NCAA Tournament: Players to Watch in the East Bracket
by Mike Rose
The East bracket looks to be dominated by teams that can play some stellar defense. Here’s a look at some of the most impactful players from that region.
Reggie Holmes (Morgan State Bears): Morgan State's top scorer is the only hope for the MEAC champs to pull off what would be a truly stunning NCAA Tournament betting first round upset of West Virginia. Holmes hasn't had a great stretch of a few games, but he's got the ability to go for 30+ points on anyone in the nation. He's a great three-pointer shooter as well 36.3 percent, and he'll be the man that the Mountaineers try to put the clamps on in Round 1.
John Wall (Kentucky Wildcats): Wall is most likely playing in his first and only NCAA Tournament, and you can be sure that he'll have some moments to remember. He made the three-pointer that put away Mississippi State in the SEC Championship Game, and he is averaging 6.2 assists and 16.9 points per game. Here's the most electrifying player in the nation. He won't be stopped against East Tennessee State this week.
Da'Sean Butler (West Virginia Mountaineers): The 'Neers wouldn't have won the Big East without Butler's scoring prowess. Even though WVU didn't score more than 60 points in a game at Madison Square Garden, Butler put up at least 20 in all three NCAA games. He hit the game-winning shots against both Cincinnati and Georgetown, and will have to be the reason that his team keeps winning games. If Butler goes cold, anyone in the nation may be able to beat the Mountaineers.
Ryan Wittman (Cornell Big Red): The Ivy Leaguers haven't been talked about in quite awhile, but this is a team that pushed the Jayhawks to the brink at Allen Fieldhouse earlier this season. Ryan Wittman, Cornell's leading scorer at 17.5 points per game, scored 24 that day, proving that he has the ability to step up in big games. The senior is going to have to be huge against Temple and its third ranked three-point shooting defense for the Big Red to advance to the first weekend of the betting tournament.
Aminu Al-Farouq (Wake Forest Demon Deacons): The Deacs may have only just barely snuck into the field of 65, but none of that is Al-Farouq's fault. He's putting up an average of a double-double per night, scoring 15.9 points and bringing in 10.8 rebounds per game. He's long and lanky, and he can be a terrifying matchup for fellow power forwards, especially on the defensive end. Expect to see a great battle between Al-Farouq and the Longhorns' big men in Round 1.
Quincy Pondexter (Washington Huskies): The Huskies really needed Pondexter to come up huge to win the Pac-10 Tournament. Those last two games against Stanford and Cal were both quite impressive for the senior, as he scored a total of 37 points. Pondexter is the catalyst for an offense that averaged 79.8 PPG this year. This is yet another man with a lot of tournament experience. If U-Dub is going to get past a very solid bunch of Golden Eagles, he's going to need to do even better and live up to his 19.8 points per game average.
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