NCAA Tournament Day 2 Preview

Which teams are headed for upset? Who's marching on? Whose facial hair will take the day? Find out as FanHouse writers break down Day 2's subregionals.

Jacksonville Subregional
Games: No. 5 Temple (29-5) vs. No. 12 Cornell (27-4) 12:25 p.m., No. 4 Wisconsin (23-8) vs. No. 13 Wofford (26-8) 2:50 p.m., No. 1 Duke (29-5) vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (18-15) 7:25 p.m., No. 9 Louisville (20-12) vs. No. 8 California (23-10) 9:45 p.m.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- For the first time since 2006, Duke is a No. 1 seed for the NCAA tournament. The Blue Devils also won the ACC tournament and the ACC regular-season title (sharing it with Maryland) for the first time in four years. That's impressive, but Duke's recent NCAA tourney struggles have been well-documented.
Bounced in the first round in 2007. KO'd in the second round by West Virginia two years ago. Elminated in the semifinals last year by lower-seeded Villanova.

Duke players, however, say this year's team is poised to advance further into the tournament. Even Coach K says this is the best Duke team since 2006.

To a man and coach, Duke says improved rebounding is the biggest difference for this team. The Blue Devils lead the ACC and rank 19th in Division I in rebound margin at plus-5.9 per game. That's the team's best mark since 1998-99.

And let's not forget one of the most memorable March Madness Moments was in 1992, when Duke defeated Kentucky 104-103 in overtime to reach the Final Four. Who doesn't remember Christian Laettner's dramatic shot at the buzzer to win that game, and the camera close-up of teammate Brian Davis' shocked and tear-streaked face?

Look at we have here. The two teams -- Duke and Louisville -- will meet in a Sunday rematch if both teams advance. The Blue Devils certainly have the easier first-round matchup Friday against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, while Louisville meets Cal.
-- Jim Henry


UPSET WATCH
Keep an eye on the Big Red of Cornell.

The three-time Ivy League champions (27-4) are seeded 12th in the East Regional and take on No. 5 Temple (29-5) here in Friday's first game. Cornell has won 15 of its past 16 games and 16 away from home this season, tied for the most in Division I. Two of their losses were to Kansas and Syracuse, both No. 1 seeds this week. And the Big Red ranks in the national top 20 in seven major categories.

In fact, Cornell makes more three-pointers per game (9.8) than any team in the tournament and leads the nation with a 43.4 percent clip from three-point land. Cornell made 20 in its second-to-last regular season game against Brown.

While much has been made of the close friendship between Cornell coach Steve Donahue and Temple coach Fran Dunphy, that's nothing. Then entire Cornell team lives in a huge, old house near its campus in Ithaca, N.Y. Yep, that's 14 dudes under the same roof -- and each player has their own bedroom.

Cornell 7-foot center Jeff Foote shared a secret. The players have group cleaning efforts to make sure they keep the house nice and tidy.

PLAYER TO WATCH
Duke senior point guard Jon Scheyer. He might look like a choir boy, but don't turn your back. Just ask Georgia Tech.

Scheyer, part of the Blue Devils' "Big Three," averages a team-best 18.6 points per game. Yet, he struggled with his shooting in last week's ACC Tournament in Greensboro, N.C. He hit 13 of 40 shots from the field and was just 5 of 21 on 3-point attempts. Plus, he played 39 minutes in the ACC title game and semifinals and 110 minutes of a possible 120 overall.

Not a problem.

The All-American nailed a 3-pointer with 18 ticks left and Duke's lead down to one in the title game against the Yellow Jackets. It's a victory that surely secured the Blue Devils' No. 1 seed in the NCAA tourney, much to the chagrin of Syracuse and West Virginia fans.

Milwaukee Subregional
Games: Xavier (6) vs. Minnesota (11), 12:25 p.m.; Pittsburgh (3) vs. Oakland (14), 2:55 p.m.; Oklahoma State (7) vs. Georgia Tech (10), 7:15 p.m., Ohio State (2) vs. UC-Santa Barbara (15), 9:45 p.m.

MILWAUKEE, Wisc. -- The national Player of the Year, Ohio State's Evan Turner, will be the marquee name at the Bradley Center. The 6-7 swingman authored the most dramatic moment of the conference championships with a 37-foot buzzer-beater to bounce Michigan in the Big Ten quarterfinals. The Buckeyes, who advanced to the NCAA championship game three years ago, will be the most heavily favored team to go 2-0 here. Friday night's opener features one of the top scoring guards in the country, Oklahoma State's James Anderson (22.6 ppg) against a freshman phenom in Georgia Tech power forward Derrick Favors.

Both of those games take place on Friday night, which is Fish Fry time here in America's Dairyland. The highlight of Friday afternoon will be relatively local favorites, Minnesota, which lost to Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game, taking on Xavier.

Upset Watch
Minnesota. The Golden Gophers will bring plenty of fans from the Twin Cities and Xavier coach Chris Mack is in his first year with the Musketeers. After beating a pair of teams ranked in the top eleven last week in Michigan State and Purdue, this well-balanced squad (all five starters average within four points of one another) will not be awed by their No. 6 seed opponent.

