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Live Blog: NCAA Tournament day one

By Tim Dwyer

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Oklahoma City, Okla. — Just checking in from the Ford Center in Oklahoma City. Got a full slate of practices and pressers for you today, and the Kansan will be bringing you whatever interesting news and notes we find.

The lineup in Oklahoma City for games is as follows:

Photo Gallery

NCAA: Day one from Oklahoma City

Photos from open practices and press conferences at day one of the NCAA first and second rounds in Oklahoma City, Okla.

West Region

No. 7 BYU vs. No. 10 Florida

No. 2 Kansas State vs. No. 15 North Texas

Midwest Region

No. 8 UNLV vs. No. 9 Northern Iowa

No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 16 Lehigh

All eight teams have open practices and press conferences today. Kansas’ open practice is from 5:10 to 5:50 with the presser directly before (but not open to the public).

No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks

Couple interesting notes from Kansas' open locker room:

  • Everybody seems really laid back. Understandable. One seeds are 100-0 against 16 seeds since the tournament expanded to 64. One seeds are a perfect 20-0 in making it to the Sweet 16 in the last five years. This seems like enough of an argument against expansion, but that's a different talk for a different day.
  • Kansas has, by far, the biggest crowd here. BYU's crowd, surprisingly enough, was the next best.
  • Markieff Morris was talking about President Obama picking the Jayhawks to win the tournament. "That's my main man, now," he said. "Me and Obama, we was always close."

And a couple more from the Jayhawks' "practice" (read: glorified shoot around)

  • Thomas Robinson made it up and down the floor without turning the ball over. Granted it was just a dribbling drill, but that was a big step forward.
  • Sorry, that was a cheap shot.
  • At one point, Kansas' guards made 28 consecutive jumpers, and that's just from when I started looking. Pretty remarkable, especially considering they were all shooting at the same time. The streak ended because one shot was rattling around and knocked another out.
  • Tyrel Reed has a ridiculous specialty trick shot. He jacks it up from half court, lets it bounce and then lets it go in. I've seen him hit it a bunch of times this year, but he had an oh-fer today.
  • This quickly devolved into a "anything you can do I can do better" show. On one end of the floor, C.J. Henry and Travis Releford had a pretty amazing dunk contest. On the other, the remaining 12 guys were jacking up trick shots left and right. Hit a couple, too.

No. 16 Lehigh Mountain Hawks

Lehigh's best strength is their collective ability to shoot threes. As a team, the Mountain Hawks are 40 percent from beyond the arc. Given Kansas' susceptibility to good long range shooting, they could be able to stay in the game for a bit, but don't expect it to last for long. Lehigh's unquestioned star is freshman All-American C.J. McCollum, who averages 19 points and five boards per game and shoots 43 percent from distance. McCollum, in person, doesn't have an extra ounce of weight on him, but he's obviously a naturally gited basketball player.The Mountain Hawks were the Patriot League champions this year.

Five years ago tomorrow, the Jayhawks lost on this same floor to the Bucknell Bison, the Patriot League champions that year.

A brief scouting report on Lehigh

Player to watch: C.J. McCollum

McCollum, like Colorado's Alec Burks, rode an offseason growth spurt to an extremely strong freshman campaign. McCollum averages 19 points and five rebounds, along with 2.4 assists per game. He'll be keyed on by Tyshawn Taylor to begin and whoever is the best perimeter defender on the floor throughout the game. That means Brady Morningstar and Tyrel Reed will both log time stopping McCollum.

X factor: Um...

Let's be honest. This one was over when it was scheduled. Pat Forde put it well in his best case/worst case column on ESPN.com, saying that the best case scenario was that they ran a really good practice today.

No. 10 Florida Gators

Florida’s done for the day. Coach Billy Donovan and forwards Dan Werner and Chandler Parsons spoke with the media before heading out for an early practice. The Gators looked solid in their shoot around, but they got a tough draw in the first round in under-seeded BYU (fitting, though, considering the Gators looked like one of the last teams to clear the bubble).

“Once I figured where and when we play and who we played,” Parsons said, “we started watching film on them and realized how good Jimmer Fredette is and a really smart team who really moves the ball.”

The Gators have five players that average double figures in scoring, but like so many teams this year are stricken with inconsistency. The biggest thing they have going for them is Donovan, who is one of nine coaches in the field that has won a national title. Most impressively, the Gators coach has won his last 12 NCAA Tournament games. Donovan, though, knows how little past successes matter in the moment.

“I think what happened in our conference tournaments doesn’t mean a lot,” he said. “I think what happened three, four years ago doesn’t mean a whole lot. It’s going to be a game that’s going to be played between two basketball teams for 40 minutes.”

This is Donovan’s first time in the NCAA Tournament as anything less than a six seed.

