It is not officially called, “The Dreaded Five Seed.”
“But we know the history of 5-12 games,” says Alabama coach Mark Gottfried, whose Crimson Tide is seeded fifth in the Chicago regional.
Those games don’t always end up with the five in the graveyard. But last March two of them did, continuing a tradition that stretches to 1985.
That was the year the NCAA tournament expanded to 64 teams and 12th-seed Kentucky defeated fifth-seed Washington by eight points. Since then, in all but two seasons (1988 and 2000), at least one five has fallen to a 12.
DePaul over Virginia in 1986. Dayton over Illinois in 1990. Tulsa, coached by Tubby Smith, over UCLA in 1994, the same year Wisconsin-Green Bay defeated Jason Kidd and California. The College of Charleston over Maryland in 1997. Gonzaga over Virginia in 2001. Tulsa over Marquette in 2002. Manhattan over Florida a year ago.
Those are some of the games that have contributed to the tradition. These are the games that could add to it.
No. 5 Alabama vs. No. 12 UW-Milwaukee
Gottfried was a Bruins assistant in ’94 when UCLA fell to Tulsa, but that is not the only reason he is on high alert this week. Last March, before his eighth-seeded Tide upset top-seeded Stanford on its way to a regional final, it got by Southern Illinois in the opening game by one.
“So our guys understand games like this,” he asserts.
His guys, who could end up facing Illinois at the Allstate Arena, are among the most talented and versatile in the country. Kennedy Winston, a 6-foot-6-inch forward, is their scorer, averaging 17.8 ppg. Earnest Shelton, a 6-3 guard, is their shooter, averaging 16.4 ppg. They have an impressive freshman point guard in 6-2 Ronald Steele and they have two strong rebounders in 6-10 Jermareo Davidson (7.8 per game) and 6-7 Chuck Davis (6.7 rpg, 14.1 ppg).
“It may be the best starting five in the country and I’m not the only one to say that,” Panthers coach Bruce Pearl says. “They have two All-SEC players (Winston and Shelton), they have the best freshman in the league (Steele), they shoot it and post it. . . . It didn’t take me long to figure out what Alabama is trying to do. On the other hand, it might take me two weeks to figure out how to stop it.”
His Panthers, who two years ago as a No. 12 seed lost by a point to Notre Dame, will try to stem the Tide with their press. They are smaller than Alabama and start three guards, a small forward and a power forward. But their hole card is always their pressure, which they use from tip to buzzer and over the full court.
It created nearly 18 turnovers per game and could disrupt the Tide, whose only reliable ballhandler is Steele.”If it turns out that they are able to take advantage of matchups, then we could be in trouble,” Pearl says. “But if we play team defense, turn it into a 94-foot game, we could bother them. . . . The question is, will our pressure bother them or make them better?”
No. 5 Michigan State vs. No. 12 Old Dominion
This is it for the Spartans’ talented senior class, which never has won any kind of title. This is it for the maligned trio of Chris Hill, Kelvin Torbert and Alan Anderson, who last year lost their opening NCAA tournament game to Nevada after leading the Wolf Pack by seven with 6:53 remaining.
“I told them,” Spartans coach Tom Izzo says, ” `Now it’s not about proving the critics wrong. It’s about proving us right.'”
Izzo is right to believe his team is talented enough to make a deep run in the tournament. But that is not the issue. It is its spine, which shriveled up again last week at the United Center when Anderson missed two late free throws in a two-point loss to Iowa.
That was the latest example of the Spartans spitting out the bit as a game raced to its finish, and why they are no mortal lock against Old Dominion. The Monarchs have a versatile performer in 6-9 forward Alex Loughton, an Aussie who will test the inconsistent Paul Davis. They have a school-record 28 victories and, even with forward Arnaud Dahi nursing an injured left shoulder, they have enough players to go 10 deep.
Those players, together, are not nearly as good as the Spartans and none of the Monarchs’ victories was over a team that made the tournament field. But again, that is not the issue.
No. 5 Georgia Tech vs. No. 12 George Washington
If there has been a team more mystifying than Michigan State this season, the Yellow Jackets are it. They were coming off an appearance in the national title game and they were loaded with talent and returning all starters but one. Then they meandered through the regular season before igniting at last weekend’s ACC tournament.
They ended up losing to Duke in the championship game, but that only raises the obvious question. Will it be the swarming Jackets who show up against the Colonials, or those Jackets who buzzed about for so long without their stingers? Like Michigan State, their talent is unquestioned.
But they had better display it against the Colonials, who in December defeated the then-No.11 Spartans and then-No. 12 Maryland to win something called the BB&T Classic. They are quick and they are versatile and, most impressive, they have a half-dozen players averaging 8.1 points or better.
Senior point guard T.J. Thompson is their leading scorer (13.8 ppg). Their second-leading scorer, 6-5 forward J.R. Pinnock (13.5 ppg), comes off the bench. Their best-known player, 6-9 forward Pops Mensah-Bonsu, is their third leading scorer (12.6 ppg). Their fourth-leading scorer, forward Mike Hall (10.5 ppg), played at Shepard High in Palos Heights.
“I was asked on ESPN going into the game, `Who would you shut down?'” St. Joseph’s coach Phil Martelli said after his Hawks lost to the Colonials in the title game of the Atlantic 10 tournament. “I don’t know, I really don’t. The thing that jumps out to me is their balance.”
No. 5 Villanova vs. No. 12 New Mexico
The Lobos have the proverbial chip on their collective shoulder. They beat highly regarded Utah twice. They rolled up 26 victories. But not only were they not guaranteed a bid until they won the championship of the Mountain West tournament, they also were seeded six spots lower than the Utes.
“I thought, we deserved a more favorable number,” coach Ritchie McKay bristles.
Their strength of schedule (298) was weak, which worked against them, but working in their favor is versatile forward Danny Granger, who’s averaging 19 points and 8.8 rebounds. He is one of five Lobos in double figures in points and he, guard Troy DeVries and forward Alfred Neale bury better than 40 percent of their three-pointers.
The Wildcats also can hit the three, which they proved while going 12 of 19 (63.2 percent) from beyond the arc in their 21-point victory over then-undefeated Kansas in January. They also have a quartet of effective guards–the most important position in the tournament–and a tough matchup in 6-7 forward Curtis Sumpter, who can score inside and out.
But those facts do not bother the Lobos, who know their history.
“It’s a great opportunity for us,” center David Chiotti says. “Twelves every year upset fives.”
