[Rosiak's Blog] MU seeded sixth, to face Utah State

[ToddRosiakSays]

MU seeded sixth, to face Utah State


Mar. 15, 2009 5:21 p.m.  




Despite closing the season having lost seven of their last 11 games, and being without the injured Dominic James, the Marquette Golden Eagles were treated kindly by the NCAA tournament selection committee on Sunday afternoon.

MU will be seeded sixth and play 11th-seeded Utah State on Friday in Boise, Idaho in the first round of the NCAA tournament, at a time yet to be determined.

The NCAA tournament selection committee did not penalize MU (24-9) as heavily as some might have thought, likely because the Golden Eagles' four losses to close out the regular season were to No. 1 seeds Connecticut, Louisville and Pittsburgh, and No. 3 seed Syracuse.

"I think the true seeding is probably what most people get concerned with, but the bracket seeding is what’s so important," said coach Buzz Williams. "We can’t play any of those No. 1 seeds, obviously, until the regional final, can’t play anybody in a first-round matchup that you’ve played before.

"We’re grateful for the sixth. I don’t know that there’s a lot of difference between 6 and 11. But I’m thankful we’re playing as a sixth and representing our league and representing our institution."

Utah State is 30-4 overall, and winner of the WAC Tournament. The Aggies could present a major matchup problem for the Golden Eagles (24-9) in 6-foot-9, 240-pound senior forward Gary Wilkinson, who's averaging a team-high 17.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.

Williams said Utah State has an array of over 200 set plays, and that's he's somewhat familiar with coach Stew Morrill from Morrill's days as coach at Colorado State, which is where Williams served as an assistant at one point in his career.

The Friday game is something of a rarity for MU, which has played its opening game on Thursday in each of its past four NCAA tournament appearances.

"Playing on Friday, is going to be beneficial, because we’re going to need every single second of preparation before tipoff on Friday to give ourselves the best chance for success," he said.

This is the fourth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance for the Golden Eagles -- their longest such streak since the late 1970s.

"It feels good every time," said senior guard Wesley Matthews. "We've got a lot of respect for the sixth seed. They could have gone a lot of different ways with it. We're comfortable, we're excited, and we're ready to go."

-- Delivered by Feed43 service



http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/41289127.html