NCAA Men's Tournament Preview Capsules: Duke not taking Arkansas-Pine Bluff for granted

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Duke refuses to waste time debating whether they deserve their No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

The Blue Devils also don’t intend to get caught looking past anyone in the South Regional, including first-round opponent Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski and a focused group of players are eager to get started Friday. They say the speedy Golden Lions are all that’s on their radar right now, not criticism of where they’re placed in the bracket.

"It has nothing to do with anything," Krzyzewski said Thursday, shrugging off a question about whether the Atlantic Coast Conference champions can draw motivation from naysayers who felt Duke (29-5) was not deserving of a top seed.

"I mean, an opinion that I had before the selection is worth as much as an opinion I have after the selection, which is it doesn’t mean anything, and you can’t focus on things like that," he added. "We have our body of work. ... We said before that wherever we’re seeded, wherever we go, let’s play. That hasn’t changed."

Arkansas-Pine Bluff, coming off a 61-44 play-in victory over Winthrop, is one of two teams in the NCAA tournament for the first time.

The Golden Lions (18-15) are coached by George Ivory, who as a player at Mississippi Valley State was part of a No. 16 seed that gave Duke fits before losing by seven points in the opening round in 1986 — the first of 10 trips the Blue Devils have made to the Final Four under Krzyzewski.

Three national titles and 23 NCAA tournament appearances later, the Duke coach’s memory of that game hasn’t faded.

"I remember I was scared," Krzyzewski recalled, laughing. "They were beating us."

He then related a story from a meeting the coaches were required to attend Thursday.

"We got there a little bit earlier, so we got a chance to visit for about 20 minutes. I was telling one of the people with me: ‘I’m 63, and I’ve been scared at different moments in my life, and sometimes you meet the person or go to the place where you were scared before. I said, see this guy right here? He scared me."’

Pine Bluff would love nothing more than to make him and the Blue Devils sweat.

The Golden Lions, champions of the SWAC Conference, opened the season with 11 consecutive losses while playing each of the games on the road, learning at places such as Kansas State, Missouri, Georgia Tech, Oregon, Oklahoma State, Arizona State and Texas-El Paso.

They think of the experience of facing that type of competition will help them in Friday night’s matchup.

"Anything is possible," Ivory said, refusing to be drawn into the discussion over Duke’s seeding.

"Any time you get a chance to play against a legend like Coach K and their program, it’s just a great opportunity to learn and watch his style of basketball. ... You’ve got some people who hate them. I really like Duke. ... We’re just glad to be playing them."

Duke seniors Jon Scheyer and Lance Thomas said the Blue Devils aren’t taking their opportunity for granted, either.

Krzyzewski has taken Duke to 10 Final Fours, however none of his current players have been there.

The last appearance was 2004. The six years that have followed represents the longest drought the Blue Devils have had in over two decades.

"I think this group of guys, we just scared ourselves two years ago when we were a 2-seed and we had a really close game. We know better than everybody that you have to be ready for every game in this tournament," Scheyer said. "That’s one thing we’ve talked to the younger guys about a little bit."

Thomas reiterated the Blue Devils will not look past anyone.

"Considering we haven’t been that far yet, we don’t have any preconceived notions of where we should be. This is a hungry team right now," Thomas said.

"We’ve been working really hard all year. ... We’re not trying to make up for what we did the past three years in this tournament. This is a new team, and we’re just going to take that and keep moving forward."

Cal, Louisville shuffle lineups for NCAA opener

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — California and Louisville are shuffling their starting lineups for their first-round matchup in the NCAA tournament.

The Golden Bears had to. The Cardinals wanted to.

Cal coach Mike Montgomery suspended starting forward Omondi Amoke indefinitely for an unspecified violation of team rules. Louisville coach Rick Pitino benched forward Terrence Jennings in favor of Jared Swopshire, hoping a smaller frontcourt combination will clear out the lane for leading scorer Samardo Samuels.

Both moves could be key when the eighth-seeded Bears (23-10) and ninth-seeded Cardinals (20-12) meet in the South Region on Friday at Jacksonville Veterans Arena.

