NCAA Tournament Betting Matchups: #6s vs. #11s

Tennessee Volunteers
(25-8, #6 Midwest Region)

How They Got Here: The boys from Rocky Top kept themselves out of trouble with a respectable SEC record in spite of the fact that G Tyler Smith was kicked off the team after just a dozen games this year. It was a topsy-turvy road, but the Vols made it as a solid at-large selection.
Player to Watch: F Wayne Chism is most likely the man that will come up large for HC Bruce Pearl. Chism, who has plenty of tourney experience, can be a force in the paint. He had a relatively disappointing year at 12.5 PPG and 7.1 RPG, but he’s still a double-double threat every day.
Expectations: The Tennessee faithful probably think higher of this team that it actually is, but the Vols should be happy just getting to the second week of this tournament. They’ll probably fall short of that goal though in a very tough Midwest Bracket.

San Diego State Aztecs
(25-8, #11 Midwest Region)

How They Got Here: They were a bubblicious team all year long, but when the dust finally settled, the Aztecs played their way into the NCAA Tournament the hard way. They won three games in three days, including one against New Mexico and one against the hosts of the MWC Tournament to claim an automatic bid to the tourney.
Player to Watch: F Billy White can catch fire in any game that he plays. Just ask the Lobos, who watched him score 28 points against them in the MWC semifinals. White is wildly inconsistent, but when he’s on, he can obliterate his scoring average of 10.6 PPG.
Expectations: The Aztecs would love to get out of Round 1 of this tournament to prove that the MWC deserves some more respect on an annual basis. It wouldn’t be devastating if it doesn’t, but look for San Diego State to march on to this weekend before getting tripped up.

Xavier Musketeers
(24-8, #6 West Region)

How They Got Here: A perfect record at home this year certainly helped the case for the Musketeers to make the tournament, and some major non-conference wins were like icing on the cake. The X-Men were one of the top three teams in the A-10 all year, and all three squads knew the whole season that they were dancing.
Player to Watch: When you’re talking about elite scorers that may stick around for awhile in this tournament, you have to bring Xavier’s G Jordan Crawford into the discussion. He’s averaging 19.7 PPG this year for a team that is averaging 80.0 PPG.
Expectations: That offense should carry X at least into the weekend, but the expectations at this school are becoming higher and higher as the years wear on. This has been an Elite 8 team in years past, and anything less than that will ultimately be at least a tad disappointing.

Minnesota Golden Gophers
(21-13, #11 West Region)

How They Got Here: The Gophers didn’t truly play their way into the tournament, but for all intents and purposes, that’s what happened for a team that was only 18-12 at the outset of the conference tournaments last week. Minnesota won three games in three days, and in spite of the fact that it was blown away by Ohio State in the Big Ten Final, it was still good enough to go dancing.
Player to Watch: This is one of the best shot blocking teams in the country, and F Damian Johnson leads the bunch with 65 blocks on the year. He’s also good for double digits in scoring (10.0 per game) and can grab six to eight boards if you need him to.
Expectations: Survive as long as you can, Minnesota. If that means a first round upset, no one in Golden Gopher nation should be hanging their heads after that great run through the Big Ten tourney.

Marquette Golden Eagles
(22-11, #6 East Region)

How They Got Here: After losing six Big East games by five points or less, it’s a wonder how the Golden Eagles kept their season together. Still, tenacity from HC Buzz Williams and a group that never gave up on itself persevered into the dance out of the toughest conference in America.
Player to Watch: F Lazar Hayward is a tough nosed warrior in the post for the Eagles. He is averaging 18.1 PPG and 7.7 RPG on the season and has clearly bodied with the best in the country.
Expectations: After a year of a ton of close calls, the Golden Eagles are due for some luck. Does that mean a deep run into the dance? Quite possibly. However, if this team’s luck continues, it’ll be the team that goes down in Round 1 on that heartbreaking 40-foot miracle shot at the buzzer.

Washington Huskies
(24-9, #11 East Region)

How They Got Here: The Huskies needed every last one of those wins that they got in the Pac-10 Tournament to go dancing, because a loss to Cal in the finale would’ve probably sent them to the NIT. U-Dub wasn’t exactly a deserving team in the field of 65 all year long, but ultimately, the conference title earned them their spot on the dance floor.
Player to Watch: This is as dangerous of an 11 seed as there has ever been in this tournament thanks to F Quincy Pondexter. He’s a double-double waiting to happen every single night, and his 19.8 points per game makes him a complete duel threat.
Expectations: Based on the beginning of the year expectations, this is a team that should be at least in the Sweet 16. Now, seeing how weak the Pac-10 was, a win over Marquette would thrill U-Dub Country.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish
(23-11, #6 South Region)

How They Got Here: A week before the Big East Tournament started, the Irish were still in a heck of a lot of trouble. They ran through the end of their schedule by switching to this so called, “Burn” offense, which takes the air out of the ball and deadens the game. Since then, HC Mike Brey’s club has only been beaten once.
Player to Watch: Talk about the most valuable sixth man in America. F Luke Harangody, an All-American, is going to come off of the bench like he did for the entire end of the season after returning from injury. He can still go for a double-double in seemingly no time, and even though he can’t play a full 40 minutes anymore, his impact on any game can be huge, as there is rarely anyone on the court that can body with him.
Expectations: Step one was getting to the dance. Now Brey has to prove that he can win when he gets there. The Irish badly need to survive into the weekend.

Old Dominion Monarchs
(26-8, #11 South Region)

How They Got Here: The Monarchs were probably forgotten and disrespected after winning the Colonial’s automatic bid. They were good enough to be an at-large team all season long out of the CAA, but apparently, at least in the eyes of the Selection Committee, a loss to Northeastern in the league final would’ve left the Monarchs home.
Player to Watch: Everything that F Kent Bazemore does is important for the Monarchs. He’s not a prolific scorer at just 8.4 PPG, but he pulls down 4.2 boards, dishes out 3.3 assists, and picks up 1.9 steals per game. Whomever he is defending is going to have a real pest on his hands all night long.
Expectations: For the rest of the CAA’s sake, ODU had better beat Notre Dame. This is a conference that is craving respect. It seems as though we’ve all forgotten that George Mason was in the Final Four just a few years ago from this league. A win will be another reminder of how good this conference can be.