Gophers

NCAA capsules: East Region

March 17, 2014 at 5:04AM

[1] VIRGINIA VS. [16] COASTAL CAROLINA

8:25 p.m. Friday in Raleigh, N.C. • TBS

CAVALIERS (28-6)

Coach: Tony Bennett.

Entry: ACC champion.

Player to watch: Malcolm Brogdon (12.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.6 apg).

Notable: The Cavaliers, who have won 16 of 17 and beat Duke on Sunday to win the ACC tournament title for the first time since 1976, lead the nation in scoring defense.

CHANTICLEERS (21-12)

Coach: Cliff Ellis.

Entry: Big South champion.

Player to watch: Elijah Wilson (16.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg).

Notable: Coastal Carolina earned its first trip to the tournament in 21 years. Ellis has also led South Alabama, Clemson and Auburn to the NCAA tournament.

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[8] MEMPHIS VS. [9] GEORGE WASHINGTON

5:55 p.m. Friday in Raleigh, N.C. • TBS

TIGERS (23-9)

Coach: Josh Pastner.

Entry: American Athletic at-large.

Player to watch: Joe Jackson (14.3 ppg, 4.5 apg).

Notable: The Tigers have had several impressive victories, including two over Louisville. But they have been inconsistent and were blown out by UConn 72-53 in the AAC tournament.

COLONIALS (24-8)

Coach: Mike Lonergan.

Entry: Atlantic 10 at-large.

Player to watch: Maurice Creek (14.3 ppg).

Notable: A graduate student, Creek transferred from Indiana after last season. The Colonials have won five of seven, including victories over NCAA tourney teams UMass and St. Joseph's.

[5] CINCINNATI VS. [12] HARVARD

1:10 p.m. Thursday in Spokane, Wash. • TNT

BEARCATS (27-6)

Coach: Mick Cronin.

Entry: American Athletic at-large.

Player to watch: Sean Kilpatrick (20.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.6 apg).

Notable: The Bearcats tied for the AAC regular-season title with Louisville and had a 15-game winning streak earlier this season. But Cronin's bunch has been inconsistent over the past month.

CRIMSON (26-4)

Coach: Tommy Amaker

Entry: Ivy League champion.

Player to watch: Wesley Saunders (14.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.9 apg).

Notable: Harvard, appearing in its third NCAA tournament in a row, was the first team to clinch an NCAA berth this year and comes in on an eight-game winning streak.

[4] MICHIGAN STATE VS. [13] DELAWARE

3:40 p.m. Thursday in Spokane, Wash. • TNT

SPARTANS (26-8)

Coach: Tom Izzo.

Entry: Big Ten champion.

Player to watch: Adreian Payne (15.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg).

Notable: Michigan State is getting healthy at the right time. Izzo has started the same five players for the past five games, and the Spartans have won four of them.

FIGHTIN' BLUE HENS (25-9)

Coach: Monte Ross.

Entry: Colonial Athletic champion.

Player to watch: Devon Saddler (19.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.6 apg).

Notable: The Blue Hens, who won their first NCAA berth since 1999, have three players — Saddler, Davon Usher (19.4) and Jarvis Threatt (18.1) — who average 18 points or more.

[2] VILLANOVA VS. [15] UW-MILWAUKEE

8:25 p.m. Thursday in Buffalo, N.Y. • TBS

WILDCATS (28-4)

Coach: Jay Wright.

Entry: Big East at-large.

Player to watch: James Bell (14.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg).

Notable: The 28 victories are a record for the Wildcats, who won the Big East regular-season title. Saturday, they could face a former conference rival (UConn) or a fellow Philly school (St. Joe's).

PANTHERS (21-13)

Coach: Rob Jeter.

Entry: Horizon League champion.

Player to watch: Jordan Aaron (15.0 ppg, 2.4 apg).

Notable: The Panthers posted a 7-9 regular-season conference record but earned their first NCAA bid since 2007 by winning the conference tournament as the No. 5 seed.

[7] CONNECTICUT VS. [10] ST. JOSEPH'S

5:55 p.m. Thursday in Buffalo, N.Y. • TBS

HUSKIES (26-8)

Coach: Kevin Ollie.

Entry: American Athletic at-large.

Player to watch: Shabazz Napier (17.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 4.9 apg).

Notable: UConn had a number of quality wins during its out-of-conference schedule, including a victory over Florida, the top overall seed in this tournament, on Dec. 2.

HAWKS (24-9)

Coach: Phil Martelli.

Entry: Atlantic 10 champion.

Player to watch: Langston Galloway (17.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg).

Notable: St. Joseph's was perceived to be on the bubble at the end of the regular season, but the Hawks stormed through the Atlantic 10 tournament to erase all doubt via an automatic bid.

[6] NORTH CAROLINA VS. [11] PROVIDENCE

6:20 p.m. Friday in San Antonio • TNT

TAR HEELS (23-9)

Coach: Roy Williams.

Entry: ACC at-large.

Player to watch: Marcus Paige (17.4 ppg, 4.3 apg).

Notable: The Tar Heels had a 12-game winning streak end in a loss at Duke in their final regular-season game, then were bounced from the ACC tournament quarterfinals by Pitt.

FRIARS (23-11)

Coach: Ed Cooley.

Entry: Big East champion.

Player to watch: Bryce Cotton (21.4 ppg, 5.8 apg).

Notable: The Friars held off Creighton to win their first Big East tournament championship since 1994. At 78.1 percent, the Friars have shot free throws better than any team in the field.

[3] IOWA STATE VS. [14] N.C. CENTRAL

8:50 p.m. Friday in San Antonio • TNT

CYCLONES (26-7)

Coach: Fred Hoiberg.

Entry: Big 12 champion.

Player to watch: DeAndre Kane (17.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 5.8 apg).

Notable: Iowa State enters on a roll, having beaten Kansas State, Kansas and Baylor to win its first Big 12 tournament title since 2000, the only other title in school history.

EAGLES (28-5)

Coach: LeVelle Moton.

Entry: Mid-Eastern champion.

Player to watch: Jeremy Ingram (20.6 ppg).

Notable: The Eagles are on a 20-game winning streak and won their first league tournament title since 1950. Their season also included an 82-72 overtime victory over N.C. State.

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