"Well, just like life, things are going to be thrown at you, and the way you handle it, I think, defines you," Cal guard Patrick Christopher said. "We can’t really worry about things that we can’t control. This is a situation that we can’t control. We have to move forward with it, work with the guys and work with our chemistry that we have. I think we’ll be fine."

Montgomery said Amoke is "temporarily suspended" and didn’t make the cross-country trip with his teammates. "That’s what it is. The kid made a mistake and we felt like we had to take action, and we did, and pretty much the end of the story."

Cal declined to divulge what prompted Amoke’s suspension and played down his absence — little surprise since he averaged 4.8 points and 4.6 rebounds, and had more fouls (72) than baskets (58) this season.

Still, the loss leaves the Bears with less muscle and a new rotation against Louisville. That could mean a big game for Samuels, one of the Big East’s best big men. The 6-foot-9 Jamaican leads the team with 15.3 points and 7.0 rebounds, and had five double-doubles.

"We really need to pound it into Samardo and let him get going early for us," said guard Jerry Smith, who will return to the starting lineup after missing the Big East tournament with a thumb injury. "That’s going to be the main factor."

The 6-10 Jennings had started 10 of the last 13 games alongside Samuels. But Pitino believes the 6-8 Swopshire, who started early in the season, will make it easier for Samuels down low.

"We’re going to try to open it up a little bit with Jared," Pitino said.

Swopshire also could help more on the perimeter. Cal has three regulars shooting better than 40 percent from 3-point range.

Although Theo Robertson (44 percent) and Jorge Gutierrez (42 percent) are more accurate, Pac-10 player of the year Jerome Randle might be the most dangerous.

Randle is averaging 18.7 points, has made 88 3-pointers and shown the kind of range that forces many opponents to pick him up near midcourt.

"If I see an opening, if I feel like that’s sagging off, I’m pretty sure I can hit from there if I’m really on top of my game," he said. "One thing I know is they’re not going to give me a lot of open shots anyway, so I have to figure out another way to get my teammates involved or score with the basketball."

Guard play could be huge for both teams.

The Bears start three senior guards in Christopher, Randle and Robertson. The trio helped Cal win its first Pac-10 championship in 50 years and reach the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive year.

Cal lost to Maryland in the opening round last season, and those seniors don’t want to end their careers like they did last year.

"Last year, we came in not really knowing what to expect coming here to compete and play basketball," Christopher said. "But this year, we have another year under our belt ... so taking that into account I think we’re pretty well prepared for something like this."

The Cardinals feel the same way. The backcourt duo of Smith and Edgar Sosa had led Louisville to the regional finals the last two years — and could have the talent to get even further this year.

"We’ve been to two straight Elite Eights, coming off a Big East championship the year before, so we have a lot of experience in the backcourt," Pitino said. "This is their fourth NCAA tournament appearance, our backcourt. So I think they know what it’s all about."

-- Mark Long

Temple-Cornell: Clash of close coaching friends

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Temple coach Fran Dunphy would rather be cheering for Cornell than trying to find a way to send the Ivy League champion home.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Don’t expect little ol’ Wofford to be overwhelmed.

Sure, the Terriers have the smallest enrollment of any team in the NCAA tournament (1,450 students), have no starters taller than 6-6 and are making their debut on college basketball’s biggest stage. But the Southern Conference champions have as much confidence and swagger as any of the big boys.

And when the No. 13 seed Terriers (26-8) take the court against fourth-seeded Wisconsin (23-8) on Friday, they don’t anticipate looking like 10-point underdogs just happy to be in the field.

"This team is not going to blink," coach Mike Young said. "We may not win, but I’m telling you, they’re going to play. They’re going to play really hard. ... I just know it. This environment and all that, not going to phase them. They’re goofy like that."

They’re good, too.

The Terriers have won 13 in a row and 19 of their last 20. They beat Georgia and South Carolina early in the season, played Illinois tough and took then-No. 9 Michigan State to the wire.

"I hope that our team can impress folks," Young said. "We’re thrilled to be here, needless to say, but beyond that, we’ve got a darned good basketball team. They’ve been consistent for quite some time in a great league. We’ll do everything we can to give ourselves a chance to win."

It starts with containing the Badgers in the post. Wisconsin has a considerable size advantage down low, with 6-foot-10 forward Jon Leuer and 6-8 forward Keaton Nankivil, and is consistently one of the best rebounding teams in the country.

