TAMPA, Fla.- Throw the seeding outs in Western’s first-round date with Drake, because to use those as a way to pick who wins is to not look deep enough into the game.
The 12-seeded Toppers and the 5-seeded Bulldogs will square off in a type of battle that has seen a rise in popularity among the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee this season: a battle of mid-major powerhouses taking each other on in first round, match-ups that one usually wouldn’t see unless the teams made it to the Sweet Sixteen.
Why or how the seedings came about is irrelevant, but looking at the two teams side by side, some may wonder why seeds were used in the first place, because aside from different colored jerseys, on the floor, these teams are as similar as identical twins.
Both throw up threes like they’ve caught a stomach virus (Western 619 attempts on the season, Drake 798) and clean the glass like Windex (both average over 30 rebounds per game). Two things that are necessary to win postseason games.
The rosters boast excellent leadership from their senior guards (Drake’s Adam Emmenecker, Leonard Houston and Klayton Korver, Western’s Courtney Lee and Tyrone Brazelton) and flourishing young talent (Western sophomore forward Jeremy Evans, Drake sophomore guard Josh Young). Not to mention both squads boast their conference’s player of the year (Drake’s Emmenecker, Western’s Lee).
But both programs are currently riding four-game winning streaks, including raising conference championship trophies above their collective heads last week. But despite their conference dominance, this contest may turn out to be a display of mediocrity. Both teams own only one win over a team in the RPI top-100, with Western defeating Nebraska, and Drake beating Butler.
Though quantity gets prevalence over quality. Tomorrow’s game features two teams with a combined 55 victories on the season. This ties for the most between to first round opponents, equaled only by Butler and the Topper’s Sun Belt rival South Alabama, not bad for a league people said was unworthy of two bids.
It’s not a game of epic proportions by any means. But to both teams, and to any other team in the field of 64, these next three weeks get broken down into 40-minute seasons. Win or go home.
Tomorrow’s game will mark the first time since 1971 that Drake has played in the Big Dance, ironically, that was the season Western made it’s only Final Four appearance. When comparing things like that, you’ve got to think a tournament absence since the Nixon Administration would add extra motivation. Also, going from 17-15 last season to 28-4 this season makes a team never want a season to end.
But for the Toppers, the play of hometown boy D.J. Magley, Evans, and Boris Siakam will be the determining factor in whether the game lives up to billing. You’ve also got to think, for a player like Lee, this opportunity has been a long time coming. To see it end, is to see a career end with a less than satisfying curtain call.
With similar offensive systems and relentless man-to-man defenses, this may turn into the biggest war of attrition since Israel vs. Egypt, 1970.
Somebody has to blink first, right?
Reach David Harten at sports@chherald.com.
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