Gold Sheet
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 67 - Dayton 59—Never mind the fact that
Dayton won this event last year (and has a storied history in the NIT); the current
edition of the Flyers has been too inconsistent to trust, especially with the gears
often grinding on attack, with frosh Juwan Staten often unconvincing in his
lever-pulling role at the point. And Flyers might be a bit gassed as they play their
4th game in 5 days (many NBA teams don’t even get that sort of assignment)
after their exhausting and anxiety-filled weekend run to the Final of the A-10
Tourney. Meanwhile, Bobby Cremins’ Charleston finally gets one of these
postseason games at Carolina First/John Kresse Center, and the Cougars are
still a bit steamed about blowing another SoCon title game last week vs.
Wofford. Charleston G Andrew Goudelock (23.4 ppg) is the most potent
offensive force on the floor, and the Cougs “stepped up” impressively out of
conference this season (close losses at North Carolina, at Maryland, and at
Clemson, and a win at Tennessee). TV—ESPN2
CLEVELAND STATE 70 - Vermont 66—Up until about two weeks ago,
both of these teams were appearing in a lot of projected Big Dance brackets
(ours included). And note that CSU was 26-5 SU this season against teams not
named Butler. But the Vikings cooled noticeably as the campaign progressed,
and they dropped 8 of their last 10 vs. the number, as Gary Waters’ 3-G attack
became a bit too over-reliant on sr. G Norris Cole (21.6 ppg). Vermont looking
to atone for blowing an excellent regular-season run in the Northeast by laying
an egg in the conference tourney semis vs. Stony Brook. But the Catamounts
mostly held their own vs. higher-level non-conference foes (including a decent
effort at UConn), and they own good inside-outside balance, with paint
specialist F Evan Fjeld (14.5 ppg) and our favorite-named college player, G
Brendan Bald (that name hits close to the heart for us), a 42% trey shooter.
ALABAMA 72 - Coastal Carolina 54—Unless Alabama is especially
depressed (which is possible) by landing on the wrong side of the Big Dance
cut-line, expect the Tide to bounce back at the colorfully-decorated and friendly
Coleman Coliseum, where Anthony Grant’s team won all 16 its game SU this
season, covering 10 of 12 that were on the line. Bama’s recurring deficiencies
from beyond the arc are not likely to prove costly vs. Cliff Ellis’ Coastal Carolina
side that limped home in the Big South (failing to win the conference tourney on
its home floor) after Chanticleer top scorer G Desmond Holloway (18.5 ppg) was
suspended due to eligibility matters in late February, just a week after fellow
backcourt starter Kierre Greenwood was lost to a knee injury, and less than a
month after rugged South Carolina transfer C Mike Holmes (14 ppg) was
dismissed from the team in late January. TV—ESPNU
OKLAHOMA STATE 65 - Harvard 64—One has to wonder about Harvard’s
mental state after being cruelly denied a berth in the Big Dance by Princeton G
Doug Davis, who threw a dagger into the Crimson’s heart with a buzzer-beating
jumper to give the Tigers a pulsating win in Saturday’s Ivy playoff at Yale. But
anyone who has seen Harvard this season knows that Tommy Amaker has not
recruited a normal Ivy bunch to Cambridge, with sorts such as PF Keith Wright
(14.9 ppg) and 6-5 soph matchup nightmare Christian Webster (13.2 ppg) the
types we’d normally see performing on the A-10, or even Big East, stages. As
long as the Crimson are not too depressed, no reason they can’t compete vs. an
OSU side that was hardly a go-with proposition down the stretch (just 4-10 vs.
line last 14). TV—ESPN
MISSOURI STATE 65 - Murray State 63—Whereas Mizzou State might be
a bit depressed after its name wasn’t called by the NCAA Selection Committee
on Sunday, OVC sources report that reg.-season champ Murray State sees the
NIT as a chance to atone for its miserable shooting effort from the accomplished
Racer Gs that cost the team dearly in its OVC Tourney loss to Tenensseee
Tech. But the usual overall excellence of the “big three” (srs. B.J. Jenkins &
Isaac Miles and soph Isaiah Canaan) that were instrumental in Murray’s upset
of Vandy and near-upset of Butler in LY’s Big Dance suggests that the Racers
can go toe-to-toe with Cuonzo Martin’s low-variance Bears, who have dropped
11 of their last 15 spread decisions.
