By Wendell Barnhouse | wendell@big12sports.com
Big12Sports.com Correspondent
No. 3 Baylor (25-7) vs. No. 14 Sam Houston State (25-7)
1:55 p.m. (approximate), Thursday, South Regional, New Orleans
Baylor update
The Bears have earned their highest seeding in NCAA history and will be trying for their first NCAA victory since 1950. Baylor reached the championship game of the NIT last season but lost three starters from that team. Epke Udoh, an Oklahoma native and a transfer from Michigan, has given the Bears a shot blocker, a rebounder and an athletic low post scorer. Mix in senior point guard Tweety Carter and scoring machine LaceDarius Dunn and Baylor has become a team many experts believe can make a deep run in the NCAA Championship.
Sam Houston State update
The Bearkats are the Southland Conference champions and they’re making their second NCAA Championship appearance. Sam Houston State played at Kentucky early in the season and lost, -102-92, so don’t expect the team to be intimidated by the Big Dance. The Bearkats can cause defensive problems because they’re good passers (20.4 assists per game) and have three players who make over 40 percent of their 3-pointers. Guard Corey Allmond (15.8 points pere game) and forward Gilberto Clavell (16.7 per game) are the top scorers.
The coach says
“We know we’ll have our hands full with Sam Houston because they’ve done well against Big 12 teams the last few years,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “But the good thing about our team is that we can adjust. In previous years, we were more one-dimensional. This year’s team can win a half court game or an up-and-down game.”
Trend spotting
The Bears have tied a school record for victories this season and swept Oklahoma and Texas for the first time. ... Udoh led the Big 12 in blocked shots and was second in rebounding. ... Sam Houston State is 10th nationally in scoring, averaging just under 80 points per game.
Up next
The winner of this game plays Saturday against the winner of the game between No. 6 seed Notre Dame and No. 11 seed Old Dominion.
No. 8 Texas (24-9) vs. No. 9 Wake Forest (19-10)
8:45 p.m. (approximate), Thursday, East Regional, New Orleans.
Texas update
The Longhorns were ranked No. 1 in mid-January but are 7-9 since then and have won consecutive games just once over the last two months. Senior Damion James is a double-double machine and senior center Dexter Pittman can be a dominant scorer down low if given space to operate. The point guard position has been a season-long problem. Texas has a lot of talented pieces by coach Rick Barnes has spent the last eight weeks trying to put together a workable puzzle. Time has run out.
Wake Forest update
If the Longhorns are Team Confusion then the Demon Deacons are Team Frustrated. Wake Forest has lost five of its last six. Al-Farouq Aminu, a 6-9 sophomore, averages 15.9 ponts and 10.8 rebounds per game. Wake Forest can dominate the boards and limits opponents to 67.9 points per game. Inadequate guard play is the main reason the Deacons are stumbling headed into the post-season.
The coach says
“There's people who say Texas is down, they're out and all that stuff, but I don't think our guys feel that way,” Texas coach Rick Barnes said. “I think we’re resilient and we can bounce back. March Madness is what it is. You’ve got to feel good about being a part of it. You win one game and momentum can swing quickly.”
Trend spotting
Like Texas, Wake Forest was undefeated and ranked No. 1 in mid-January a year ago. The Deacons wound up finishing 24-7 and lost in the first round of the NCAAs. ... Bench players for the Longhorns average 80.6 minutes per game, the most in Division I. ... Texas and Texas A&M are two of only three schools in the nation (Pittsburgh is the other) that have won four consecutive NCAA first-round games.
Up next
The winner of this game plays Saturday against the winner of the game between No. 1 seed Kentucky and No. 16 seed East Tennessee State.
Kansas (32-2) vs. Lehigh (22-10)
8:40 p.m. (approximate), Thursday, Midwest Regional, Oklahoma City
Kansas update
The Jayhawks are the overall No. 1 seed and are seeing their second national championship in the last three seasons. Kansas won its sixth Big 12 Conference regular-season title and its seventh Big 12 Tournament title. Its two losses came to NCAA Tournament teams (Tennessee, a No. 6 seed, and Oklahoma State, a No. 7 seed). Both teams are in the Midwest Regional.
Lehigh update
The Mountain Hawks earned their NCAA Championship bid by winning the Patriot League tournament, following up the first Patriot League regular-season title in school history. Lehigh is making its fourth NCAA appearance and first since 2004. C.J. McCollum, a 6-3 freshman guard, leads the team in scoring with 18.9 points per game. Senior forward Zahir Carrington averages 10.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
The coach says
“Upsets occur because teams try to hold on to something instead of going out and attacking,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “We want to be in the attack mode the entire time. There’s no formula to follow to keep your guys loose.”
Trend spotting
Lehigh senior guard Marquis Hall went to the same high school (Jefferson in Portland, Ore.) as former Kansas guards Michael Lee and Aaron Miles. ... The Patriot League has a 2-19 record in the NCAA Championshp. One of those victories came in 2005 in Oklahoma City when No. 14 Bucknell upset No. 3 Kansas. ... A No. 16 seed has never beaten a No. 1. The 16 seeds are 0-100 in the NCAAs. The Midwest Regional has featured first-round upsets the last two years. The Nos. 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 seeds won last year and in 2008 the Nos. 10, 11, 12 and 13 seeds won Game One.
Up next
The winner of this game plays Saturday against the winner of the game between No. 8 Nevada-Las Vegas and No. 9 Northern Iowa.
Kansas State (26-7) vs. North Texas (24-8)
1:50 p.m. (approximate), Thursday, West Regional, Oklahoma City
Kansas State update
The Wildcats have become a trendy pick to reach the Final Four. Kansas State, which has the highest seed in school history, has lost three times to Kansas, the overall No. 1 seed, by a total of 27 points. The Wildcats rely on a deep and talented front court that attacks the glass. In guards Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente, Kansas State has one of the best and most versatile back court duos in the country. The Wildcats lead the nation in free throws made (20.2) and attempted (30.5) per game.
North Texas update
The Mean Green won the Sun Belt Conference tournament and the automatic NCAA bid. North Texas has four players averaging in double figures with junior guard Tristan Thompson (14.2 points per game) leading the way. George Odufwa, who transferred from Arizona State, is a 6-8, 240-pound forward who averages a double-double (11.5 points, 10.5 rebounds per game).
The coach says
“There's not going to be an easy game in this tournament,” Kansas State coach Frank Martin said. “That's been reinforced to me after watching tape all night. (North Texas) tied for the regular-season conference championship, then went on and won the conference tournament. You don't do those kinds of things in any league in America unless you've got some toughness and some aggressiveness.”
Trend spotting
Kansas State has won one NCAA game since 1988. That came in the school’s last appearance; in 2008, 11th-seeded K-State upset No. 6 seed USC in the first round of the Midwest Regional. ... North Texas junior guard Josh White is the younger brother of former Oklahoma guard Quannas White. ... The Mean Green’s 24 victories in a single-season record for the school based in Denton, Texas.
Up next
The winner of this game plays Saturday against the winner of the game between No. 7 seed BYU and No. 10 seed Florida.
