving avg.) over time vs. the spread for each individual game (indiv).  If a team’s moving average is higher than zero, then Vegas currently has a higher opinion of them than Pomeroy, and vice versa.

General Profile

Location: Lawrence, Kansas
Conference: Big 12, at-large
Coach: Bill Self, 167-39
08-09 record: 25-7 (14-2)
Last 12 Games: 10-2
Best Win: 90-65, Missouri, 3/1/2009
Worst Loss: 61-60, Massachusetts, 12/13/2008
Off. Efficiency Rating: 114.7 (19th nationally)
Def. Efficiency Rating: 89.5 (16th nationally)

Nuts n Bolts

Star Players:  Cole Aldrich: 14.6 ppg/10.6 rpg; Sherron Collins: 18.3 ppg/5.0 apg
Unsung Hero: Tyshawn Taylor: 10 ppg
Potential NBA Draft Picks: Cole Aldrich: 6^th overall in 2010 / Sherron Collins: 36^th overall in 2010
Key Injuries: No injuries to report
Depth: 27.3% mins. (250th nationally)
Achilles Heel: The current group of Jayhawks are relatively unproven in tournament play. No starters return from 2008’s championship run, and KU bowed out early in their preseason tournament against Syracuse in November and last week to Baylor in the Big 12 conference tournament.
Will Make a Deep Run if…: Cole Aldrich is involved in the offense. In Kansas’ last three losses, Aldrich is averaging 8 points. In their wins over the same time span, Aldrich has averaged 17.8 points per game.
Will Make an Early Exit if…: An inexperienced Kansas team meets a senior-led team in the first weekend that’s been dancing before and can match up with Aldrich.

NCAA History

Last Year Invited: 2008 National Champions
Streak:   This is Kansas’ 20^th straight year in the dance
Best NCAA Finish: National Champions in 1952, 1988, 2008
Historical Performance vs. Seed (1985-present): +0.27

Other

Six Degrees to Detroit: Before Kansas won their 1988 title in Kansas City, they had to beat rival Kansas State in Pontiac, Michigan to win the Midwest Regional final.
Distance to First Round Site: 480 miles
School’s Claim to Fame: In 1905, University of Kansas researchers were the first to discover helium.
School Wishes It Could Forget:  The KU football and basketball programs have been under self-imposed probation since 2006, mostly for academic fraud.
Prediction: Though Kansas should win, look for their matchup with NDSU to the best 3 vs. 14 game of 2009, with both teams featuring great offenses and exciting players. Though, a wilder game than that will likely be six-seed West Virginia knocking off KU in the Round of 32.

Major RTC stories:  Big 12 Wrap & Tourney Preview
Profile Written by:   Matt the Intern of RTC.

Arizona (#12, Midwest, Miami pod)

vs. Utah (#5)
Mar. 20 @ 7:20pm

Vegas Line: pick

General Profile

Location: Tucson, Arizona
Conference: Pac-10, at-large
Coach: Russ Pennell (interim), 19-13
08-09 Record: 19-13, 9-9
Last 12 Games: 8-4
Best Win: 84-67, Kansas, 12/23/2008
Worst Loss: 79-64, UNLV, 12/20/2008
Off. Efficiency Rating: 117.9 [6]
Def. Efficiency Rating: 99.4 [132]

Nuts n Bolts

Star Players: Jordan Hill – 18.5 ppg/11.0 rpg; Chase Budinger – 18.2 ppg/6.4 rpg
Unsung Hero: Nic Wise – 15.0 ppg
Potential NBA Draft Pick(s): Jordan Hill: 3^rd overall in 2009 / Chase Budinger: 16^th overall in 2009 / Nic Wise: 52^nd overall in 2010
Key Injuries: Garland Judkins: out indefinitely (suspension)
Depth:  18.3% (#339)
Achilles Heel: Interim Head Coach Russ Pennell is in his first year leading a team, and has kept the Wildcats out of a collapse that so many predicted after Lute Olsen’s departure. However, Pennell’s inexperience could prove troublesome in a high pressure tournament environment.
Will Make a Deep Run if...:  The defensive pressure elevates to the Wildcat’s level of offensive output.
Will Make an Early Exit if…: They meet a team with great guards – Arizona’s halfcourt D is a feast for drive and kick point guards with wings that can shoot from outside.