Boston College 58 - MCNEESE STATE 56—This isn’t the kind of road trip
to a Southland port of call that normally appears on the BC schedule, but that’s
the best the Eagles can do this week after they laid an egg in the ACC
quarterfinals vs. Clemson, costing them a chance at an NCAA berth. And, if BC
isn’t properly focused (and it wasn’t in last week’s 70-47 loss to the Tigers), not
sure it pulls away from a sr.-oriented, defensively-stingy McNeese team that
thought it was on its way to the Big Dance before its narrow loss to UTSA in the
Southland finale. Well-balanced Cowboys boast six players scoring between 9-
15 ppg, paced by versatile 6-4 swingman Patrick Richard (15.9 ppg) and
aggressive G Diego Kapelan (15 ppg), and they get a rare chance to host an
ACC foe at Lake Charles. The Eagles definitely have their hands full if G Reggie
Jackson is off the mark from treyland as he was vs. Clemson (when he hit just
1 for 6 triples). TV—ESPNU
COLORADO STATE 72 - Fairfield 61—Although we do not downgrade the
competitive Metro-Atlantic and we respect Fairfield’s regular-season title, we do
wonder how good the Stags really are after they fell far short in their only nonconference
games of note (15-point losses at Rutgers & Penn State and a
9-point setback against what might have been the tortured Phil Martelli’s worstever
St. Joe's team). MAAC sources aren’t sure the matchups work for Fairfield
vs. CSU, whose agile frontliners 6-9 Andy Ogide and 6-7 Travis Franklin (who
often plays a perimeter role in 4-G looks) present different dimensions than the
Stags are used to seeing, and who might render HC Ed Cooley’s slowish 7-
footer Ryan Olander and undersized 6-5 Yorel Hawkins & Warren Edney at a
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 67 - Dayton 59—Never mind the fact that
Dayton won this event last year (and has a storied history in the NIT); the current
edition of the Flyers has been too inconsistent to trust, especially with the gears
often grinding on attack, with frosh Juwan Staten often unconvincing in his
lever-pulling role at the point. And Flyers might be a bit gassed as they play their
4th game in 5 days (many NBA teams don’t even get that sort of assignment)
after their exhausting and anxiety-filled weekend run to the Final of the A-10
Tourney. Meanwhile, Bobby Cremins’ Charleston finally gets one of these
postseason games at Carolina First/John Kresse Center, and the Cougars are
still a bit steamed about blowing another SoCon title game last week vs.
Wofford. Charleston G Andrew Goudelock (23.4 ppg) is the most potent
offensive force on the floor, and the Cougs “stepped up” impressively out of
conference this season (close losses at North Carolina, at Maryland, and at
Clemson, and a win at Tennessee). TV—ESPN2
CLEVELAND STATE 70 - Vermont 66—Up until about two weeks ago,
both of these teams were appearing in a lot of projected Big Dance brackets
(ours included). And note that CSU was 26-5 SU this season against teams not
named Butler. But the Vikings cooled noticeably as the campaign progressed,
and they dropped 8 of their last 10 vs. the number, as Gary Waters’ 3-G attack
became a bit too over-reliant on sr. G Norris Cole (21.6 ppg). Vermont looking
to atone for blowing an excellent regular-season run in the Northeast by laying
an egg in the conference tourney semis vs. Stony Brook. But the Catamounts
mostly held their own vs. higher-level non-conference foes (including a decent
effort at UConn), and they own good inside-outside balance, with paint
specialist F Evan Fjeld (14.5 ppg) and our favorite-named college player, G
Brendan Bald (that name hits close to the heart for us), a 42% trey shooter.
