2015 NCAA Tournament: First Four Preview
I’m not a huge fan of the First Four. It’s a sentiment that I feel strongly about, so much so, that when I tried to write this preview the first time — let’s just say it turned into something else. Now that I’ve aired my grievances and can finally concentrate on the action that lies ahead, it’s time to take a look at the games that will kick off the 2015 NCAA Tournament later today in Dayton, Ohio. You may want to get a head start and preemptively locate TruTV in your channel guide. Many great moments are missed during March Madness because no one can find what channel is home to TruTV.
Midwest Region – Hampton vs Manhattan, Tues. 6:40pm (TruTV)
Don’t expect too much drama from this play-in game. Seeing the Manhattan Jaspers in this situation only tells me that the selection committee has never seen the team play. Manhattan (which is strangely located in the Bronx) got to the tournament by defeating Iona, a team that finished with an RPI of 51, in the MAAC Championship game. If Manhattan shows up against Hampton with the same intensity they used to beat Iona, the Jaspers should move forward and make quick work of Hampton.
West Region – BYU vs Ole Miss, Tues. 9:10pm (TruTV)
I took much umbrage with Ole Miss being included in the field, but I haven’t had a proper opportunity to rant on them until now. I don’t believe there’s a college basketball analyst of any level that picks the Rebels to beat either Temple or Colorado State on a neutral court. Yet somehow, the Rebs made the field over both of those teams. It’s funny that the selection committee uses the eye test as a justification for including a team such as UCLA, but they go blind when it comes to applying the same eye test to schools like Colorado State.
Fortunately, BYU is here to make sure that Ole Miss never makes it to the big bracket. BYU needed to pickup an insanely difficult victory to make the field. A home win over Kansas wasn’t enough to get Temple in, but a road win against Gonzaga did the trick for the Cougars. College basketball fans will be thankful for the committee’s decision to include them, because the Cougars feature two of the country’s most dynamic players. Tyler Haws and Kyle Collinsworth were made to perform on this type of stage. Haws is the volume scorer and Collinsworth is the player that dominates games by contributing in all facets.
Ole Miss (nor Xavier in the next round) will have a player capable of competing with BYU’s best. If Ole Miss is going to make a game of this, it will depend on a heavy contribution from Stefan Moody (16.2 ppg). He’s the only player capable of going point for point with Haws.
South Region – North Florida vs Robert Morris, Wed. 6:40pm (TruTV)
There’s nothing terribly interesting about this match-up. This is the spot that most fans would have liked to have seen Florida Gulf Coast’s Dunk City squad settling into, but UNF took down Gulf Coast twice this year, and the Eagles didn’t even make it to the Atlantic Sun Finals to force a third meeting. The Ospreys also have a win against Purdue on their ledger.
Robert Morris has a history of recent success in the other big NCAA postseason tournament, having beaten Kentucky and St. John’s in the NIT in the past few years. This year’s team doesn’t have a signature win that proves their capability to pull out a big game like this one. It seems that UNF has proven a bit more going into this one, and for that reason I like them to move on and offer themselves as tribute to the Duke Blue Devils in the first round.
East Region – Dayton vs Boise State, Wed. 9:10pm (TruTV)
Since it was announced that the First Four would be held annually at the University of Dayton, I’ve always hoped to see the Flyers get placed in an NCAA Tournament game on their home floor. I’m amazed at how unfair this is for Boise State, a team that shared the regular season championship in the Mountain West is forced to play a true road game against another team that was a game away from winning their own conference (San Diego State, the other co-champ in the Mt. West, received an 8-seed). It’s a tough draw for the Broncos, who quietly enter the tournament as one of the hottest teams in the West over the last month. Derrick Marks (19.3 ppg) gives them the type of scoring punch necessary to win games in this tournament, but the Flyers have more weapons on the court, as well as a significant intangible advantage.
The Flyers will be the only team in the field that won’t have to hop a flight between now and Wednesday night. They’ll also benefit from an atmosphere in the UD Arena that will be unlike any other. Expect at least 10,000 Flyers fans to pack a building that holds close to 14,000 — and please believe the place will be a mad house for all 40 minutes that the Flyers are on the court. Given the circumstances, it seems nearly impossible for Dayton to lose this game. The only way that scenario comes into play would be in the event of an off night from Dayton’s Jordan Sibert (16.5 ppg), coupled with a heroic performance from Boise’s Marks.