Player to Watch
James Anderson, Oklahoma State. Evan Turner you already know. In a conference that has had two different No. 1 teams this season (Texas, Kansas), Anderson was named the Big 12 Player of the Year. The 6-6 junior eclipsed the 20-point mark twenty-two times this season and, if you need another reason to root for him, Anderson also is on the Big 12's All-Academic Team.

- John Walters

Buffalo Subregional
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- No fewer than four teams -- Clemson, Florida State, Missouri and Gonzaga -- have postseason monkeys to shake off their backs. The second game of the afternoon session, the East regional, pits two teams nicknamed Tigers who are coming off of first-round face-plants in their own conference tournaments: Clemson in the ACC to North Carolina State, Missouri in the Big 12 to Nebraska. And while Missouri reached the Elite Eight last year, three key players from that run are gone, while Clemson still has most of its cast that was knocked off in the first round in '09 and wants payback. The night session, the West Regional, pits a Gonzaga team still trying to get over the Sweet 16 hump (and, yes, coming off a surprise loss in the WCC title game to Saint Mary's) against a Florida State team in the field for the second straight year after missing out the previous 10 (and which lost its ACC tournament opener as well).

Upset watch

Is there any chance that history can repeat itself in the last game of the day, the West Regional first-rounder between Syracuse and Vermont? There's no juicier subplot at this site. Vermont stunned Syracuse in overtime in the 2005 first round, making then-coach Tom Brennan a household name. Yes, no 16th-seed has ever beaten a No. 1 seed, and this is a virtual Syracuse home game -- but Vermont is led by a dangerous one-man show in America East player of the year Marqus Blakely (team leader in five categories, including rebounds and blocks at 6-5). Head coach Mike Lonergan has won a national championship (at then-Division III Catholic). And the Orange, not deep to begin with, will be without injured center Arinze Onuaku. Add the potential pressure of expectations so close to home, and if the atamounts are within range late ...

Player to Watch

Reggie Holmes, Morgan State. Watch him fast, because his Bears play West Virginia in the day's first game. But the senior guard is the nation's 10th-leading scorer, passed Marvin "The Human Eraser'' Webster as the school's alltime leading scorer a few weeks ago, and during his career has had big games in upsets over major-conference foes Maryland and Arkansas. If Morgan State becomes the third MEAC team to pull off a 15-2 upset (after Coppin State and Hampton), the sweet-shooting Holmes is most likely to be the one splashed all over the highlights for the next decade.

-- David Steele

Spokane Subregional
Games: Purdue (4) vs. Siena (13), 2:30 p.m.; (5) Texas A&M vs. Utah State (12), 4:45 p.m.; New Mexico State at Michigan State, 7:20 p.m.; Maryland (4) vs. Houston (13), 9:40 p.m.

In the state that gave us the grunge movement, we give back four matchups about as sexy as flannel pajamas. But with the dearth of quality teams on the occidental side of the continent, what choice did they have? So Spokanes headliners are a couple of four-seeds -- Maryland and Purdue -- which were shipped out West. But if Day 1's game were any indication, this year's tournament can turn chicken poop into chicken salad, at least so long as you're not a Big East team. What to watch? Maryland. The Terps completed something of a program renaissance this season, tying with Duke for the ACC regular-season crown and sweeping player and coach of the year, one year after its hometown paper, The Washington Post, ran a multi-part series detailing the ills of the program. But the Terps haven't looked good since their win over Duke on Senior Night. A close call at woeful Virginia and a loss in their first game of the ACC tournament leaves some speculation of how good these Terps are when they're not backed against a wall. Of course, if anyone can motivate them, it's Gary Williams, who could convince Mickey Mouse the world was out to get them. They might take a cautionary tale from fellow DC-area team Georgetown, too, which lost to a middling team that rode a hot streak through it's conference tournament.

What else? Texas A&M lost one of its leaders the last time it was in the state of Washington. Derrick Roland went down for the season with a grisly leg injury against the Washington Huskies in December. But the Aggies haven't given up and, in what most thought would be a rebuilding year, are back in the tournament with a five seed. Twelfth-seed Utah State, however, has lost just once since Jan. 4 and its head coach, Stew Morrill, has more wins than John Calipari.

Meanwhile, last year's Final Four team Michigan State faces New Mexico State in a typically upset-ridden 5-12 matchup, but picking against the Spartans in openers is all but a violation of natural law.

Upset Watch
(13) Siena over (4) Purdue -- We've said it before and Purdue has done nothing to disprove it: When the Boilermakers lost Robbie Hummel in February, they not only lost a key piece of the jigsaw puzzle, they lost the picture of what the puzzle is supposed to look like. After that win over the Gophers, the former Baby Boilers are 0-2 against NCAA tournament teams and put up a grimace-inducing 11 point effort in the first half against Minnesota in the Big Ten tournament. The Saints have been upset darlings before; this year, they're in the right place, right time.

Player to Watch
Make that two -- Greivis Vasquez, Maryland versus Aubrey Coleman, Houston. Coleman led the nation in scoring, while no one does as much for his team as Vasquez, who also briefly led the nation in experimental facial hair. There's a decent chance one of these two implodes and there's a better chance they go to-to-toe. Either way, it's must watch, if you can wait up for a tip that will be even later than its scheduled 9:40 time.

-- Ray Holloman