Coach Bo Ryan’s team is 18-1 this season when winning the battle on the boards.

"Any time we play, we want to dominate the paint and make our presence felt," said Leuer, who has shown steady improvement since returning from a broken wrist. "That’s not going to change. We’re going to try to obviously score in the post when we get it or make a play. They have guys that play a lot bigger than what their size might indicate."

Leuer was talking specifically about Noah Dahlman, the SoCon Player of the Year who is averaging 16.8 points and 6.3 rebounds.

Leuer and Dahlman, two of five players on the rosters from Minnesota, played against each other several times growing up.

"He’s definitely one of those guys that plays bigger," Leuer said. "He’s a tough matchup. He can do a lot of different things. We’re just going to have to prepare for him as best we can and hopefully try to limit what he can do."

Dahlman was the center of attention Thursday, with talk ranging from growing up in the tiny town of Braham, Minn., without a TV set or an Internet connection, to having a brother playing in the tournament (Michigan State), and his summer job that includes mowing the lawn and cleaning up at the Carolina Panthers’ training camp facility in Spartanburg, S.C.

"It’s pretty similar to my work on the court — nothing pretty; get it done," Dahlman said.

The Badgers are taking the same approach to Friday’s game at Jacksonville Memorial Arena, especially after getting knocked out of the last three tournaments earlier than they wanted. As a No. 2 seed in 2007, they lost to UNLV in the second round. They advanced to the round of 16 the following year as a No. 3 seed, but got sent home by 10th-seeded Davidson.

They upset fifth-seeded Florida State in overtime to kick off last year’s tournament, then fell two days later to Xavier.

"We definitely don’t want to go home early," guard Trevon Hughes said. "It’s a goal. We all want to make it to the Final Four. We all dream about making it to the Final Four. I’ve been here before. I’ve been to the first round, second round, Sweet 16. I want to go deeper than that. I want to go deeper than the Elite Eight."

Hughes and fellow guard Jason Bohannon have played in all seven of Wisconsin’s NCAA tournament games the last three seasons. When they’ve struggled, so has Wisconsin. They shot a combined 5-of-28 from the field in last year’s loss to Xavier.

"This is it for us," Hughes said. "We’re going to have to come out and play with chips on our shoulders and hopefully our teammates feed off of us and we can make a good run, a deep run in this tournament."

-- Mark Long

Xavier, Minnesota have own go-to players

MILWAUKEE — Minnesota watched a movie about LeBron James for inspiration on the way to Milwaukee for its first round NCAA tournament game.

Xavier's Jordan Crawford? He dunked on James this summer. When the Gophers and Musketeers meet Friday in the West regional, the styles and defensive philosophies will be very similar, but who carries each in the clutch is quite different.

No. 11 Minnesota (21-13) doesn't have a go-to player with three starters averaging double figures. Crawford averages 19.7 points per game for No. 6 seed Xavier (24-8), which is looking to sustain its run of NCAA tournament success under first-year coach Chris Mack.

"There's been so many games where he's been just unbelievable," Xavier sophomore guard Brad Redford said. "He makes the big shot. He always wants the ball in his hands. As a team, we all want it in his hands, too."

Xavier has been in nine of the last 10 NCAA tournaments and won at least one game in each the last three seasons, but Crawford brought a different dynamic when he transferred from Indiana.

"There's no question he's our best player," Mack said. "We lean on him a lot on the offensive and defensive end. We're not relying on him, but there's no question he has the ability to take over a game."

For Crawford's part, he was desperate to get back on the court during his redshirt year. His chance to play against James this summer during a pickup game at a skills academy run by the superstar at the University of Akron came as a welcome distraction.

Now, there's more than 1 million hits on Google for "Jordan Crawford dunks on LeBron James" online, but Crawford downplays the video that went viral.

"It was great to just be on the same court with him," he said. "It was very important. I was sitting out a year. I got to see where my skills were against the top player."

Minnesota coach Tubby Smith coached Crawford's older brother, Joe, at Kentucky and Smith said he's known of Jordan's abilities since he was young.