“I think when the ball goes up tomorrow at 12:20, no one will have any idea who is a sixth seed or a ten seed, who is one, who is 12, who is 15. You’re just going to play.”

A brief scouting report on Florida

Player to Watch: Chandler Parsons, forward

Parsons is a 6-foot-9 power forward that creates matchup problems with his solid outside stroke. Parsons averages 12.1 points per game and a team-high 6.8 rebounds. He hits 37 percent of his threes, including a pair of game winners early this season, one of them from 70 feet.

X factor: Kenny Boynton, guard

Boynton, a highly-touted freshman, has lived up to his considerable hype and is the Gators' leading scorer. Like all freshman, though, Boynton is prone to off nights. When that happens, the Gators lose. If Boynton and his teammates get hot (especially his fellow starters, as Florida doesn't have a whole lot of bench depth) the Gators could be a scare for Kansas State, let alone Brigham Young.

Stat that matters: I referenced it earlier, but its legit enough to mention twice. Billy Donovan has won two titles in his time at Florida, back-to-back in 2005-06 and 06-07. Since then he hasn't been back to the tourney, so he's won his last 12 NCAA Tournament games.

No. 15 North Texas Mean Green

North Texas, led by coach Johnny Jones, just finished up its morning with a brief practice. Nothing of note from the Mean Green, aside from its fantastic nickname.

The one thing the Mean Green does have going for it (besides being nicknamed the Mean Green and playing the day after St. Patrick's Day, I mean) is a heck of a win streak to cap the season. First round opponent Kansas State has lost three of its last five, but North Texas comes in riding an 11-game win streak. Guards Josh White and Tristan Thompson both average over 14 points per game, but they'll be hard-pressed to answer to Denis Clemente and Jacob Pullen.

"They take about 50 percent of their shots, Denis Clemente and Jacob Pullen. They get up points and shots in a hurry," White said. "They can score at -- it's going to be tough on us. We have to defend well every possession. We can't take a possession off.

A brief scouring report on North Texas

Player to Watch: Josh White, guard

White is the Mean Green's leading assist man (3.5), leading scorer (14.9) and top minute getter (35.8). His influence on North Texas cannot be understated. White and backcourt mate Thompson will be weighted with the unenviable task of trying to stop Denis Clemente and Jacob Pullen. North Texas will need him to be stellar to have any chance at the upset.

X Factor: George Odufuwa

Kansas State has a reputation as one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country. As the team's leading rebounder, Odufuwa, who averages a double-double with 11.5 points and 10.6 rebounds, has to be huge in keeping the Wildcats off the boards.

No. 7 Brigham Young Cougars

It's not hard to figure out Dave Rose's Brigham Young team. You stop Jimmer Fredette. You win.

Easier said than done. Fredette's one of the best guards in the country, and the reason I can see this Cougars team moving even as far as the Elite Eight. (I can see it happening, I should say, but I don't. I've got Kansas State getting there). Fredette averages over 21 points for the Cougars and scores more than a quarter of the team's points.

"I think the biggest thing is the variety of shots that he has that he's really good at," Rose said. "He can shoot off the dribble. He can shoot kind of runners off balance. He can get himself to the free throw line. He plays at a pace that is really hard to guard and he has deep range which makes him a lot quicker than he realy is becasue you have to come up and pressure him to defend that long perimeter shot."

The Cougars are 29-5 on the year with all five losses coming to tournament teams -- at Utah State, New Mexico twice and UNLV two of three times. BYU hasn't won a tournament game since 1993, but they'll be favored to do so against Florida in the first round.

"I think the most important thing is to have this team understand that this is their turn," Rose said. "This is a unique group of guys and it's--they worked really hard and have earned this opportunity and they need to feel the pressure that that brings to this team only, and they don't need to feel anything else."

A brief scouting report on Brigham Young

Player to Watch: Jimmer Fredette

Fredette will be this year's Stephen Curry if he is able to lead the Cougars past the first weekend. He's got all the Curry intangibles: the baby face (he looks more like the star on your kid brother's high school team than an All-America candidate), the sweet stroke (he hits a sizzling 45 percent from long range) and the speak-softly-and-carry-a-big-stick attitude (he dropped 49 points in a game against Arizona this year). Florida coach Billy Donovan said Fredette affects the college game more than John Wall and Devan Downey of the SEC. He's wrong, but it's the thought that counts.

"Being in the SEC, we had a chance to see a lot of great point guards in John Wall and Devan Downey," Donovan said, "and I don't think either one of those two guys impact the college game like Fredette does, he has a totally different effect level on the game."

X factor: Jonathan Tavernari

Tavernari is the only senior making a significant impact for the Cougars, averaging 10.3 points and 4.5 rebounds. He's been to the tournament in all four of his seasons at BYU, and even though he hasn't won here, he should provide a steady veteran hand.

