Washington (#4, West, Portland pod)

vs Mississippi State (#13)
Thur., 3/19 at 5 pm
Vegas line:  -6

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: Seattle, Washington
Conference: Pac-10, at-large.
Coach: Lorenzo Romar, hired 2002.  Record at UW = 144-80
08-09 Record: 25-8 (14-4)
Last 12 Games: 9-3
Best Win: at Arizona State, 84-71, on 1/31/09.
Worst Loss: at Portland, 74-80, on 11/15/08.
Off. Efficiency Rating: 112.1 (37th)
Def. Efficiency Rating: 88.7 (11th)

Nuts ‘n Bolts
Star Player(s): Isaiah Thomas (15.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.5 apg) and Jon Brockman (14.9 ppg and 11.2 rpg).
Unsung Hero: Quincy Pondexter (11.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg)
Potential NBA Draft Pick: None listed at nbadraft.net, but Thomas is already generating talk.
Key Injuries: No significant injuries.
Depth: 31.2% (162nd nationally); percentage of minutes played by reserves
Achilles Heel: Taking care of the ball.  UW averages 14.7 TO per game, ranking 252nd nationally.
Will Make a Deep Run if…: They can shoot a little better.  The Huskies shoot 45.9% from the field including 34.1% from three (respectively 69th and 166th in the nation), but they’ll need a little improvement on that to go deep.
Will Make an Early Exit if…: They get outrebounded.  They average 37.7 rebounds/game, 5th in the nation.

NCAA History
Last Year Invited: 2006; lost to Connecticut in the Sweet 16.
Streak: One year.
Best NCAA Finish: National semifinalist in 1953, lost to Kansas.  Beat LSU in consolation game for 3rd.
Historical Performance vs. Seed (1985-present): n/a

Other
Distance to First Round Site: 175 miles
School’s Claim to Fame: The med school is ranked #1 in Primary Care and the nursing school has been ranked #1 since 1984.
School Wishes It Could Forget: Recent football woes — last winning season was 2002.
Prediction: Assuming Jarvis Varnado doesn’t block everything in their first round game, Washington matches up well with all three teams in its 16th of the bracket, so a trip to the Sweet 16 seems likely.
Major RTC stories: Pac-10 Wrapup and Tourney Preview

Preview written by Rush The Court.

Robert Morris University (#15, Midwest, Minneapolis pod)

vs. Michigan State (#2)
Fri. 3/20 at about 9:50 pm
Vegas Line: +16.5

General Profile
Location: Moon Township. Pennsylvania
Conference:  Northeast — Tournament Champion
Coach:  Mike Rice, hired 2007. Record at Robert Morris = 50-18.
08-09 Record: 24-10 (15-3)
Last 12 Games: 9-3, won 5.
Best Win: vs Mount St. Mary’s, 48-46, on 3/11/09 for the NEC tournament title.
Worst Loss: at Monmouth, 57-60, on 2/19/09.
Off. Efficiency Rating: 101.3 (170th)
Def. Efficiency Rating: 97.3 (91st)

Nuts n Bolts
Star Player(s): Jeremy Chappell (6’3″ senior guard), 16.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 2.5 spg, and over 85% from the FT line.
Unsung Hero: Rob Robinson (6’8″ junior forward), 11.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg and shoots almost 53% from the field.
Potential NBA Draft Pick: None.
Key Injuries: No significant injuries.
Depth: 34.6% mins. (89th nationally)
Achilles Heel: Taking care of the ball. RoMo gives up 15.1 TOs per game, 279th in the nation.
Will Make a Deep Run if…: …they can take care of the ball and Chappell catches fire.  And some divine intervention wouldn’t hurt. Doesn’t hurt that they shoot 39.7% from three, 17th in the nation.
Will Make an Early Exit if…: …they are intimidated by their opponent and the TV cameras.
Last Year Invited: 1992.
Streak: One year.
Best NCAA Finish: 1983; went 1-1, winning in the preliminary round then losing to Purdue in the Round of 64.
Historical Performance vs. Seed (1985-present): n/a

Other
Distance to First Round Site: 860 miles
School’s Claim to Fame: Named after a Declaration of Independence signer and a man who helped pay for the Revolutionary War.
School Wishes It Could Forget: That there’s a Robert Morris College in Chicago.  And RMU’s last three first-round games? Kansas, UCLA, Arizona.  Not exactly friendly draws.
Prediction: Another tough draw to add to the list — so likely another 0-1.

Major RTC stories: NEC Wrapup and Tourney Preview
Preview written by: John Stevens, Rush The Court.