"You don't stop great players. Players like Jordan, you just have to try to contain them and hope that you can keep the ball off him as much as possible, make it tough to get his shots, make him work both ends of the court," Smith said. "One of the problems we have is guarding perimeter players that are long and athletic."

The Gophers turned their year around without three expected contributors. Royce White and Trevor Mbakwe became involved in legal entanglements before the season and point guard Al Nolen was ruled academically ineligible in January.

"It looked bad for us for a while," guard Lawrence Westbrook said. "We got off on the wrong foot."

That gave opportunities to guard Devoe Joseph and center Colton Iverson, two sophomores. For all the public problems the Gophers had, Smith said the locker room was calm.

"Usually the perception is that there may be something else wrong when something happens with one or two players," Smith said. "We really haven't had many internal issues, and that's the beauty of it, because, you know, we have good people and good players that have done the things we've asked them to do."

Minnesota's last tournament win came in 1997, but Smith has coached in 43 NCAA tournament games. For Mack, it'll be his first even though he doesn't feel any different after spending seven years at Xavier as an assistant.

"I get off the bus and I've got my 4-year-old and 3-year-old and they're screaming at me to get their camera and stuff like that," Mack said. "I wouldn't say I'm the man."

At least the Musketeers' trip was shorter. The Gophers drove six hours because the team's travel distance was under the 400 miles the NCAA requires to be reimbursed for airfare.

The long trip started with guys joking and making up rap songs, then the team napped and watched movies.

"I thought Milwaukee was a little closer than that," Minnesota forward Damian Johnson said. "It was kind of painful."

Ralph Sampson III, Minnesota's 6-foot-11 center, said he spent the majority of the trip bent awkwardly between two seats, waking up at times to adjust his position the best he could.

A win over Xavier would keep the Gophers from the long trip home at least another day.

"Hopefully," Sampson said. "We can stay off that bus."

-- Colin Fly

Pitt embracing expectations, faces Oakland first

MILWAUKEE — For Pittsburgh, making this year’s NCAA tournament — as a No. 3 seed, no less — after losing four starters from last year’s team was widely seen as an act of overachievement.

Still, this year’s Panthers are embracing the same high expectations placed on the big-name players who came before them.

"We feel as though we have the team to get to the championship game and win it," guard Jermaine Dixon said. "So we’re going to play our hardest and try to get there."

It begins with Friday’s game against No. 14 seed Oakland, a team that has faced some of the NCAA’s best this season and been clobbered every time.

The Golden Grizzlies were beaten handily at Kansas, Syracuse, Michigan State and Wisconsin early in the season, and lost by large margins at Memphis and Oregon.

But Grizzlies players say those games came a long time ago, and they’re a much better team now. Led by 6-foot-11 center Keith Benson, who averages 17 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, Oakland has won 20 of its last 21 games, including the Summit League tournament.

"We feel pretty good," guard Johnathon Jones said. "We know they have a great team and great guards and everything like that, but we feel on a neutral court we’re just as equal as them. We played a tough schedule and we’re ready for them."

It’s the ninth straight tournament appearance for the Panthers, who have advanced past the first weekend of play five times in the last eight seasons. Coach Jamie Dixon doesn’t seem to mind his players talking about winning it all, provided they don’t look past the first round.

"Every team has that feeling," he said. "You have to at this point. You have to have that mentality, I think. But again our focus has been on Game 1 and that’s solely Oakland."

Another tournament appearance certainly didn’t seem like a sure thing for Pittsburgh earlier this year. The Panthers came into this season without four starters from last year, including DeJuan Blair and Sam Young, who went to the NBA.

They also lost two experienced players early on, Gilbert Brown to an academic suspension and Jermaine Dixon to a broken right foot — creating a situation their coach called "almost hard to believe" in hindsight.

"People expected us to struggle and thought it would continue all year," he said. "But this team kept believing in themselves. They kept working, and I think the story about this team, if anybody’s seen us, is how much we’ve improved from November to March now."

Oakland’s Jones is expected to be the Grizzlies’ defensive answer for guard Ashton Gibbs, Pittsburgh’s leading scorer.

"I’ll say this and then he’ll get 30 (points)," Oakland coach Greg Kampe said. "But we’ve got a guy that I think can guard him."

