In just under 2 hours in Omaha, Nebraska the 7 seed Gaels of Saint Mary's (27-5, 14-2 WCC) will take on the 10 seed Boilermakers of Purdue (21-12, 10-8 Big 10) While the Boilermakers will win almost every single team name match up (seriously, that is a cool name) they will have a tough time winning this basketball game.
Robbie Hummel is the man for Purdue. He missed the last two NCAA tournaments with ACL injuries but has come back for a redshirt senior season and leads the Boilermakers in points, 16.3, and rebounds, 7.1, per game. Not only is he Purdue's best player but also the heart and soul of the team. He's a 5th year senior who has played over 800 minutes in each season of his career. Rob Jones and Brad Waldow will need to be all over Hummel down low and on the boards. Jones in particular needs to play his exceptional rebounding game, he has hit double digits in rebounding in 22 of 32 games and averages 9 a game.
Matthew Dellavedova will obviously be the difference maker for Saint Mary's. The Junior point guard leads the team with 15.6 points and 6.4 assists per game. He'll have to deal with Purdue's senior back court of Ryne Smith and Lewis Jackson. While both seniors, neither are as skilled as Dellavedova. So that brings me to the other Gaels guards. Jorden Page and Stephen Holt. Page will start as usual and Holt will come off the bench in his first game in over a month since injuring his knee against LMU on February 15th. Both Page and Holt are sophomores but don't play like it. Page redshirted last year, and played on the Gaels' sweet sixteen team from two years ago.
Holt, and Clint Steindl who is starting in his place, will be the spark plug for the Gaels. If Holt is able to play solid defense on the Boilermakers' senior guards, who are much more scoring than passing minded, in his minutes off the bench that will bode very well for the Gaels. Also, if Steindl is able to have a strong offensive game, especially from 3, that will really help open up the inside. Hummel is a very mobile, despite his multiple knee injuries, big man who I expect will be all over the court on defense. Gaels' coach Randy Bennett compares him to San Francisco's Angelo Caloario in his ability to play down low and around the perimeter. If Steindl is able to hit 3s, expect to see a much more open painted area for Rob Jones and Brad Waldow to operate in.
The winner will most likely play the 2 seed Kansas Jayhawks. Kansas' campus is located only 3 hours, 30 minutes by car from Omaha, in Lawerence, Kansas. If Saint Mary's wins the WCC will be 3-1 in the big dance with 2 teams in the round of 32, the other being Gonzaga.
Friday, March 16th, 2012
Approx 4:27pm PDT
Omaha, Nebraska
TV: TruTV
Radio: Nationwide on the Westwood One Radio Network
No comments:
Post a Comment