http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/18739 Recent articles about Alex Franklin en-us Thursday's 1st round games were not as exciting as some people thought they would be. Only 2 lower seeds won (#9 Texas A&M and #11 Kansas State) and the two potential upsets (#14 Georgia over #3 Xavier and #15 Belmont over #2 Duke) were so close too happening, yet so far. So what will the 2nd day of the NCAA Tournament bring us? (10) Davidson vs. (7) Gonzaga In a great Mid-Major matchup, the Davidson Wildcats of the Southern Conference take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs of the West Coast Conference. The Zags have been here before with guys like Jeremy Pargo, Josh Heytvelt and David Pendergraft. Davidson may have the best overall player playing in this game with son of former NBA sharp-shooter Del Curry, Stephen Curry. The younger Curry averages 25 points per game on the season and can be deadly on the outside. If the Wildcats want to win, Stephen Curry has to be on target. If he is not, look for Gonzaga to buckle down and use the experience to advance to the 2nd round. SFB Prediction: Davidson wins 81-77 (10) Saint Mary's vs. (7) Miami (FL) Should this matchup really be happening? The Saint Mary's Gaels, who spent a good portion of the year in the Top 25 get a #10 seed and the Miami Hurricanes, who struggled towards the end of the season, get a #7 seed. Very questionable. But nonetheless, these teams square off for a very interesting matchup. For the Hurricanes, guard Jack McClinton leads the team with about 17 points per game. Saint Mary's is led by point guard Patrick Mills with 14.5 PPG and 3.4 assists per game. Something that is interesting about this game is that the Gaels are not your typical "shoot-the-three" Mid-Major squad. In addition to Mills, they have two solid big men inside with forward Diamon Sampson and center Omar Samhan. So unlike other Mid-Majors, Saint Mary's certainly has the ability to pound it inside. SFB Prediction: Saint Mary's wins 77-69 (12) Western Kentucky vs. (5) Drake The Drake Bulldogs of the Missouri Valley Conference have had a great season finishing the year 28-4 and nationally ranked. Led by point guard Adam Emmenecker, the Bulldogs play a very interesting style of play and have the ability to score the basketball. Josh Young leads the team in scoring and Klayon Korver is deadly from 3-point range. But don't forget about the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, who have a player by the name of Courtney Lee who averages over 20 points per game. The senior stands at 6'5" and will give Drake some matchup problems in this game. SFB Prediction: Drake wins 75-65 (10) South Alabama vs. (7) Butler Here is yet another solid Mid-Major matchup. And again, a question arises with placing the Butler Bulldogs as a #7 seed. But we do have a great matchup here with Butler battling the South Alabama Jaguars, who received an at-large bid out of the Sun Belt Conference. The Bulldogs are led by guards A.J. Graves and Mike Green but they also have a balanced attack with four players averaging over 11 points per game. The Jaguars also have a balance with 4 players averaging over 10 points per game, led by 20-point per game scorer Demetric Bennett. SFB Prediction: Butler wins 88-87 in overtime (11) Saint Joseph's vs. (6) Oklahoma This seems to be the trendy "upset" pick for many sports fans out there with the Saint Joseph's Hawks taking on the Oklahoma Sooners. The Hawks are led by three athletic big men with Pat Calathes, Ahmad Nevins and Rob Ferguson. All three of these players can score inside, outside and run the floor. This is something Oklahoma needs to prepare for if they want to hang with the Hawks. Of course St. Joe's will have to contend with Oklahoma's big men, 6'10" Blake Griffin and 6'11" Longar Longar. The key to this game for either team is to control the pace of the game. As fast-paced game is in the Hawks favor and a slower-paced game is Oklahoma's favor. This should be a great game. SFB Prediction: Saint Joe's wins 73-70 (13) Siena vs. (4) Vanderbilt As said in a previous Blog, this could be the upset of the tournament with the MAAC champion Siena Saints defeating the Vanderbilt Commodores. However, it certainly will not be easy. Vandy has SEC Player of the Year Shan Foster in their corner in addition to 6'11" Aussie B.J. Ogilvy. On the other side, the Saints have sharp-shooters named Kenny Hasbrouck, Tay Fisher and Edwin Ubiles along with forwards Alex Franklin and Josh Duell on the inside. Even if Siena doesn't pull off the upset, this will be a great game to watch. SFB Prediction: Siena wins 85-81 (9) Oregon vs. (8) Mississippi State Again, these #8 vs #9 games are always very competitive on paper. The Ducks have 4 