Location: Syracuse, New YorkDate: Thursday 3/25
Time: Washington vs. West Virginia, 7:27 pm; Kentucky vs. Cornell 9:57 pm
Announcers: Dick Enberg & Jay Bilas
11 Washington vs. 2 West Virginia
Line: -5 1/2 West Virginia
Washington Advantages: Point guard Isiah Thomas was fantastic in Washington's first two tournament games (15 assists and 3 turnovers) and while he's smaller than his West Virginia counterparts, he's quicker.
West Virginia's Advantages: Size! Quincy Pondexter will have to defend much bigger forwards Da'Sean Butler, Devin Ebanks, and Wellington Smith. Also Butler is one of the most clutch players in college today.
Depth: Besides a size advantage, West Virginia also has more Depth than the Puppies. The Mountaineers can bring both Joe Mazzulla and Casey Mitchell off the bench. Dalton Pepper and John Flowers also come off the bench for West Virginia to provide frontcourt help.
Stat: The Puppies shot 54 percent from behind the arc in their first two games of the tournament. They only shot 33 percent from behind the arc all season. Does this last against West Virginia?
Pick, West Virginia: West Virginia imposes their will with man-to-man defense or can switch to a 1-3-1 zone that changes the pace of the game and takes advantage of West Virginia's length and size. Also there is no way Washington has the players to match up with Devin Ebanks and Da'Sean Butler.
12 Cornell vs. 1 Kentucky
Line: -9 Kentucky
Kentucky Advantages: Talent, Depth, Size, History, etc................
Cornell Advantages: They won't have to travel far. Their campus is about an hour away from Syracuse. Cornell does play an unorthodox offense that relies on 3-point shooters Ryan Wittman and Louis Dale. Cornell also has a 7-foot center in Jeff Foote who can guard DeMarcus Cousins while also play effectively on offense.
Interesting Storyline: This game is already being called the Bookworms vs. Ballers. And some people have already brought up the race storyline between the two teams. Also you have a historical sleazy program ran by a historical sleazy coach vs. a program that doesn't even give out athletic scholarships. These story lines alone, make this game interesting.
Alumni: Ashley Judd vs. An impressive list of Cornell Alumni
Pick, Kentucky: While Cornell has experience and a big man to compete with Cousins, but if he gets into foul trouble Cornell could be in trouble. The Big Red will have to shoot lights out from behind the arc to even out the talent level against the Wildcats. In the end though Kentucky is just too talented for the Big Red.
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