ALABAMA 72 - Coastal Carolina 54—Unless Alabama is especially
depressed (which is possible) by landing on the wrong side of the Big Dance
cut-line, expect the Tide to bounce back at the colorfully-decorated and friendly
Coleman Coliseum, where Anthony Grant’s team won all 16 its game SU this
season, covering 10 of 12 that were on the line. Bama’s recurring deficiencies
from beyond the arc are not likely to prove costly vs. Cliff Ellis’ Coastal Carolina
side that limped home in the Big South (failing to win the conference tourney on
its home floor) after Chanticleer top scorer G Desmond Holloway (18.5 ppg) was
suspended due to eligibility matters in late February, just a week after fellow
backcourt starter Kierre Greenwood was lost to a knee injury, and less than a
month after rugged South Carolina transfer C Mike Holmes (14 ppg) was
dismissed from the team in late January. TV—ESPNU
OKLAHOMA STATE 65 - Harvard 64—One has to wonder about Harvard’s
mental state after being cruelly denied a berth in the Big Dance by Princeton G
Doug Davis, who threw a dagger into the Crimson’s heart with a buzzer-beating
jumper to give the Tigers a pulsating win in Saturday’s Ivy playoff at Yale. But
anyone who has seen Harvard this season knows that Tommy Amaker has not
recruited a normal Ivy bunch to Cambridge, with sorts such as PF Keith Wright
(14.9 ppg) and 6-5 soph matchup nightmare Christian Webster (13.2 ppg) the
types we’d normally see performing on the A-10, or even Big East, stages. As
long as the Crimson are not too depressed, no reason they can’t compete vs. an
OSU side that was hardly a go-with proposition down the stretch (just 4-10 vs.
line last 14). TV—ESPN
MISSOURI STATE 65 - Murray State 63—Whereas Mizzou State might be
a bit depressed after its name wasn’t called by the NCAA Selection Committee
on Sunday, OVC sources report that reg.-season champ Murray State sees the
NIT as a chance to atone for its miserable shooting effort from the accomplished
Racer Gs that cost the team dearly in its OVC Tourney loss to Tenensseee
Tech. But the usual overall excellence of the “big three” (srs. B.J. Jenkins &
Isaac Miles and soph Isaiah Canaan) that were instrumental in Murray’s upset
of Vandy and near-upset of Butler in LY’s Big Dance suggests that the Racers
can go toe-to-toe with Cuonzo Martin’s low-variance Bears, who have dropped
11 of their last 15 spread decisions.
Boston College 58 - MCNEESE STATE 56—This isn’t the kind of road trip
to a Southland port of call that normally appears on the BC schedule, but that’s
the best the Eagles can do this week after they laid an egg in the ACC
quarterfinals vs. Clemson, costing them a chance at an NCAA berth. And, if BC
isn’t properly focused (and it wasn’t in last week’s 70-47 loss to the Tigers), not
sure it pulls away from a sr.-oriented, defensively-stingy McNeese team that
thought it was on its way to the Big Dance before its narrow loss to UTSA in the
Southland finale. Well-balanced Cowboys boast six players scoring between 9-
15 ppg, paced by versatile 6-4 swingman Patrick Richard (15.9 ppg) and
aggressive G Diego Kapelan (15 ppg), and they get a rare chance to host an
ACC foe at Lake Charles. The Eagles definitely have their hands full if G Reggie
Jackson is off the mark from treyland as he was vs. Clemson (when he hit just
1 for 6 triples). TV—ESPNU
COLORADO STATE 72 - Fairfield 61—Although we do not downgrade the
competitive Metro-Atlantic and we respect Fairfield’s regular-season title, we do
wonder how good the Stags really are after they fell far short in their only nonconference
games of note (15-point losses at Rutgers & Penn State and a
9-point setback against what might have been the tortured Phil Martelli’s worstever
St. Joe's team). MAAC sources aren’t sure the matchups work for Fairfield
vs. CSU, whose agile frontliners 6-9 Andy Ogide and 6-7 Travis Franklin (who
often plays a perimeter role in 4-G looks) present different dimensions than the
Stags are used to seeing, and who might render HC Ed Cooley’s slowish 7-
footer Ryan Olander and undersized 6-5 Yorel Hawkins & Warren Edney at a