NCAA History

Last Year Invited: 2008 – Round of 64
Streak: 24
Best NCAA Finish: 1997, National Champions
Historical Performance vs. Seed (1985-present): -0.22 wins per appearance

Other

Six Degrees to Detroit: Arizona alum Bison Dele had his most productive year in the NBA while playing with the Pistons in 97-98, averaging 16 points and 9 rebounds per game.
Distance to First Round Site: 2,246 miles.
School’s Claim to Fame: The 1997 National Championship team is the only one in NCAA history to defeat three number one seeds (Kansas, North Carolina, Kentucky). Academically, the University of Arizona is recognized as one the strongest land-grant institutions in the nation.
School Wishes It Could Forget: Things haven’t always been cheery in the Arizona family during the past couple years: Lute Olsen’s ugly divorce made news frequently, and the first interim coach, Kevin O’Neill, was largely disliked by the fanbase.
Prediction: Arizona is the most questionable at-large team to make the tournament. Considering they were 0-10 against top 100 teams away from home, don’t expect a lot from the Wildcats when they travel to Miami. Bet on a one and done trip.

Major RTC stories:  Lute Olson Retirement Wrapup

Preview written by…  Matt the Intern

California (#7, West, Kansas City pod)

vs. Maryland (#10)
Mar. 19 @ 2:55pm

Vegas Line: California -1

Thanks to Vegas Watch for providing these graphs that measure the moving average of a team’s spread (moving avg.) over time vs. the spread for each individual game (indiv).  If a team’s moving average is higher than zero, then Vegas currently has a higher opinion of them than Pomeroy, and vice versa.

General Profile

Location: Berkeley, California
Conference: Pac-10, at-large
Coach: Mike Montgomery, 22-9
08-09 Record: 22-9, 11-7
Last 12 Games: 6-6
Best Win: 86-71, Washington, 2/5/2009
Worst Loss: 69-65, Oregon State, 1/22/2009
Off. Efficiency Rating: 117.4 [10]
Def. Efficiency Rating: 97.2 [87]

Nuts n Bolts

Star Player(s): Jerome Randle – 18.4 ppg/4.9 apg
Unsung Hero: Patrick Christopher – 14.6 ppg
Potential NBA Draft Pick(s): Patrick Christopher: 44^th overall in 2010
Key Injuries: None to report
Depth: 27% (260)
Achilles Heel: Cal doesn’t have much going in the paint on offense or defense. Currently, they’re 89^th in the nation in 2-point shooting percentage, and an appalling 324^th when it comes to blocking opponents’ shots.
Will Make a Deep Run if…: The three point shot is working well and their opponent doesn’t have a powerful big man.
Will Make an Early Exit if…: Live by the three, die by the three. Cal shoots a higher percentage from behind the arc than anyone in the nation, but the regular season showed that if the three pointers aren’t going in (like when they shot 15% from three and lost to Oregon State) the Golden Bears are most likely going to lose.

NCAA History

Last Year Invited: 2006, Field of 64
Streak: This is Cal’s first year back.
Best NCAA Finish: 1959 National Champions
Historical Performance vs. Seed (1985-present): -0.13 wins per appearance

Other

Six Degrees to Detroit: In 1995, former Cal star Jason Kidd shared NBA Rookie of the Year honors with Grant Hill of the Detroit Pistons.
Distance to First Round Site: 1,802 miles.
School’s Claim to Fame: Besides once being the epicenter of collegiate activism and free thought, UC Berkeley is considered to be one of the top public universities in the United States.
School Wishes It Could Forget: Recently, UC Berkeley students who were camped out in campus trees to protest the building of new athletic facilities gained national media attention by biting and throwing their feces on university officials. Poop-throwing among the student body is generally not good for the school’s image.
Prediction: If Cal can keep Greivis Vasquez in check, they should win a tight game against Maryland. That theoretically puts them up against Memphis in the Round of 32, so the Golden Bears should be headed home after the first weekend.

Major RTC stories: n/a

Preview written by…  Matt the Intern

Morgan State University (#15, South, Kansas City pod)

vs. Oklahoma (#2)
Thur. 3/19 at about 9:40 pm
Vegas Line:  +16

General Profile
Location: Baltimore, MD
Conference: Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, automatic bid
Coach: Todd Bozeman, Overall Record: 58-40
08-09 Record: 23-11 (14-3)
Last 12 Games: 11-1, won 5.
Best Win: 66-65, University of Maryland, 1-7-09
Worst Loss: 63-58, Florida A&M University, 1-17-09
Off. Efficiency Rating: 99.3 (210th)
Def. Efficiency Rating: 97.4 (92nd)

Nuts n Bolts
Star Player(s): Reggie Holmes, 16.9 ppg, 37.3 3pt%
Unsung Hero: Kevin Thompson, 8.9 ppg, 7.0 rpg
Potential NBA Draft Pick(s): None
Key Injuries: No significant injuries.
Depth: 20.4% mins. (336th nationally)
Achilles Heel: Poor Free Throw Shooting.  Only 66 percent as a team.
Will Make a Deep Run if…: They stretch the Oklahoma defense and shoot well from three-point range
Will Make an Early Exit if…: Blake Griffin takes more than seven shots.