As miserable as Oakland’s 89-59 loss at Kansas was in November, Jones played a pivotal role in limiting the Jayhawks’ Sherron Collins to nine points on 4-of-7 shooting. Kampe said Jones also handled former Michigan State standout Drew Neitzel well in the past.

"Now, us thinking it and him doing it are two different things," Kampe said. "We’ll see what happens ... But we feel good going into the matchup that we have someone who can hang with him."

The job of handling Benson, meanwhile, will fall to Pittsburgh center Gary McGhee.

"He has good touch outside the paint," McGhee said of Benson. "He can go inside/outside. So I’ll have to do a good job being physical with him, not letting him get easy catches inside, and just doing a good job of that."

Benson had tape on his right hand Thursday, protecting a previous injury. Benson acknowledged that it affects his shooting "a little bit" but said he expects to play well against McGhee.

Kampe — in his 26th year as the Michigan school’s coach — said his team already got past its most pressure-packed moment, winning its conference tournament to make it to the NCAA tournament.

"We’re not going to cut the nets down in Indianapolis," Kampe said. "We know that. Our kids know that. They have a goal to make it to the Sweet 16." Now that his team is in the tournament, Kampe hopes his players will be free and easy. And the Grizzlies appeared to be doing exactly that Thursday, doing a spirited, choreographed group warm up prior to their practice session.

Dixon doesn’t expect Oakland to try to play a slowdown game on Friday, a tactic Notre Dame used in handing the Panthers a loss in the Big East tournament.

"It’s something I’ve thought about," Dixon said. "But I don’t think they will. All the games we’ve seen, their strength is that they can put the ball in the basket and the confidence in which they play. So I don’t see them doing that."

-- Chris Jenkins

OSU’s Turner eyes NCAA run, starting with UCSB

MILWAUKEE — He returned from a back injury to become perhaps the nation’s best player, and his late-game long shot to beat Michigan in the Big Ten tournament has been played over and over on TV sports highlight shows.

With the NBA player comparisons already flying around, Turner knows that a long run in the NCAA tournament is just about the only thing that’s missing from his resume.

"I definitely do," Turner said. "We definitely want to make a long run, and we’re in it to win it."

Turner and No. 2-seeded Ohio State hope that tournament run begins on Friday, with a first-round game against No. 15 seed UC Santa Barbara.

After blowing a comfortable lead in last year’s opening-round loss to Siena, Ohio State coach Thad Matta said his team will be more focused this time around. The Gauchos, winners of the Big West tournament, have a strong scoring combination in guard Orlando Johnson and forward James Nunnally.

"We know what they’re capable of," Gauchos guard James Powell said. "But (if) we come in scared or intimidated, then we pretty much lost the game before we even started."

UC Santa Barbara promises to play tough perimeter defense, then will keep its fingers crossed that its best outside shooters all get hot at the same time.

Still, UCSB coach Bob Williams knows what his team is facing in Turner, describing film study of the Buckeyes’ versatile and athletic star as "a little bit like going to watch a horror movie."

"There’s really not a weakness in his game," Williams said.

With a strong performance in the tournament, Turner could solidify his status as the game’s top collegiate player.

The Buckeyes returned to the NCAA tournament last year, and Turner had 25 points against Siena in the first round. But he was 8 for 18 from the field and the Buckeyes blew a comfortable lead, eventually losing in double overtime.

Turner said the Buckeyes started making uncharacteristic mistakes in that game and ended up paying for it.

"I think we momentarily lost our minds," Turner said.

But Matta knew something was wrong right away last year.

"I thought we were ready until the ball got tossed up, and I remember turning to the bench and saying, ‘We don’t look the same,"’ Matta said.

Ohio State’s David Lighty said the team might have been a little too loose in that game, and is vowing not to let it happen again this year.

"People were a little loose and lax, I guess you could say," Lighty said. "But that’s kind of naturally how we were last year. And I think this year we were a little more focused on the task at hand and coming in and making a statement."

The Buckeyes also didn’t look like themselves earlier this season, when Turner was missing because of an injury.

He broke two bones in his back against Eastern Michigan game on Dec. 5, missing about a month.

