A couple of teams that haven't won many NCAA games in recent years get together this afternoon at the NCAA subregionals at Weber State University's Dee Events Center.
One team, Wisconsin, hadn't won since 1941 (did they actually play the NCAA tournament back then?) before it beat Cincinnati Thursday night. The Badgers hadn't even been to the NCAAs since 1947.The other team, Missouri, has been to the NCAAs nearly every year for the past dozen years, but has lost more than its share of first-round games lately, a fact the Tigers are painfully aware of. They were happy to put the first round behind them.
With each school getting a different kind of monkey off their backs, they'll try to advance to the West Regionals at Los Angeles against the winner of the Syracuse/Wisconsin-Green Bay game.
Tip-off is set for approximately 5:05 p.m., a half hour after the conclusion of the earlier game, which starts at 2:35 p.m.
The Tigers should have their first-round doldrums out of the way after struggling with unheralded Navy for 35 minutes before breaking away. In that game, coach Norm Stewart benched his starters for the last five minutes of the first half to motivate them for the second half.
Missouri's bench will be longer today with the addition of guard Paul O'Liney, who was arrested earlier in the week on an assault charge. O'Liney, who joined the team in midseason as a walk-on after earning JC player-of-the-year honors last year, was suspended for the Navy game.
Stewart is concerned about the height advantage the Badgers possess with 6-11 freshman center Rashard Griffith, 6-10 forward Jeff Peterson and backup 7-footer Grant Johnson.
"They have a huge height advantage," said Stewart. "They will present a lot of problems for us. We're a pretty small ballclub when it comes right down to it."
Don't feel too sorry for the Tigers, however. Jevon Crudup, a 6-9, 242-pound center, doesn't let many people push him around. He led the Tigers with 19 points and 12 boards on Thursday. Six-foot-7 Kelly Thames added 17 points in that game.
The key for the Tigers may be their outside shooting. Starters Lamont Frazier and Julian Winfield, who both went scoreless Thursday, will need to do a better job of helping All-American Melvin Booker.
Besides Griffith and Peterson inside, the Badgers rely on the talents of junior forward Michael Finley. He led the team with a 19-point average this year and popped in 22 points with four 3-pointers Thursday.
While you could say Wisconsin is just thrilled to be in the tournament after a 47-year drought, they'll be doing their best to knock off another favored opponent in the No. 1-seeded Tigers.
"It really offers us an opportunity to play against a great basketball team," said Wisconsin coach Stu Jackson.