NCAA History
Last Year Invited: First Bid in School History
Streak: n/a
Best NCAA Finish: n/a
Historical Performance vs. Seed (1985-present): n/a

Other
Six Degrees to Detroit: Todd Bozeman once coached Jason Kidd, who had several epic battles against the Detroit Pistons as a member of the New Jersey Nets.
Distance to First Round Site: 963 Miles
School’s Claim to Fame: Coached by former Cal Bear coach Todd Bozeman, who was banned from NCAA competition for eight years for improper payments to players.
School Wishes It Could Forget: N/A
Prediction: Morgan St. will shoot and defend well in the first half, but jitters will enable Oklahoma to pull away late.
Major RTC stories: 27 Down, 38 To Go

Preview written by: JC of HBCUSportsblog.com.

Pittsburgh (#1, East, Dayton pod)

vs. East Tennessee State (#16)
Mar. 20 @ 2:55pm

Vegas Line: Pittsburgh -20

Thanks to Vegas Watch for providing these graphs that measure the moving average of a team’s spread (moving avg.) over time vs. the spread for each individual game (indiv).  If a team’s moving average is higher than zero, then Vegas currently has a higher opinion of them than Pomeroy, and vice versa.

General Profile

Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Conference: Big East, at-large
Coach: Jamie Dixon, 150-41
08-09 Record: 28-4, 15-3
Last 12 Games: 10-2
Best Win: 76-68, Connecticut, 2/16/2009
Worst Loss: 81-73, Providence, 2/24/2009
Off. Efficiency Rating: 122.9 [2]
Def. Efficiency Rating: 92.2 [34]

Nuts n Bolts

Star Player(s): DeJaun Blair – 15.6 ppg/12.2 rpg; Sam Young – 18.7 ppg/6.1 rpg; Levance Fields – 10.7 ppg/7.6 apg
Unsung Hero: Jermaine Dixon – 9.0 ppg
Potential NBA Draft Pick(s): DeJuan Blair, 13^th overall in 2009 / Sam Young, 22^nd overall in 2009
Key Injuries: No injuries to report
Depth: 29.4% mins, #206
Achilles Heel: DeJuan Blair and fouls – Pitt is 0-3 when their big guy fouls out, and 28-1 when he stays on the court.
Will Make a Deep Run if…: Everything goes as expected.
Will Make an Early Exit if…: Blair gets in foul trouble, and the other Pitt stars can’t make up the difference.

NCAA History

Last Year Invited: 2008, Round of 32
Streak: Pitt is dancing for the 8^th straight year.
Best NCAA Finish: 1941, Final Four
Historical Performance vs. Seed (1985-present): -0.40 wins per appearance

Other

Six Degrees to Detroit: Head coach Jamie Dixon (1) took over in 2003 at Pitt after Ben Howland (2) left for UCLA. Howland’s Bruins won a spectacular game again Gonzaga in the 2006 tournament, with Adam Morrison (3) starring for the Zags. Morrison was the first draft pick by Michael Jordan (4), who famously played for the Chicago Bulls (5), who were at the time the chief rival of the Detroit Pistons (6).
Distance to First Round Site: 256 miles
School’s Claim to Fame: “Send it in Jerome!” In 1988, Pitt forward Jerome Lane had one of the most spectacular highlight reel dunks ever, shattering the backboard with a slam against Providence.
School Wishes It Could Forget: In 2005, a University of Pittsburgh scientist named Gerald Schatten was linked to a South Korean embryo-cloning debacle that made international controversy. Generally, schools don’t like their faculty members getting involved in such things.
Prediction: FSU doesn’t have the firepower, outside of Douglas, to take down Pitt, and Blair should dominate over Duke’s tepid post players. In the end, Pittsburgh makes it all the way to the Final Four, but can’t quite make it to the title game.

