Saint Joseph’s Leads a Stacked Bracket

Call this the regional of disrespect and contrasting styles.

Saint Joseph’s, despite being awarded a No. 1 seeding, has a chip the size of Coach Phil Martelli’s bald pate on its shoulder. Many still see the Hawks, who beat up on a mid-major conference in the Atlantic 10 and were then thumped in their first game of the league tournament, as more pretenders than contenders.

Count the selection committee among the haters. How else do you explain it loading the bracket with other powerhouse schools who feel just as slighted?

Consider: Pittsburgh was a missed shot from winning the Big East tournament and garnering an overall top seeding but fell to a No. 3. And all No. 6 Wisconsin did was win the Big Ten tournament, seven straight games and nine of 11. No. 2 Oklahoma State, however, has the look of a Final Four team. Hear that, Hawks?

Best first-round game: As it should be, the 8-9 game between Texas Tech, as unpredictable and fiery as any Bob Knight team, and Charlotte, one of five schools to tie for the Conference USA regular-season title.

Upset in the making: No. 5-seeded Florida began the year as a popular pick to make a run to the Final Four and was a one-time No. 1-ranked team. But the Gators have lost six of 13 and are ripe to be taken out by No. 12 Manhattan. The Jaspers have won 11 of 12 and, led by senior guard Luis Flores’ 24.1 scoring average, are just the type of team to give the often undisciplined Gators fits.

Impact coach: Martelli. Long a lovable underdog, his image endured a bigger makeover than anything “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” could throw at him after the Hawks won their first 27 games. The 20-point pounding by Xavier in the Atlantic 10 tournament, however, erased a lot of the good feelings. Martelli, who is 3-3 in the NCAA tournament, has something to prove.

Impact player: Jameer Nelson. The heart and soul of the Hawks is only 5 feet 11 and 190 pounds, but as the senior point guard goes, so goes Saint Joe’s. Nelson, a leading candidate for national player of the year, is busier on the court than the always-flapping Saint Joe’s Hawk mascot on the sidelines. Nelson leads the Hawks in scoring, assists and steals and can dominate a game when he’s on.

The pick: Oklahoma State. The Cowboys are still the deepest and most complete team in the region. A trademark of Eddie Sutton-coached teams is their defensive tenacity and Oklahoma State does not disappoint, holding opponents to 63.8 points and 41.6% shooting. The Cowboys also can score; their scoring margin of plus-16 entering the Big-12 tourney ranked third nationally. Devoid of individual stars, the Cowboys will be roaming the streets of San Antonio. How natural.

*--* No. 1 SAINT JOSEPH’S (27-1)

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First-round opponent: No. 16 Liberty, Thursday.

Impressive victories: Nov. 14, Gonzaga, 73-66; Dec. 9, Boston College, 67-57; Feb. 2, Villanova, 74-67.

Disturbing losses: In first game of Atlantic 10 tournament.

Top players: Sr. Jameer Nelson, G, 20.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 5.4 apg, 3.1 spg; Jr. Delonte West, G, 19.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 4.9 apg; Sr. Tyrone Barley, G, 7.3 ppg; Jr. Pat Carroll, G, 10.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg; So. Dwayne Jones, C, 6.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 2.1 bpg.

Skinny: Nelson and West are widely considered the best backcourt in America, and they’ve proven it in running teams nearly ragged. In addition to being able to create, both have been deadly outside shooters as has Carroll, the Atlantic 10’s top 3-pointer shooter. The Hawks were also the A-10’s top defensive team.

*--* No. 2 OKLAHOMA STATE (27-3)

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First-round opponent: No. 15 Eastern Washington, Friday.

Impressive victories: Jan. 24, at Texas, 72-67; Feb. 9, Kansas , 80-60; March 1, Texas, 76-67.

Disturbing losses: Dec. 6, at BYU, 76-71; Jan. 10, at Texas Tech, 83-62.

Top players: Sr. Tony Allen, G, 16.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg; Jr. John Lucas, G, 15.4 ppg; Sr. Ivan McFarlin, F, 12.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg.

