By Adam Hoge
the daily cardinal
With the No. 2 seed in the Midwest bracket, UW will open against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Friday at approximately 1:55 p.m. Since The Daily Cardinal did not even know that was a school until Sunday, here is some basic information on the Islanders and the two possible second-round foes:
No. 15 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Record: 26-2 overall, 14-2 Southland West
Enrollment: 5,329
Why they are here: Most people haven't heard of the Islanders because this is the first time they have made the NCAA Tournament. This is actually their third 20-win season in a row, but TAMU-CC was a Division I Independent before joining the Southland Conference this season, so it had no chance of earning an at-large bid to the tournament. The Islanders rank second in the nation with their 52 percent team field goal percentage.
Best Player: Senior center Chris Daniels leads the team in scoring with 15.2 points per game. His 7'0' frame will once again force UW head coach Bo Ryan to use junior center Greg Stiemsma as defensive stopper off the bench. The good news is that Stiemsma and senior forward Jason Chappell have battled with Greg Oden three times this season—and Daniels is not Oden.
Best Win: The Islanders went 9-4 in their non-conference season but did not exactly play top tier competition. Their best win was against Kent State Jan. 2 when they won 81-73 at home. Kent State was a tournament team last year and won 21 games this season.
Result that means something to UW: TAMU-CC went to Purdue Dec. 22 and lost 79-61. Daniels grabbed nine rebounds while scoring 19 points. Carl Landry led the Boilermakers with 21 points.
No. 7 UNLV
Record: 28-6 overall, 12-4 Mountain West
Enrollment: 17,327
Why they are here: The Rebels edged out Brigham Young 78-70 to win the Mountain West Conference Tournament title, but they were likely in even if they lost. UNLV is currently ranked No. 25 in the nation.
Best Player: Technically, sophomore guard Jo'Van ‘Wink' Adams is UNLV's leading scorer with 14.3 points per game, but the Rebels feature a balanced offense with senior guards Wendell White and Kevin Krueger averaging 14.2 and 13.6 points, respectively. Krueger is actually head coach Lon Krueger's son and is a beneficiary of the NCAA's now non-existent rule that used to allow players who graduate in four years to transfer and play immediately if they have a year of eligibility remaining. The fifth-year senior transferred from Arizona State.
Best Wins: The Rebels topped Nevada 58-49 on the road Dec. 9 and beat then-No. 13 Air Force 60-50 Feb 20.
Result that means something to UW: UNLV hosted Minnesota Dec. 22 and beat the Gophers 62-58. The Rebels also topped Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 67-57 Dec. 17.
No. 10 Georgia Tech
Record: 20-11 overall, 8-8 ACC
Enrollment: 16,000
Why they are here: The Yellow Jackets won seven of their last 10 games, including a win over North Carolina. This was enough to earn an at-large bid out of the ACC.
Best Player: Just like UNLV, Georgia Tech features three players averaging similar numbers. Exciting freshman guard Javaris Crittenton is tied with classmate Thaddeus Young in scoring with 14.6 points per game. Sophomore guard Lewis Clinch is not far behind with 13.2 points per game.
Best Wins: The Jackets topped Memphis 92-85 back in November and beat North Carolina 84-77 March 1.
Result that means something to UW: Georgia Tech hosted Penn State Nov. 28 and just barely came away with the 77-73 win.