Major RTC stories: None

Preview written by…  Matt the Intern

Minnesota (#10, East, Greensboro pod)

vs. Texas (#7)
Thur. 3/19 at 7:10 pm
Vegas Line:  +4

General Profile
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Conference: Big Ten, at large
Coach: Orlando “Tubby” Smith, hired 2007. Record at Minnesota = 42-24.
08-09 Record: 22-10 (9-9)
Last 12 Games: 5-7
Best Win: vs Louisville, 70-64, 12/20/08
Worst Loss: at Northwestern, 65-74, on 1/18/09.
Off. Efficiency Rating: 106.5 (88th)
Def. Efficiency Rating: 90.6 (20th)

Nuts n Bolts
Star Player(s): Lawrence Westbrook (6’0″ junior guard), 12.4 ppg.
Unsung Hero: Ralph Sampson III (6’11” freshman center), leads team with 4.4 rpg and second in blocks at 1.5/game.
Potential NBA Draft Pick: Sampson has some teams interested.
Key Injuries: No significant injuries.
Depth: 40.7% mins. (13th nationally)
Achilles Heel: Guarding the three. Opponents shoot 32.7%, 236th in the nation in that category.
Will Make a Deep Run if…: …their defense can frustrate. They’re 20th nationally in Defensive Efficiency and 4th nationally in blocks.
Will Make an Early Exit if…: …their interior defense breaks down. Despite being poor in defensing the three, they’re in the top 30 as far as guarding shots inside the arc.
Last Year Invited: 2005
Streak: One year.
Best NCAA Finish: 1997 Final Four.
Historical Performance vs. Seed (1985-present): n/a

Other
Distance to First Round Site: 1143 miles
School’s Claim to Fame: A notable alumni list too long to list, but it includes 18 Nobel prize winners.  Bob Dylan went here but dropped out.
School Wishes It Could Forget: Yanni is an alumnus.
Prediction: Minnesota doesn’t wow you with statistics but with Smith at the helm you know at the very least they’ll give Texas a ballgame, and maybe win it outright. Minnesota will be a popular 1st round upset pick, but they have to find a way to corral Pittman. If they can…who knows, after that.
Major RTC stories: Big 10 Wrapup and Tourney Preview

Preview written by: John Stevens, Rush The Court.

Cal State Northridge (#15, West, Kansas City pod)

vs. Memphis (#2)
Mar. 19 @ 12:25pm

Vegas Line: Cal St. Northridge +19.5

General Profile

Location: Northridge, CA
Conference: Big West, automatic
Coach: Bobby Braswell, 205-180
08-09 Record: 17-13, 11-5
Last 12 Games: 9-3
Best Win: 71-66, Pacific, 3/15
Worst Loss: 67-65, Cal State Bakersfield, 11/21
Off. Efficiency Rating: 102.2; #162
Def. Efficiency Rating: 97.1; #83

Nuts n Bolts

Star Player(s): Rodrigue Mels, 25.5 ppg in Big West Tournament
Unsung Hero: Tremaine Townsend – 10.2 ppg, 8.3 rebs
Potential NBA Draft Pick(s): None
Key Injuries: Josh Jenkins, G – car accident; Deon Tresvant, G – pending legal case
Depth: 41.4%, #9
Achilles Heel: Just 67.3% from the FT line
Will Make a Deep Run if…: Memphis falls asleep on the court
Will Make an Early Exit if…: They turn the ball over too much (17.7 pg)

Other

Distance to First Round Site: 1,637 miles
School’s Claim to Fame: One of the state’s largest schools (33,000+ students), Northridge finished rebuilding in 2007 after the campus was heavily damaged in the 1994 earthquake that struck the Los Angeles area
School Wishes It Could Forget: Three players (including leading scorer and coach’s son) accused of stealing thousands of dollars in merchandise from a local Best Buy on New Year’s Day this year, and have not played since.
Prediction: Northridge does all of the things that Memphis does… only Memphis does them much, much better. The Matadors won the Big West despite missing some key players, but that grit won’t get them far against the Tigers.

Major RTC stories: None

Preview written by… (Ryan ZumMallen, LBPOSTSports.com)

Ohio State (#7, Midwest, Dayton pod)

vs. Siena (#9)
Mar. 19 @ 9:40pm

Vegas Line: Ohio St. -3

Thanks to Vegas Watch for providing these graphs that measure the moving average of a team’s spread (moving avg.) over time vs. the spread for each individual game (indiv).  If a team’s moving average is higher than zero, then Vegas currently has a higher opinion of them than Pomeroy, and vice versa.

General Profile

Location: Columbus, Ohio

Conference: Big Ten
Coach: Thad Matta, hired 2004.  Record at OSU = 127-45.

08-09 Record: 22-10 (10-8)

Last 12 Games: 7-5

Best Win: vs Michigan State 82-70, on 3/14/09

Worst Loss: at Northwestern, 69-72, on 2/18/09.