He has been hard to guard since then, capping a stellar stretch of play with his 37-foot shot to beat Michigan. The Buckeyes went on to beat Illinois and Minnesota to win the Big Ten tournament, and Turner said he has more or less put his big moment behind him.

"I haven’t really thought too much about it, to tell you the truth," Turner said. "We’ve played two games since then and all that is in the past right now. It’s pretty much like a new season."

For all the talk about Turner, Matta says the Buckeyes are far from a one-man team, praising Turner for knowing that he must get his teammates involved for Ohio State to play its best.

"I’ve seen guys that have become selfish or something along those lines," Matta said. "But Evan knows he needs everybody on this team to help us win."

But even if the Buckeyes are more than just Turner, they aren’t particularly deep, either; four players average more than 33 minutes per game.

"I mean, we’re out there playing the game that we love," Lighty said. "So you really don’t have time to get tired."

But Williams doesn’t want to wear the Buckeyes out; he’d rather force them to shoot from outside and hope they start missing.

"If our matchup (zone) can keep them on the perimeter a little bit, we keep them in front and they’ve got to hit 3s, anybody can have a cold night from the 3-point line — anybody," Williams said. "And so we just have to hope that they are not going to get in a track meet up and down the floor."

-- Chris Jenkins

Seminoles seek to gauge themselves against Zags

BUFFALO, N.Y. — It’s not often an ACC school like Florida State gets mid-major envy. Then again, Gonzaga’s basketball program has developed the kind of reputation that makes most schools blush.

That was the case for Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton on Thursday. With a work-in-progress objective to build Florida State into a consistent winner, Hamilton was eager to see how his team stacks up against the Bulldogs in the opening round of the NCAA tournament on Friday.

"I told our players, I can’t think of a better bracket to be in than to play against them," Hamilton said. "I know this is going to be a challenge. But that’s what excites you."

For Hamilton, merely being seeded ninth in the West Regional — one spot behind Gonzaga — was enough to feel "honored."

Florida State (22-9) is making its second consecutive tournament appearance and only its third since 1998.

By comparison, the West Coast Conference perennial powerhouse Bulldogs (26-6) earned their 12th straight trip, this time as an at-large selection after an 81-62 loss to St. Mary’s in the conference championship game on March 8.

For the Bulldogs, the two-week stretch between games is a long time to spend stomaching such a disappointing loss.

"That St. Mary’s loss, it hurt pretty bad," senior guard Matt Bouldin said. "We look at this as an opportunity to improve on things. It gives us a chance to respond."

Getting this far is considered a bit of a surprise for the Bulldogs, who were supposed to be entering a bit of a rebuilding season. Coach Mark Few didn’t know what to expect when he opened the season with a starting lineup that, aside from Bouldin, featured two sophomores and a freshman guard in Elias Harris, a highly regarded recruit out Germany.

Harris has blossomed into a star. He’s second on the team averaging 14.7 points and leading the team in rebounding (7.2).

Gonzaga got off to a 17-3 start, a run that included sweeping all three games of the EA Sports Maui Invitational in Hawaii. More notably, the Bulldogs’ three losses came against Michigan State, Duke and Wake Forest.

"This is probably the least experienced group of guys we’ve ever embarked on a season with," Few said. "They’ve really grown a lot during the course of the year. It’s something we’re very proud of."

Florida State presents an unlikely test for Gonzaga, considering it’s the first meeting between the two schools, who appear to be as far apart in styles and basketball tradition as they are in geography.

Led by Bouldin, a John Wooden Award candidate who’s averaging 15.8 points a game, the Bulldogs rely on a fast-paced offense. They’re particularly efficient in making shots, with a 49.4 percent field-goal percentage that ranks sixth in the nation.

The Seminoles’ strength is a stingy defense that ranks first in the nation in limiting opponents to a 40.4 percent field-goal percentage. Florida State hasn’t allowed any of its past 67 opponents to shoot 50 percent or better.

It’s a defense led by sophomore forwards Solomon Alabi and Chris Singleton. Alabi leads the team with 12.3 points per game and is second in rebounds (6.7). Singleton leads the team in rebounds (7.1).

The Seminoles are attempting to rebound from last year’s tournament appearance, when they were knocked out in the first round with a 61-59 overtime loss to 12th-seeded Wisconsin.