Skinny: Oklahoma State is defense-minded and knows how to play possession basketball, which are keys in tournament play. It has a defensive stopper in Allen and an excellent point in Lucas, a transfer from Baylor whose dad once played the position in the pros. The Cowboys are experienced, athletic, confident and guided by the slick Eddie Sutton, one of only 11 coaches who has taken two schools to the Final Four.

*--* No. 3 PITTSBURGH (29-4)

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First-round opponent: No. 11 Richmond, Friday.

Impressive victories: Feb. 15, Connecticut, 75-68; Jan. 24, at Syracuse, 66-45.

Disturbing losses: Feb. 22, Syracuse, 49-46; Feb. 9, at Seton Hall, 68-67.

Top players: So. Carl Krauser, G, 15.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 4.8, apg; Sr. Jaron Brown, G, 11.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg; Sr. Julius Page, G, 11.6 ppg; Fr. Chris Taft, F, 11.4 ppg, 7.7 rpg.

Skinny: The Panthers lost just about everything except their standing among America’s elite teams. At guard, the departure of Brandin Knight only led to the emergence of Krauser. At forward, Taft’s sensational freshman season has filled a void left by Ontario Lett. And Coach Jamie Dixon, who took over for UCLA-bound Ben Howland, didn’t lose his first game until a late-January game at Connecticut.

*--* No. 4 WAKE FOREST (19-9)

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First-round opponent: No. 13 Virginia Commonwealth, Thursday.

Impressive victories: Dec. 20, at North Carolina, 119-114 (3OT); Feb. 15, Cincinnati, 91-85; Feb. 18, Duke, 90-84.

Disturbing losses: Jan. 25, at Florida State, 75-70; Mar. 2, Virginia, 84-82.

Top players: So. Justin Gray, G, 17.3 ppg; Fr. Chris Paul, G, 13.6 ppg, 5.7 apg; So. Eric Williams, C, 12.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg

Skinny: The Demon Deacons are one of the streakiest teams in the field. They started hot, winning their first 11, then lost six of the next eight. After rebounding to win six in a row, Wake Forest dropped its final two regular-season games to Virginia and N.C. State. The Demon Deacons have one of the top offenses in the country, averaging 84.3 points per game, but Skip Prosser’s team is young and erratic on defense. If Wake Forest wants to go deep in the tournament, it has to hope that Eric Williams is healthy. The sophomore center badly bruised his hip against N.C. State in the final regular-season game, and has been playing with pain in his knee.

*--* No. 5 FLORIDA (20-10)

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First-round opponent: No. 12 Manhattan, Thursday.

Impressive victories: Nov. 28, Arizona, 78-77; Jan. 7, at South Carolina, 65-62; Jan. 27, at Alabama, 88-78.

Disturbing losses: Dec. 10, Maryland, 69-68; Jan. 31, at Tennessee, 65-63; Feb. 17, at Georgia, 76-62.

Top Players: Jr. David Lee, F, 13.7 ppg, 6.9 rpg; Soph. Anthony Roberson, G, 17.3 ppg, 43.2 3-pt FG%; F Matt Walsh, 16.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg.

Skinny: Florida was No. 1 for a week in December, but the Gators’ flaws showed up early: They have no low-post offense, play mediocre defense, lack toughness and don’t value the ball. A team with a legit low-post presence almost always beats the Gators. On the other hand, Lee, Roberson and Walsh are a nice offensive trio, and Roberson’s and Walsh’s three-point shooting can keep the Gators in games. But any offense from anybody outside of that trio is gravy.

*--* No. 6 WISCONSIN (24-6)

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First-round opponent: No.11 Richmond, Friday.

Impressive victories: Jan. 10, Michigan State, 77-64; Jan. 24, Illinois, 76-56; March 2, at Michigan State, 68-64 (OT).

Disturbing losses: Jan. 14, at Purdue, 53-51; Feb. 7, at Northwestern, 69-51; Feb. 22, at Michigan, 71-59.

Top players: Jr. Devin Harris, G, 19.4 ppg, 4.4 apg; jr. Mike Wilkinson, F, 13.1 ppg, 7.0 rpg.

Skinny: Behind Harris, the Big Ten player of the year, and Wilkinson, the Badgers made for the loss of Alando Tucker, who took a medical redshirt. Wisconsin tied Michigan State for second place in the Big Ten.

