Spiders and Gaels meet in South Region's first round

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/18/2010 - Providence, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - First-round action in the South Region will take place this afternoon at the Dunkin' Donuts Center when the seventh-seeded Richmond Spiders take on the 10th-seeded Saint Mary's Gaels.

The Gaels are participating in their sixth NCAA Tournament this afternoon. Saint Mary's won its first-ever tournament game back in 1959 against Idaho, but after that it has been all downhill, as the team has dropped its last five contests in the Big Dance. This season the Gaels rolled through their competition, posting a 26-5 ledger, while also claiming the West Coast Conference Tournament title against Gonzaga.

The Spiders fell just short of the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament title with a 56-52 loss to Temple in the championship game. Despite, the loss Richmond finished the season with an impressive 26-8 ledger, and the 26 victories tied a school record. That earned Richmond a spot in its eighth NCAA Tournament invitation and the team's first appearance in the Big Dance since 2004. Richmond is the only school to have posted victories in this tournament as the 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th-seed.

This will be just the second meeting between the two schools on the hardwood. The first matchup took place back in 1985 and the game was claimed by Richmond, as the Spiders defeated Saint Mary's, 75-63.

The winner in this matchup will move into the second round and will face either Robert Morris or Villanova.

The Gaels enter this tournament with four players averaging double figures, beginning with the West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Omar Samhan. Samhan finished with 94 blocks this year, but the center was even better offensively, averaging an impressive double-double of 20.9 ppg and 11.0 rpg. Ben Allen has been a solid contributor in the post as well, and comes into this game with 10.8 ppg and 7.6 rpg. In the backcourt the Gaels will rely on the duo of Mickey McConnell and Matthew Dellavedova. McConnell is leading the team with 165 assists, but he is also a dangerous scorer, netting 13.7 ppg behind a staggering 51.5 percent clip from behind the arc. As for Dellavedova, he is contributing 12.5 ppg, but has also been able to find the open player, doling out 141 assists on the season. Overall the Gaels come into this matchup producing 79.5 ppg. Saint Mary's is connecting on 48.7 percent of its attempts from the floor, but even more impressive is the team's 41.2 percent showing from behind the arc.

The success for Richmond can be attributed to the team's tenacious efforts at the defensive end of the court, as the Spiders are limiting the opposition to just 62.2 ppg on a 39.2 percent shooting effort. Opponents have also struggled from behind the arc against the Spiders, connecting on just 29.7 percent of their attempts from long range. A big part of Richmond's game is its ability to force turnovers, as opponents are committing on average, 15.1 turnovers per contest. At the other end of the floor the team has been led by the guard duo of Kevin Anderson and David Gonzalvez. Anderson, who was tabbed the A-10 Player of the Year, comes into this tournament averaging 17.8 ppg, to go along with a team-best 89 assists. As for Gonzalvez, he is contributing 14.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg and 79 assists, to go along with a team-best 64 steals.Taking care of business in the paint has been Justin Harper, who is posting 10.6 ppg, to go along with a team-high 5.5 rpg. As a whole however, the Spiders come into today's matchup averaging a modest 69.3 ppg.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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