Pitt Notebook: Buffalo may be site for an upset
Mar 14, 2007 23:55:18 GMT -5
Post by Admin on Mar 14, 2007 23:55:18 GMT -5
www.post-gazette.com/pg/07074/769692-175.stm
Pitt Notebook: Buffalo may be site for an upset
Thursday, March 15, 2007
By Ray Fittipaldo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- If you're looking for an upset in the first round of the tournament, HSBC Arena might be the place to be today. Three teams from thriving mid-major conferences will square off against teams from power conferences, and one of the top mid-majors (Butler) will face a team (Old Dominion) that pulled off one of the biggest shockers of the year.
In addition to Pitt-Wright State, this first-round site features No. 4 seed Maryland against No. 13 seed Davidson, No. 6 seed Duke against No. 11 seed Virginia Commonwealth and No. 5 seed Butler against No. 12 seed Old Dominion.
Butler and Wright State play in the Horizon League, which sent more than one team to the NCAA tournament for the first time in four years. Butler beat Notre Dame, Tennessee, Gonzaga and Purdue in non-conference play, and Wright State beat Butler twice.
"We don't concern ourselves with labels," Butler coach Todd Lickliter said. "We just try to represent Butler University as best we can. We are proud of what our league has done. When our league has been represented we have played well."
Old Dominion and Virginia Commonwealth play in the Colonial Athletic Association. Old Dominion won at Georgetown. Davidson, of the Southern Conference, won at Arizona State.
Wright State coach Brad Brownell is in his first season with the Raiders after 12 years as an assistant and head coach in the Colonial Athletic Association at UNC Wilmington.
"There are great mid-major leagues that certainly produce teams that have the ability to win games in these tournaments," Brownell said. "I was in the CAA for 12 years and watched that league grow and now see it get multiple bids on a regular basis is exciting."
Unfamiliar territory
Duke is a No. 6 seed this year, its lowest seed in the tournament since it was a No. 8 seed in 1996. The Blue Devils had been a No. 1 seed seven times in the past 10 years. They were a No. 2 seed once and a No. 3 seed on two occasions.
Duke (22-10) struggled down the stretch, losing its last three games going into the tournament, including a first-round loss to North Carolina in the ACC tournament.
"We're happy to be in the tournament and to be a sixth seed," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "If you're a program that has great success, I don't think you ever look at yourself as a seed. As long as I am here I would think that nobody would ever play us thinking that we are the underdog because they would be playing our team and our heritage."
When Dukes was a No. 8 seed in 1996, the Blue Devils lost their first-round game to Eastern Michigan, 75-60.
Fields looks for offense
Pitt point guard Levance Fields is hoping to regain his shooting touch in the NCAA tournament. Fields had been one of Pitt's most consistent scorers all season until a late-season slump limited his production.
In the past six games, Fields is shooting 27 percent (14 for 51) from the field. For the season, he is a 41 percent shooter. In the last two games of the Big East tournament, Fields was 1 for 12 from the field and scored four points.
"I feel good," he said. "Sometimes you have nights like that. You don't want to be inconsistent. You just have to shoot the ball and not think about it too much."
Fields is not afraid of the big stage. In two NCAA tournament games as a freshman last season, he was 10 for 16 from the field and scored 28 points. He led the Panthers with 18 points in their second-round loss to Bradley.
"I'll be more aggressive again, too," he said. "I don't think I was aggressive the last two games. With the tournament starting this is a great spot for me to be aggressive again."
Pitt Notebook: Buffalo may be site for an upset
Thursday, March 15, 2007
By Ray Fittipaldo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- If you're looking for an upset in the first round of the tournament, HSBC Arena might be the place to be today. Three teams from thriving mid-major conferences will square off against teams from power conferences, and one of the top mid-majors (Butler) will face a team (Old Dominion) that pulled off one of the biggest shockers of the year.
In addition to Pitt-Wright State, this first-round site features No. 4 seed Maryland against No. 13 seed Davidson, No. 6 seed Duke against No. 11 seed Virginia Commonwealth and No. 5 seed Butler against No. 12 seed Old Dominion.
Butler and Wright State play in the Horizon League, which sent more than one team to the NCAA tournament for the first time in four years. Butler beat Notre Dame, Tennessee, Gonzaga and Purdue in non-conference play, and Wright State beat Butler twice.
"We don't concern ourselves with labels," Butler coach Todd Lickliter said. "We just try to represent Butler University as best we can. We are proud of what our league has done. When our league has been represented we have played well."
Old Dominion and Virginia Commonwealth play in the Colonial Athletic Association. Old Dominion won at Georgetown. Davidson, of the Southern Conference, won at Arizona State.
Wright State coach Brad Brownell is in his first season with the Raiders after 12 years as an assistant and head coach in the Colonial Athletic Association at UNC Wilmington.
"There are great mid-major leagues that certainly produce teams that have the ability to win games in these tournaments," Brownell said. "I was in the CAA for 12 years and watched that league grow and now see it get multiple bids on a regular basis is exciting."
Unfamiliar territory
Duke is a No. 6 seed this year, its lowest seed in the tournament since it was a No. 8 seed in 1996. The Blue Devils had been a No. 1 seed seven times in the past 10 years. They were a No. 2 seed once and a No. 3 seed on two occasions.
Duke (22-10) struggled down the stretch, losing its last three games going into the tournament, including a first-round loss to North Carolina in the ACC tournament.
"We're happy to be in the tournament and to be a sixth seed," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "If you're a program that has great success, I don't think you ever look at yourself as a seed. As long as I am here I would think that nobody would ever play us thinking that we are the underdog because they would be playing our team and our heritage."
When Dukes was a No. 8 seed in 1996, the Blue Devils lost their first-round game to Eastern Michigan, 75-60.
Fields looks for offense
Pitt point guard Levance Fields is hoping to regain his shooting touch in the NCAA tournament. Fields had been one of Pitt's most consistent scorers all season until a late-season slump limited his production.
In the past six games, Fields is shooting 27 percent (14 for 51) from the field. For the season, he is a 41 percent shooter. In the last two games of the Big East tournament, Fields was 1 for 12 from the field and scored four points.
"I feel good," he said. "Sometimes you have nights like that. You don't want to be inconsistent. You just have to shoot the ball and not think about it too much."
Fields is not afraid of the big stage. In two NCAA tournament games as a freshman last season, he was 10 for 16 from the field and scored 28 points. He led the Panthers with 18 points in their second-round loss to Bradley.
"I'll be more aggressive again, too," he said. "I don't think I was aggressive the last two games. With the tournament starting this is a great spot for me to be aggressive again."