*--* No. 7 MEMPHIS (21-7)

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First-round opponent: No. 10 South Carolina, Friday.

Impressive victories: Dec. 27, Missouri, 61-59; Jan. 17, Charlotte, 91-69.

Disturbing losses: Jan. 10, at Southern Mississippi, 66-63.

Top players: Fr. Sean Banks, F, 18.0 ppg., 6.7 rpg.; Sr. Antonio Burks, G, 16.1 ppg., 5.3 apg.; So. Rodney Carney, F, 12.7 ppg.

Skinny: The Tigers were as consistent as any Conference USA team and have a mix of weapons that enables them to score down low and on the perimeter. Solid at everything.

*--* No. 8 TEXAS TECH (22-10)

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First-round opponent: No. 9 Charlotte, Thursday.

Impressive victories: Jan. 10, Oklahoma State, 83-62; Jan. 19, Oklahoma, 67-47; March 3, Missouri, 87-76.

Disturbing losses: Dec. 1, at SMU, 62-59; Feb. 24, at Nebraska, 72-44.

Top players: Sr. Andre Emmett G 20.7 ppg., 6.7 rpg.; Fr Jarrius Jackson G,11.2 ppg., 1.9 spg.

Skinny: Inconsistently consistent. Red Raiders won 12 straight, then lost seven of 10. The General’s blood pressure can’t stand too much of that.

*--* No. 9 CHARLOTTE (21-8)

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First-round opponent: No. 8 Texas Tech, Thursday.

Impressive victories: Nov. 26, at Syracuse, 96-92; Jan. 2, at Southern Illinois, 64-59; Jan. 31, at Cincinnati, 86-83.

Disturbing loss: Feb. 14, at St. Louis, 46-45.

Top players: So. Curtis Withers, F, 16.3 ppg., 9.5 rpg.; senior Demon Brown, G, 12.6 ppg.

Skinny: The 49ers have excelled on the road and against tough teams and led Conference USA in scoring with 79.9 ppg. However, the 49ers were also last in the league in defense, allowing 72.1 ppg.

*--* No. 10 SOUTH CAROLINA (23-10)

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First-round opponent: No. 7 Memphis, Friday.

Impressive victories: Dec. 20, NC State, 58-55; Jan. 24, LSU, 61-55; Jan. 28, at Vandy, 57-55.

Disturbing losses: Dec. 15, at Temple, 71-61; Jan. 31, at Ole Miss, 79-68; Feb. 21, at Arkansas, 82-66.

Top Players: Jr. Carlos Powell, F, 12.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg; Jr. Josh Gonner, G, 12.1 ppg.

Skinny: The Gamecocks started 18-2, then faded badly. The Gamecocks struggle to score and aren’t that good from the outside. Coach Dave Odom’s team plays good defense, but that doesn’t matter if you can’t score. And not scoring happens all too often for the Gamecocks, who have scored more than 68 points just six times in their past 18 games. At one point, the Gamecocks looked as if they could be a No. 3 or 4 seed. Now? They’re just happy they’re in the tournament.

*--* NO. 11 RICHMOND (20-12)

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First-round opponent: No. 6 Wisconsin, Friday.

Impressive victories: Dec. 31, at Colorado, 75-62; Jan. 22, at Kansas, 69-68; Jan. 25, at Xavier, 53-44.

Disturbing loss: Jan. 10, LaSalle, 66-55.

Top players: F Mike Skrocki (16.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.9 apg), Tony Dobbins (11.2 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 2.5 apg, 83 steals, 28 blocks); Reggie Brown (7.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.3 apg); Gaston Moliva (5.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 48 blocks).

Skinny: The Spiders aren’t a great offensive team (they ranked 11th in the 12-team Atlantic 10 Conference at 63.1 ppg), but they get it done on defense. They held opponents to a conference-best 58.8 ppg and held opponents to 26.5 percent from three-point range.

*--* No. 12 MANHATTAN (24-5)

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First-round opponent: No. 5 Florida, Thursday.

Impressive victories: Dec. 20, Richmond, 70-62; Feb. 21, at Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 83-76.