"It was just the last 10 minutes, we buckled under pressure," Singleton said. "It was a big stage for us. We had never been there. This year we all know what to do."

The Seminoles have been inconsistent, going 9-7 in their last 16 games, including a 58-52 loss to North Carolina State in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament.

All of that can be erased now that they’re in the NCAAs.

"We made it to the tournament. It’s a good achievement," Alabi said. "We want to get a win in this tournament and prove to the nation that we have a pretty good program going on at Florida State."

The Seminoles’ defense is good, but it doesn’t intimidate Gonzaga junior guard Steven Gray, who credited the Bulldogs’ grueling schedule with preparing the team for anything.

"Over the years, we’ve played Duke a couple of times, North Carolina a couple of times," Gray said. "I do think that definitely helps and puts us on a more even plane in that respect."

-- John Wawrow

Orange a confident-but-wary bunch as Vermont looms

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Syracuse might have taken Vermont lightly five years ago. Rest assured that won’t happen again.

"I know that it’s going to be a real big game for Coach, and I think all of us, coming off a two-game losing streak," said Syracuse forward Wes Johnson, the Big East player of the year. "It’s for us to bounce back."

Syracuse was fresh from winning the Big East tournament when it faced Vermont in the first round of the 2005 NCAA tournament. But former stars Gerry McNamara and Hakim Warrick were unable to come to the rescue in the slow-paced game and Syracuse suffered a stunning overtime loss to the 13th-seeded Catamounts.

The teams meet again Friday night, and there would seem to be even more at stake this time for the Orange (28-4) — the Big East regular-season champs are the top seed in the West Regional, and no 16th seed has ever beaten a No. 1.

"I certainly recall watching that game," said fifth-year senior Andy Rautins, who was about to sign with Syracuse at the time. "I think all of Syracuse was destroyed by that game. So this definitely serves as a little bit of motivation for us, try to redeem ourselves a little bit, not have any letdowns. We’re not taking anybody lightly at this point."

Vermont (25-9) will be making its first trip to the tournament since that signature victory, which certainly has served the school well.

"No one really could forget that game," said senior forward Marqus Blakely, who leads the Catamounts with 17.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. "When you get recruited by Vermont, that’s the first thing that sticks in your mind. No one really thought that they were going to be able to stay in it, so anything can happen on a given night."

Vermont, champions of the America East Conference, has won 11 of its last 12, and Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim remains wary.

"Vermont, we know, is a very good team," Boeheim said. "We know they played very well this year, particularly over the last part of the year."

The Catamounts’ win over the Orange, their only one in four visits to the NCAA tournament, ranks as one of the most embarrassing losses in Syracuse history, vying with the team that dropped a 73-69 decision to Richmond in the first round in 1991 to become the first second seed in tournament history to lose to a No. 15 seed.

There might be an omen here, too. That 1990-91 Syracuse team also was the regular-season conference champion and lost its first game in the Big East tournament.

"I’ve never really thought about what we’re supposed to do or what people think in the few games that I’ve coached," said Boeheim, who has 827 career victories and is tied for eighth in tournament wins with 42 in his 34 years at Syracuse. "We prepare to play."

This time, the Orange will prepare without center Arinze Onuaku. The fifth-year senior crashed to the floor with an injured quadriceps in his right knee in the waning minutes against Georgetown in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament. An MRI a week ago revealed the injury.

Onuaku said he is without pain and that the swelling has gone down, and he was courtside late Thursday afternoon during the team’s shootaround at HSBC Arena, laughing and joking with assistant coach Rob Murphy after signing some autographs.

Although Onuaku will be watching, he figures to have an impact nonetheless.

"His presence is going to carry us," Johnson said. "Him being on the sideline and being the leader is going to help us. If we keep winning, he’ll eventually get back."

The game has the added attraction of Syracuse standout Kris Joseph going against his brother Maurice, Vermont’s second-leading scorer. The Orange will go with a small lineup that’s been very successful, and Joseph, who’s been the first man off the bench all season, will start.

"We’ve been talking ever since the selection show," said Maurice, a transfer from Michigan State who’s averaging 14 points. "It makes the story a little more interesting, but the biggest story here is there’s a game to be played. When the ball goes up, we’re going to try to make history."