Stat that matters: The Cougars finished 13-3 in a conference that produced four NCAA tournament teams. They swept San Diego State, split the regular season with UNLV and were swept by New Mexico. They didn't lose a single game to a team that failed to make the NCAA Tournament.

No. 2 Kansas State Wildcats

K-State's on the floor now. If you imagined that Frank Martin would be over the top during practice, you imagined wrong. Granted, this is just a glorified shootaround, but the Wildcats are having an absolute blast out there. Denis Clemente and Jacob Pullen just had a three point contest against four other guys. When they lost, Pullen was jokingly pissed.

"No, no, no, we gotta shoot a different way, " he said. "You gotta hit off the backboard."

That's one thing about Pullen (and most other top guards in the NCAA). He's an unfailing competitor.

It's really surprising how loose Kansas State is in this practice, even though it is a pretty low key affair. For a team that works so incredibly hard in games, these guys are just having a ball.

Another interesting note: In practice teams have a blue team and red team or, in the case of Kansas State, a gray team and purple team. The gray team is their top five, the purple team everybody else. For whatever reason, Dominique Sutton, who starts, isn't part of their gray team. In his place is Jamar Samuels, who was at times their best player in the Big 12 tournament.

A brief scouting report on Kansas State

Players to watch: Pullen and Clemente

The two guards make up, in my opinion, the best backcourt in the country. Pullen is the unquestioned captain of the Wildcats, but Clemente is this team's heart and soul. Pullen averages a team-high 18.9 points per game to Clemente's 16.2, but Clemente is the better assist man at 4.2 to 3.5. Both were named to the All-Big 12 Tournament team.

X factors: Sutton and Samuels

Samuels was a monster at times for the Wildcats and is probably the best post player on their roster. If he can post around 15 points and seven boards for the tourney, Kansas State has a real shot at the Final Four, where they'd have a chance to meet up with Kansas for a fourth time this year. Sutton is in the same boat. He can be stellar (take for example his 14-point, 14-rebound performance against Baylor in the Big 12 tourney) but he can vanish. He needs to be at least productive if the Cats want to make a deep run.

No. 8 UNLV Runnin' Rebels

The Runnin' Rebels are one of eight teams in the Midwest region that are coached by a man that has headed at least one team to the final four. Lon Kruger took the Florida Gators to the Final Four in 1994 and has had success at his alma mater Kansas State, Illinois and UNLV, taking all four programs to at least the second round of the NCAAs.

Kruger, as a player, was on the Kansas State team that lost in the 1988 Elite Eight to Danny and the Miracles.

Now, his Runnin' Rebels are led by Tre'Von Willis, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard averaging over 17 points per game. The Mountain West tourney champs have notable wins over Brigham Young (twice) and at three seed New Mexico. They also beat the Midwest region's 11 seed, San Diego State, but fell twice to the Aztecs. In early December, UNLV hosted Kansas State and was dropped by 15.

Player to watch: Tre'Von Willis

Willis is one of the best players in the Mountain West conference. That's saying something this year, with Jimmer Fredette and Darington Hobson among those ranks. Hobson's New Mexico Lobos may be the highest seed, but Willis carried the Rebels to the upset with a 20-point, four assist performance in early January.

X factor: Chace Stanback

Stanback is the Rebels' leading rebounder and second-leading scorer, but he hasn't posted a single double-double on the season. He needs to continue playing at his recent torrid pace for the Runnin' Rebels to advance past a difficult Northern Iowa team, let alone top-seeded Kansas, who they would face with a win. Stanback has averaged 14.1 points in his last seven games, up from his season average of 10.7.

No. 9 Northern Iowa Panthers

The Panthers are a dangerous team that plays grind it out, every possession is vital basketball. Led by Missouri Valley Conference player of the year Adam Koch and diminutive-but-talented point guard Ali Farokhmanesh, the Panthers will square off with UNLV, which plays a systematically different style of basketball, flying to both ends of the floor. Whichever team controls the pace of that game will be the one to move on to play Kansas.

Personally, I like the Panthers to win. They start three seniors and have experience available at eery position on the floor.

Player to watch: Jordan Eglseder

Adam Koch won conference player of the year in the Missouri Valley, which has traditionally been a strong conference come tourney time, but it was Eglseder who led the team in points (12.0) and rebounds (7.3) per game. This year, the Panthers are the league's only bid. Eglseder and Koch, who averages 11.8 points per game and 4.9 rebounds, team up to form an intimidating frontcourt in any league.

X factor: Lucas O'Rear

O'Rear was the sixth man of the year in the MoValley and his continued growth has been a large part of the Panthers' success. Also, he's got a massive shamrock tattoo on his shoulder (which he got with his brother, the story goes) and it's St. Patrick's Day. That's got to be some kind of good karma. He's going big tomorrow.

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