First Four winners Presbyterian, Vanderbilt, Arizona and Holy Cross will round out the field of 64 teams in the NCAA Tournament. Now, things begin to get mad!
Sixteen games are on schedule for Friday, Mar. 22, beginning with No. 9-seed Michigan State vs. No. 8-North Carolina at 11:30 a.m. ET (ESPN2). No. 1 overall-seed South Carolina begins their expected march toward Cleveland at 2 p.m. ET (ESPN), taking on fellow South Carolinians in No. 16-seed Presbyterian. No. 3-seed LSU’s national title defense starts with a matchup against No. 14-seed Rice at 4 p.m. ET (ESPN).
Amongst all the action, here are three things to keep a closer eye on:
Will the Thundering Herd run over the Hokies?
On Thursday, it was confirmed that Virginia Tech grad center Elizabeth Kitley will miss the NCAA Tournament with a torn ACL. Kitley shared the news on Instagram.
As Eric Nemchock emphasized when highlighting four key tournament storylines, Kitley gave Virginia Tech their offensive identity. During the ACC Tournament, the Hokies were adrift without her. The question now is not whether Virginia Tech can return to the Final Four, but if they can win their first-round matchup against a sneaky-tough No. 13 seed in Marshall, the Sun Belt regular season and tournament champs who are on 10-game winning streak. The Hokies and Thundering Herd meet at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
While the Hokies have lost their identity with Kitley’s absence, the Herd are confident in theirs. Marshall runs and guns, shoot and scores. The Thundering Herd are unafraid to bomb away, taking a nation-leading 31.7 3-pointers per game. Senior guard Abby Beeman (Sun Belt Player of the Year), junior guard Aislynn Hayes and sophomore guard Sydni Scott all average more than five 3-point attempts per game. Marshall also effectively corrals their misfires from behind the arc, ranking fifth nationally in offensive rebounding via a team effort on the glass. Marshall’s relentlessness also transfers to the other side of the floor, where they swipe 13.4 steals per game. Beeman and senior guard Breanna Campbell average at least two steals per contest.
If Marshall makes this a high-paced affair, Virginia Tech will need an all-word effort from senior guard Georgia Amoore to avoid the upset.
Can Maryland continue their streak?
Maryland and head coach Brenda Frese have made every NCAA Tournament since 2011; they’ve only missed one tournament since 2004, the 2010 edition. And every time Frese’s Terps have made the…
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