players averaging in double figures in points led by 6'6" guard Malik Hairston. The Bulldogs also have four players scoring in double figures in points including leading scorer Jamont Gordon and sharp-shooting Ben Hansbrough, Tyler's little brother. Look for this game to be action-packed, high-scoring and very exciting. SFB Prediction: Mississippi State wins 79-74 (9) Arkansas vs. (8) Indiana Another "seeding" question comes to mind when we see the Indiana Hoosiers with a #8 seed. Perhaps the NCAA Tournament Committee is sending a message that the Hoosiers can't win without their former head coach Kelvin Sampson. Despite this fact, Indiana is still a great basketball team led by guard Eric Gordon and big man D.J. White. But Arkansas has the sights set on getting to the 2nd round as well. The Razorbacks are led by forward Sonny Weems, who averages over 14 points per game. SFB Prediction: Indiana wins 69-61 (12) Villanova at (5) Clemson The Clemson Tigers finished the season strong making it all the way to the ACC Championship game. Many sports fans believe Clemson to be a potential sleeper team that can take down a #1 seed in the Regional Semi-Final round. Well with a balanced, athletic attack led by 6'6" junior K.C. Rivers, it's not surprising why sports fans are picking this team to go far in the NCAA Tournament. But before the Tigers think about that, they must deal with Villanova Wildcats, who perhaps was the last team to be put into the Field of 65. Villanova is led by sophomore guard Scottie Reynolds, who averages just under 16 points per game. But to win this game, the Wildcats need big games from guys like Dante Cunningham and Shane Clark. SFB Prediction: Clemson wins 77-65 Fri, 21 Mar 2008 08:36:55 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/213140 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/213140 With the 2008 NCAA Tournament Bracket announced last night, every sports fan is trying to figure out who will be this year`s Cinderella squad? The biggest Cinderella of all was George Mason in 2006 when they went to the Final Four, so we ask the question: Who will be this year`s George Mason? Here are a list of possibilities: 1) #13 Siena (22-10) - The Saints are the champions of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and take on #4 seed Vanderbilt of the SEC in the 1st round as part of the Midwest Region. The Saints are a dangerous team because of their suffocating pressure defense and their ability to shoot from the outside. Senior Tay Fiser, juniors Kenny Hasbrouck and Josh Duell and sophomore Edwin Ubiles all can shoot the 3-pointer well and forward Alex Franklin can dominate in the paint. For a young Mid-Major team, they play with a lot of poise and will not be scared of Vandy come Friday. Look for a potential upset here. 2) #12 Temple (21-12) - The champions of the Atlantic 10 Conference finished the season strong winning 7 straight games. They take on the #5 seed in the South, the Michigan State Spartans, in the 1st round. The Owls have a balanced attack with lethal guard Dionte Christmas, guard/forward Mark Tyndale and point guard Chris Clark. The Owls have 7-foot center Sergio Olmos to clog up the middle. The Spartans of Michigan State need to come well-prepared to this one or they will be another victim of the annual 5-12 upset. 3) #10 Davidson (26-6) - The Davidson Wildcats ran through the Southern Conference going 20-0 in conference play in the regular season. And although the Wildcats did not have any big non-conference wins, they played North Carolina, Duke and UCLA all very tough. Davidson plays #7 seed Gonzaga in the 1st round, with the Zags being another potential Cinderella. But I have to like the Davidson Wildcats and sharp-shooting Stephen Curry, who averages 25 points per game this year. 4) #5 Drake (28-4) - The Drake Bulldogs of the Missouri Valley Conference had a terrific season. They were awarded with a #5 seed in the West region and take on a tough Mid-Major team in Western Kentucky. So why would Drake be considered a Cinderella if they are a #5 seed? Probably because no one is picking them to get past the Sweet 16. But these guys are for real and I would not be surprised at all if they made a Final Four run like George Mason in 2006. Led by point guard Adam Emmenecker, who has been deemed as the Mid-Major`s version of Steve Nash. Josh Young leads the team in scoring and Klayton Korver (Kyle`s little brother) is deadly from 3-point range. OTHER POTENTIAL CINDERELLAS: #10 Saint Mary`s (25-6) #10 South Alabama (26-6) #12 George Mason (23-10) #12 Western Kentucky (27-6) #13 San Diego (21-13) Mon, 17 Mar 2008 07:23:34 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/205193 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/205193