TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Sports

Clemson-Villanova: Pressure Is On

ADVERTISEMENT

By JOEY JOHNSTON

The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 20, 2008

When Clemson was announced as a No. 5 seed during the CBS "NCAA Selection Show" on Sunday night, Villanova coach Jay Wright had an immediate thought.

"My first reaction was, 'Wow! Clemson is so much better than a five,'" Wright said.

One second later, Wright learned his Wildcats were the No. 12-seeded opponent of Clemson. They meet Friday night in a Midwest Region first-rounder at the St. Pete Times Forum.

"I don't think we could've gotten a tougher draw," Wright said. "We really haven't played anybody like this. Maybe Louisville."

Clemson coach Oliver Purnell employs baseline-to-baseline defense, an all-out assault of pressure that he fancies as the program's trademark. Villanova, even as a guard-oriented team, will face a severe challenge.

"The goal of the press isn't to just get turnovers," Clemson guard James Mays told the Greenville (S.C.) News. "It's more to wear you down, little by little. The big thing is the way it can mess up an offense in the last 10-15 minutes of a game."

"We do it all the time, so while it takes energy for us to apply the press, we're used to it," Purnell said. "It will have a different effect on teams that aren't used to it."

SHOOTING STARS

The top 12 scoring leaders for the NCAA Tournament's Tampa-bound teams:

Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun is taking a team to the NCAA Tournament for the 20th time. Although he's familiar with the biggest stage - having twice won the national championship - he still appreciates the tournament's opening-weekend appeal.

"My favorite things about the tournament are the stories being written, the heartache, the elation, the new names we all discover," Calhoun told The Hartford Courant. "It becomes amazing to find out about all these kids, find out about some of the stories, about hopefully us, about other teams. The NCAA Tournament is an institution in this country."

DRAKE RECOGNITION

The No. 5-seeded Drake Bulldogs (28-4) were picked for ninth in the Missouri Valley Conference. Now they have reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1971 and face No. 12 Western Kentucky on Friday afternoon.

Drake has generally fought for basketball recognition, even in its home city of Des Moines, where the Iowa Hawkeyes and Iowa State Cyclones are the kingpins. But for the second straight season, neither Iowa nor Iowa State has made the NCAA field.

"I think most people in the entire state of Iowa are behind us and want us to do well," Drake senior guard Adam Emmenecker said. "Things are changing. You used to go into a sporting goods store in Des Moines and you couldn't find anything from Drake. It was all Iowa and Iowa State.

"Now Drake stuff gets a whole wall display. The word is getting out."

BASKETBALL AND BOOKS

The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida, led by Richard Lapchick, announced its annual figures for graduation rates of the NCAA Tournament men's basketball teams, using the Graduation Success Rate (GSR) figures reported by the NCAA (six-year graduation rates from 2000-01 were studied).

Two Tampa-bound teams, San Diego and Western Kentucky, were ranked in Lapchick's top 10 schools for graduation rates. Lapchick's Final Four for basketball academics: Butler, Notre Dame, Purdue and Western Kentucky.

Here are the figures for the Tampa-bound teams:

**-Graduation rates of overall student population

TRUE STORY

The San Diego Toreros play at the 5,100-seat Jenny Craig Pavilion, a distinctive looking $17.5-million arena with a 16th century Spanish Renaissance architectural theme.

The name was prompted by a $10 million donation from Sid and Jenny Craig, the weight-loss entrepreneurs.

The arena's unofficial name: The Slim Gym.

SHOOTING STARS

CALHOUN A TOURNAMENT FAN

DRAKE RECOGNITION

BASKETBALL AND BOOKS

TRUE STORY

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT