NCAA Tournament Betting Matchups: #4s vs. #13s

Maryland Terrapins
(23-8, #4 Midwest Region)

How They Got Here: The Terrapins were supposed to compete with the Dookies for the ACC Championship, but their run in the tournament was cut short by the suddenly surging Yellow Jackets. Still, at 23-7 in the regular season with 13 ACC wins, there was never a doubt about their at-large status.
Player to Watch: There isn’t much that G Greivis Vasquez can’t do for the Terps. He was a candidate for the AP Player of the Year this season, and even though he’s not John Wall or Evan Turner, he’s still a threat to carry Maryland far in this tournament.
Expectations: If HC Gary Williams can’t bring this team at least to the Sweet 16, there’s going to be a big issue with the Maryland faithful. Considering the quality of this draw before running into Kansas, there’s no reason to think that the Terps won’t get there.

Houston Cougars
(19-15, #13 Midwest Region)

How They Got Here: Somehow, some way, the Cougars found a way to win Conference USA against all of the odds of having to play both heavily favored Memphis and UTEP along the way. It was only a so-so regular season at 16-15, but Houston won when it counted, and now it’s dancing.
Player to Watch: The leading scorer in the nation is G Aubrey Coleman. He’s going to be the threat of all threats to the Terps in Round 1, as he can go off for 40 points against anyone in the land.
Expectations: Houston just has to be thrilled to be in this position. Coleman is going to look to make a name for himself, and even though that can happen in defeat, it’s going to take a win to really cement his name in the Cougars’ lore. It probably won’t happen, but a good fight is expected.

Vanderbilt Commodores
(24-8, #4 West Region)

How They Got Here: Were the ‘Dores overrated as a #4 seed? Many will think so after they were trashed by Mississippi State in the SEC semifinals. Still, Vandy was clearly one of the best three teams in the conference all year, which was very deserving of an at-large slot.
Player to Watch: C AJ Ogilvy is going to make life incredibly difficult for any foe that he runs up against. He’s the team’s second leading scorer at 13.4 PPG, but he’s also an underrated rebounder that goes 6’11″.
Expectations: No one is expecting this to be a Final Four team by any stretch of the imagination, but a trip to the second weekend is always the goal for #4 seeds. A battle with Butler in R2 is going to be hard, but getting to that point is the bare minimum that is acceptable.

Murray State Racers
(30-4, #13 West Region)

How They Got Here: It was a shame that a team that was 29-4 going into its conference final had no chance of making the dance, but that’s where the Racers were going into the OVC Final. They captured the conference crown, but still weren’t rewarded with a decent ranking.
Player to Watch: There are six great scorers on this team, but F Tony Easley is also the best rebounder on the squad as well as being a prolific point man. Easley is bringing in 5.7 RPGs and has blocked 94 shots on the year.
Expectations: Just prove you belong, Murray State! The Racers are very short underdogs in this game against Vandy, and sticking near that number will prove that they were shafted by the Selection Committee. A win would be fantastic. The expectation is to compete.

Wisconsin Badgers
(23-8, #4 East Region)

How They Got Here: The first round flop against Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament really shocked Badger nation. Wisconsin was one of the four dominant teams in the Big Ten this season, which was worthy of snaring an at-large bid to the tourney.
Player to Watch: He was the man that lifted the Badgers into the second round of last year’s tournament, and he’ll have to be the one that does it again for them on Friday. F Trevon Hughes has a knack of coming up big in huge spots, and at 15.4 points per game this year, he’s clearly the man for Wisky that can take a game over.
Expectations: Last season, nothing was expected, yet the Badgers bounced Florida State out of the first round of the dance. Now, they’re the hunted, not the hunters. After the disappointing exit from its conference tournament, Wisconsin had better not fall flat early in March Madness.

Wofford Terriers
(26-8, #13 East Region)

How They Got Here: Winning the SoCon wasn’t an easy task by any means, but that’s what the Terriers pulled off by taking care of three very strong foes in their conference tournament to go dancing.
Player to Watch: F Noah Dahlman is a bruiser in the post, and he’s going to have to take over in the paint to keep the Badgers within striking distance. He doesn’t excel at much else aside from scoring, but at 16.8 points per game and as the only double digit scorer on Wofford, his value is tremendous.
Expectations: Don’t think for one second that Wofford isn’t good enough to win this game outright. The Terriers believe that they’ve got the right combination of a strong defense and interior play to take it to the Badgers. They’ll exceed the expectations of the media just by hanging around in the game.

Purdue Boilermakers
(27-5, #4 South Region)

How They Got Here: The Boilers got here on the strength of three juniors, but only two will remain for the dance now that F Robbie Hummel is out of for the remainder of the season injured. Purdue never proved that it was good enough to compete at this level without Hummel in the lineup, which is why it was dropped to a #4 seed.
Player to Watch: G E’Twaun Moore seems to be the better leader of he and F JaJuan Johnson. Moore is the certainly the better outside threat as well, and he’ll need to step it up from long range for the Boilermakers to have success.
Expectations: Once Hummel went down, the season was effectively over for Purdue. There really isn’t much in the way of an expectation in West Lafayette without a team at full strength, but avoiding the embarrassment of being dumped by a #13 seed would be nice.

Siena Saints
(27-6, #13 South Region)

How They Got Here: Siena stormed through the Metro Atlantic at 17-1 in the regular season, and even though it was pushed to the brink in all three of its MAAC Tournament games, it persevered and made it to the dance for the third straight year.
Player to Watch: F Alex Franklin is one of four veteran leaders on this team. The Saints rely on their top scorer to dominate the low block with teammate F Ryan Rossiter. Franklin is the better true post player though, and he’ll draw a great matchup with Purdue’s Johnson in R1.
Expectations: After pushing #1 Louisville a year ago in the second round, Saints fans will be disappointed with a first round exit from the tourney, especially against an injury-riddled team. Still, it’s hard to expect much out of a #13 seed, even if that #13 is a trendy pick to upset the #4.