Don't overlook Stephen F. Austin.
It was a lesson learned the hard way by No. 5 seed, and tournament darling, Virginia Commonwealth in last year's NCAA tournament. The Lumberjacks upended the Rams 77-75 in the first round on the wings of Desmond Haymon's heroics in overtime, which included a rare 4-point play.
Haymon has since graduated, but the Lumberjacks look just as formidable a year later having run through the Southland Conference en route to their second automatic tourney bid in as many years.
Stephen F. Austin features a relatively small lineup, but rely heavily on frontcourt players Thomas Walkup, who leads the team in scoring (15.4 points), and Jacob Parker (14.2 points.)
The team relies on defensive pressure to create turnovers which will make Utah's ball-handling crucial come Thursday, according to ESPN's Matt Martucci.
"The Lumberjacks use takeaways to fuel their offense and in turn put opponents on a 40-minute hamster wheel," Martucci wrote. "Their depth and balance gives (Coach Brad) Underwood lots of options and a continuous substitution pattern, meaning their defense and energy level both stay fresh."
As mentioned, SFA will primarily look to Walkup and Parker, but certainly not exclusively, according to Martucci.
"The Lumberjacks don't play favorites," Martucci wrote. "None of their top six scorers average less than seven points per game. SFA led Division I in assists and its patience on offense allows for a ton of high-percentage shots. Point guard Trey Pinkney doesn't score much, but may be one of the nation's best at facilitating his team's offense."
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