-- John Kekis

Mountaineers motivated entering NCAA tournament

BUFFALO, N.Y. — As if the bitter memories of West Virginia's abrupt exit in last year's NCAA tournament weren't motivation enough for Da'Sean Butler.

There's suddenly added incentive spurring the Mountaineers' star senior guard, who feels slighted after West Virginia was awarded a lower-than-expected No. 2 seed entering this year's tournament. That left Butler wondering Thursday whether being the Big East Conference champion carried much respect any more.

"None," Butler said, shaking his head.

And that's fine with the Mountaineers (27-6), who can start proving they deserved better on Friday against two-time Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion Morgan State (27-9).

"You've got to play the cards you're dealt, so we'll play," Butler said. "And we're putting (the bulls-eye) on every team we're playing against."

The Bears are no pushovers. They're led by senior guard Reggie Holmes, whose 784 points this season rank second in the nation, and feature a powerful inside presence in Kevin Thompson, whose 11.9 rebounds rank fourth in the nation.

Matchup aside, don't expect the Mountaineers to overlook anyone. They learned that lesson the hard way after opening last year's tournament with a 68-60 overtime loss to Dayton.

"Pay attention to what's in front of you as opposed to looking down the road," Butler said. "We're not going to take this for granted."

Coach Bob Huggins hasn't brought up the loss, saying he doesn't deal with the past. But Huggins figured he didn't need to because he can see a difference in his players' approach this past offseason.

"The biggest thing to happen to them is they're all about 20 to 30 pounds stronger," Huggins said, noting many of his players spent much of the summer working out in Morgantown, W.V. "They did that willingly. They were excited about it. They were excited about this year, I think, from the minute last year ended."

West Virginia's trio of sophomores — forwards Devin Ebanks and Kevin Jones and guard Darryl Bryant — are playing more consistently than last year. Jones is averaging 13.5 points and 7.1 rebounds, while Ebanks is averaging 11.8 points and 8.2 rebounds.

Then there's Butler, whose clutch shooting helped the Mountaineers win their first Big East title and register 27 wins for only the third time in school history. He has scored six game-winning shots this season, including a running jumper with 4 seconds left to secure a 60-58 win over Georgetown in the Big East tournament final on Saturday.

With 2,016 points, he ranks third on the school list behind Rod Hundley and Jerry West.

"Who catches my eye? Da'Sean Butler," Holmes said. "When the game is on the line, they go to him for tough shots, defensive plays. ... He always puts the team on his back."

In many ways, it's a role Holmes enjoys with the Bears.

He's the MEAC player of the year whose 21.9 points per game rank 10th in the nation, and who has accounted for nearly 30 percent of the Bears' offensive production.

Morgan State enters the tournament having won seven straight and 19 of 21. The Bears feel better prepared entering this tournament after earning the school's first — yet brief — taste last year following an 82-54 first-round loss to Oklahoma.

"They're not wide-eyed, goggle-eyed and all that stuff," coach Todd Bozeman said. "You can see how they are walking and how they talk. That part of it makes a difference."

In his fourth season, Bozeman has played a big role in leading the program out of obscurity after the Bears won 39 games in the five years prior to his arrival.

For Bozeman, who has a 94-50 record at Morgan State, it was a long-awaited second chance at coaching again. He was banned by the NCAA for eight years after he admitted to paying a recruit while coaching at California, where he led those Bears to three tournament appearances.

"This is an honor and a privilege," Bozeman said. "You are allowed to dream at the beginning of the year, and you can dream again when you get here. And then it's all about getting out on the floor and playing."

There's very little history between the two schools, who have met only once before in 1995, when West Virginia won 108-80. Morgan State did play a competitive schedule in which four of their nine losses — including a 90-81 defeat at Louisville in November — came against schools that qualified for the tournament.

The Mountaineers endured a far tougher schedule playing in the Big East. They've won six straight and eight of nine since losing consecutive games to Villanova and Pitt in February.

"We are tougher," Huggins said. "But you've still got to make shots. Nobody's ever won nothing-nothing."

-- John Wawrow

Purdue's lament: Even president picks Siena

SPOKANE, Wash. — No Robbie Hummel, no chance.