Cinderella Men

Rocky Mountain News

By Lynn DeBruin, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Monday, March 17, 2008

Will Thomas and George Mason rode their No. 11 seed to a 2006 Final Four berth. The Patriots come to Denver this year as a No. 12 seed.

Washington State's Daven Harmeling, left, and Notre Dame's Luke Harangody

Basketball fans won't find any No. 1 seeds playing at the Pepsi Center this week, but they will find matchups that fuel the fever that is March Madness.

Remember George Mason's Cinderella run to the Final Four two years ago? Or Winthrop's stunning first-round upset of Notre Dame last year?

George Mason and Winthrop are Denver-bound and will play first-round games Thursday, again as big underdogs.

They'll be joined in the Mile High City by Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Temple, Michigan State, Oral Roberts and Washington Sate.

The games in Denver on Thursday and Saturday are part of two regionals.

In the East, No. 5 Notre Dame takes on No. 12 George Mason and No. 4 Washington State faces No. 13 Winthrop.

In the South, No. 5 Michigan State faces No. 12 Temple and No. 4 Pittsburgh plays No. 13 Oral Roberts.

Some schools already know what it takes to turn heads and score upsets in the Big Dance.

In 2006, no team was more unknown than the George Mason Patriots, who ran through Michigan State, defending champion North Carolina, Wichita State and top-seeded Connecticut before losing to eventual champion Florida in the semifinals.

This year could be tougher for the Patriots, who face a dangerous Irish squad. Then again, history says No. 12 seeds are among the most likely to pull off a first-round upset.

Of the eight teams playing in Denver, the one with perhaps the best chance of making a run to the Final Four in San Antonio is Pittsburgh, which opens against Oral Roberts.

The Panthers started the season 11-0 and finished with four victories in four days, including an upset of No. 9-ranked Georgetown on Saturday to claim the Big East Conference title.

If nothing else, fans in this college basketball-starved state this week certainly will feel the passion that schools such as Notre Dame and Michigan State bring with them - especially when the calendar hits March.

Best potential second-round matchup

* Pittsburgh vs. Michigan State

The Spartans were whistled for 30 fouls in a tough loss to No. 8 Wisconsin on Saturday. And the Panthers are known for their physical style.

"If the officials let things go, it could be difficult to contend against Pittsburgh," said Bobby Knight, former Indiana and Texas Tech coach now working as an ESPN analyst.

Famous alums

Forget Notre Dame vs. George Mason. Let a leading alum from their respective colleges, Condoleezza Rice and Karl Rove, square off.

Or perhaps stargazers will spot Bill Cosby (Temple), James Caan (Michigan State), Marty Schottenheimer (Pittsburgh) or Paul Allen (Washington State) in the crowd. Or maybe Regis Philbin (Notre Dame) will be reunited with Kathie Lee Gifford (Oral Roberts).

Colorado connection

Washington State boasts two players from Colorado on its roster. Forward Daven Harmeling is a junior from Grand Junction, and center Caleb Forrest is a junior from Pagosa Springs. Harmeling is averaging 6.1 points a game and Forrest 3.4 points.

Is it or Izzo?

Michigan State will be making its 11th straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

Experience counts in coaching, too. Tom Izzo already has one NCAA championship on his resume, along with four national coach of the year awards.

"Sometimes certain coaches have the ability to get the most out of (players) in a one-game scenario. Tom Izzo is that kind of coach," ESPN analyst Dick Vitale said.

Gaga for Gody

That was the headline that appeared in a recent Sports Illustrated story on Notre Dame's sensational sophomore Luke Harangody. The 6-foot-8 forward is a big reason the Irish are ranked No. 14 in the country. He is averaging 20.8 points and 10.2 rebounds a game and provides Notre Dame with its relentless motor.

Playing a physical game is in his genes. The SI article notes his grandfather had his teeth knocked out while playing offensive line at Michigan State. His father played tight end for Indiana. His brother Ty was a tight end for the Hoosiers until injury ended his career.

At 6-8, 251 pounds, Harangody has the size to play football but prefers to do damage on the basketball court, both inside and out (he's hitting 37.5 percent of his three-pointers).

Final Four or bust

Many analysts believe Pittsburgh, the No. 4 seed in the South, might be primed to challenge the top three seeds in the region - Memphis, Texas and Stanford.

The Panthers already have overcome plenty of adversity getting to Denver. When guard-forward Mike Cook tore his anterior cruciate ligament Dec. 20 and Levance Fields broke his foot nine days later, there were concerns Pitt might not even make the conference tournament. But the Panthers pulled it together and overcame a stretch of consecutive losses to Marquette, Notre Dame and Louisville.

A lot of credit goes to Sam Young, who took on more of a leadership role. "There were some times we didn't think we could overcome this," Young told ESPN.com. "A lot of teams wouldn't. I think it's the character of our players, our coaches and the tradition. As a player, I came to a tradition that Pitt is a winning team, and I'm going to leave it that way."

Foreign flavor

Washington State has four foreign-born players on its roster. Sophomore guard Nikola Koprivica hails from Serbia, center Aron Baynes from Australia, freshman forward Fabian Boeke from Germany and freshman guard Thomas Abercrombie from New Zealand.

George Mason freshman forward Vlad Moldoveanu is from Romania. Winthrop center Andy Buechert is from Germany and guard Marc-David Vil is from Canada.

Temple has two players born outside the U.S. in junior center Sergio Olmos (Spain) and forward Craig Williams (Virgin Islands).

He said it

"I'm very disappointed in the outcome. I don't plan on getting over this today. I don't plan on getting over this tomorrow. On Monday, I'll get over it."

Izzo, who was so upset he had to stop several times to compose himself during his postgame news conference after his team's loss to Wisconsin on Saturday in the Big Ten Conference tournament.

Pepsi Center lineup

THURSDAY

East Regional

* Washington State (24-8) vs. Winthrop (22-11), 5:20 p.m.

* Notre Dame (24-7) vs. George Mason (23-10), 30 minutes after first game.

South Regional

* Michigan State (25-8) vs. Temple (21-12), 10:30 a.m.

* Pittsburgh (26-9) vs. Oral Roberts (24-8), 30 minutes after first game.

SATURDAY

East Regional

* Thursday's winners, 4:40 p.m. or 7:10 p.m.

South Regional

* Thursday's winners, 4:40 p.m. or 7:10 p.m.