Off. Efficiency Rating: 114.0 (26th)

Def. Efficiency Rating:  95.9 (72nd)

Nuts n Bolts

Star Player(s): Evan Turner (6’7″ sophomore forward); 17.1 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.8 spg.
Unsung Hero: William Buford (6’5″ freshman forward); 11.3 ppg, shooting 45.2% FG and 89.6% FT.
Potential NBA Draft Pick: 7’0″ freshman center B.J. Mullens is currently projected as the 12th overall pick in the 2009 mock NBA draft at www.nbadraft.net.
Key Injuries: Would-be star player David Lighty (6’7″ junior F) injured his left 5th metatarsal against Jacksonville on 12/17/08 and was slated to miss 6-12 weeks.  No recent mention of possible return.
Depth:  26.6% mins (271st nationally)
Achilles Heel: The boards.  The Buckeyes pull down 28.2 rebounds/game, which is 301st nationally.
Will Make a Deep Run if…: …they shoot well, and the Buckeyes know how to do that.  9th nationally in FG% (48.9), and 7th nationally on shots inside the arc (54.5%).
Will Make an Early Exit if…: …they don’t take advantage of limited possessions; OSU only gets an average of 63.1 chances per game, which is 315th nationally.

NCAA History

Last Year Invited: 2007
Streak: 1
Best NCAA Finish: 1960 National Champions.
Historical Performance vs. Seed (1985-present): -0.12 wins per appearance

Other

Six Degrees to Detroit: Freshman guard Anthony Crater is from Flint.  And the Buckeyes know the state of Michigan well, let’s just say.

Distance to First Round Site: 71 miles

School’s Claim to Fame: Largest single-campus university in the nation.  Oh, and they kind of like football.

School Wishes It Could Forget: Recent football shortcomings, along with that loss to Florida in the 2007 tournament final after the Gators had also beaten them for the football title earlier that year.

Prediction: Another Big Ten team that doesn’t jump off the page, and Siena would be a typical team that could surprise the Buckeyes if it were not for the fact that this will basically be a home game for OSU, playing in Dayton and all.  They’ll have the best chance to knock off a 1-seed if they get to play Louisville in Dayton in the 2nd round.

Major RTC stories: Big 10 Wrapup and Tourney Preview

Preview written by: John Stevens, Rush The Court.

Western Kentucky University (#12, South, Portland pod)

vs. Illinois (#5)
Thur. 3/19 at about 9:50 pm
Vegas Line:  +4.5

General Profile
Location: Bowling Green, Kentucky
Conference:  Sun Belt, automatic bid
Coach: Ken McDonald, hired as head coach 2008. Record at WKU = 24-8.
08-09 Record: 24-8 (15-3)
Last 12 Games: 11-1, won 7.
Best Win: vs Louisville, 68-54, 11/30/08
Worst Loss: at Denver, 74-78, on 1/24/09.
Off. Efficiency Rating: 108.6 (68th)
Def. Efficiency Rating: 101.3 (168th)

Nuts n Bolts
Star Player(s): A.J. Slaughter (6’3″ junior guard), 15.8 ppg.
Unsung Hero: Sergio Kerusch (6’3″ senior guard), 11.2 ppg/7.4 rpg.
Potential NBA Draft Pick: None.
Key Injuries: No significant injuries.
Depth: 25.3% (295th nationally)
Achilles Heel: Guarding the three. Opponents shoot 34.9%, 206th in the nation in that category.
Will Make a Deep Run if…: …they get Slaughter lots of touches, and if they continue hitting the offensive glass hard, something they’ve done well all year.
Will Make an Early Exit if…: …they think just because they pulled off an upset last year, it will automatically happen this year.
Last Year Invited: 2008
Streak: Two years.
BestNCAA Finish: 1971 Final Four. Defeated Kansas in consolation game.
Historical Performance vs. Seed (1985-present): +0.08

Other
Distance to First Round Site: 2326 miles
School’s Claim to Fame: Darrin Horn (South Carolina head coach), Clem Haskins are both alums, as is the PGA’s Kenny Perry. And everyone loves Big Red, the seemingly amorphous Hilltopper mascot.
School Wishes It Could Forget: Last year’s Sweet 16 loss. The ‘Toppers had their chances against UCLA.
Prediction: Not a team to take lightly. Wouldn’t be surprised to see at least one semi-upset win, since they are indeed peaking at the right time.
Major RTC stories: Sun Belt Conference Tourney Wrapup

Preview written by: John Stevens, Rush The Court.