Disturbing losses: Dec. 2, Wichita State, 74-57; Jan. 25, at Iona, 79-62.

Top players: Sr. Luis Flores, G, 24.1 ppg, 2000 career points; Sr. David Holmes, F, 8.3 rpg.

Skinny: The Jaspers not only have one of the most prolific scorers in the country in Flores but are tournament tough after giving eventual national champion Syracuse all it could handle before losing in a first-round encounter last year.

*--* No. 13 VA. COMMONWEALTH (23-7)

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First-round opponent: No. 4 Wake Forest, Thursday.

Impressive victories: Dec. 22, at LaSalle, 55-54; March 7, Old Dominion, 84-67;

Disturbing loss: Jan. 14, at UNC-Wilmington, 72-52.

Top players: Sr. Domonic Jones, G, 16.1 ppg; Sr. Troy Godwin, C, 12.1 ppg, 7.0 rpg; Jr. Michael Doles, F, 11.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg.

Skinny: The Rams were more talented last year, more cohesive this year. Second-year Coach Jeff Capel is the youngest in Division I (29) and played in the NCAA title game as a freshman at Duke in 1994. Jones, the CAA player of the year, is a better scorer than shooter. Godwin is a 6-6, 285-pound load around the basket. The Rams led the conference in field-goal percentage (.474), but were last in free-throw shooting (.604). Bouncy sophomore forward Nick George (8.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg) is often their spark, Doles a versatile sixth man. Two freshman guards start in their three-guard lineup.

*--* No. 14 CENTRAL FLORIDA (25-5)

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First-round opponent: No. 3 Pittsburgh, Friday.

Impressive victories: Dec. 22, at Niagara, 69-67; Jan. 19, Belmont, 68-63; Jan. 23, at Troy State, 74-72.

Disturbing losses: None. Four of the five losses were to teams that won at least 20 games. The fifth was against Florida.

Top Players: Sr. Dexter Lyons, G, 18.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg; Sr. Roberto Morentin, C, 13.4 pg, 6.8 rpg; Sr. Josh Bodden, F, 11.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg.

Skinny: Coach Kirk Speraw’s team plays tough man-to-man defense and loves turning games into slow-tempo, half-court affairs. Lyons is prone to bad shots and dumb turnovers, but he is the catalyst for an unselfish team that averages 17 assists. Speraw will use 10 players and sticks with a hot hand off the bench.

*--* No. 15 EASTERN WASHINGTON (17-12)

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First-round opponent: No. 2 Oklahoma State, Friday.

Impressive victories: Dec. 15, Santa Clara, 75-65; Jan. 3, at Santa Clara, 65-54; Jan. 31, Weber State, 72-53.

Disturbing losses: Jan. 8, Montana, 79-68; Feb. 28, at Idaho State, 91-90.

Top players: Sr. Alvin Snow, G, 15.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 3.0 apg; Jr. Marc Axton, F, 13.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg; Sr. Brendon Merritt, G, 10.9 ppg, 81.7% FT

Skinny: Eagles played in four consecutive Big Sky tournament finals before finally winning. Fourth-year Coach Ray Giacoletti spent eight years as an assistant under former Illinois State and Washington coach Bob Bender. Snow was selected as the Big Sky player of the year.

*--* No. 16 LIBERTY (18-14)

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First-round opponent: No. 1 Saint Joseph’s, Thursday.

Impressive victories: Dec. 11, Chattanooga, 85-69.

Disturbing losses: Jan. 3, at Coastal Carolina, 67-65; Jan. 14, at Radford, 83-76; Feb. 21, at VMI, 61-52.

Top Players: Fr. Larry Blair, G, 13.4 ppg; Sr. Gabe Martin, F/G, 13.9 ppg, 7.4 rpg.

Skinny: If Liberty, a school founded by evangelist Jerry Falwell, wins a tournament game (and, no, we don’t mean the play-in game), it would be fair to classify it as a miracle. The Flames have some nice players for their league, most notably Blair, who was recruited by some ACC and SEC schools. But winning in the Big South doesn’t equate to beating a team from a power conference. Keeping the final margin between 10 and 15 points would be considered a victory for Liberty.

Team capsules compiled by writers from Tribune Co. newspapers.