It’s March Madness time again and the University of Washington men’s team made their case for the tournament early on by winning the Pac 10 conference. The Huskies flamed out in the Pac 10 tournament against a surprisingly tough Arizona State.
That may have dropped the Dawgs down a little in the eyes of the selection committee, but with six of the ten Pac 10 teams in the big dance, there was no way the Huskies wouldn’t be going dancing. It was just a question of where the game was going to be and at what seed.
In the end, UW gets the number 4 seed in the West Region. The first round game is a short three hour ride down Interstate 5 to Portland. Expect a lot of purple in the arena for that match up against the number 13 seed, Mississippi State.
I’ve read some commentary that says Mississippi State should have ranked higher than 13, possibly in the 7 or 8 slot. That is a debate that I will leave for people more knowledgeable about MSU and their season.
The only thing I know for sure is that the center, Jarvis Varnado, despite listing at six foot nine inches, averages almost 5 blocked shots a game. He blocked 165 this season and broke the record he shared with Shaquille O’Neal. You may remember him from his LSU days. The team as a whole averages over 7.5 blocks a game, good for second in the nation behind UConn.
Coached by Rick Stansbury, in his 11th season with a 225-127 record, the Bulldogs were 10th in the SEC with a field goal percentage of 43.5. However, they were fourth in 3-point percentage (36.3) and fifth in scoring (74.8). There is no one scoring threat, the team spreads the points around, much like the Dawgs do.
That’s a change for the Huskies from the early season strategy. Originally the plan was to feed the ball to Jon Brockman down low and play off the pivot. Early losses to Florida and Kansas showed that the Dawgs could play with the big boys, but an alteration was needed. Freshman point guard Isaiah Thomas was a big scorer. Paired with Senior Justin Dentmon in the back court, the two average over 30 points a game.
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