UNC Greensboro Spartans
SoCon (27-7, 15-3)
UNC Greensboro won the Southern Conference regular season title and followed it up by getting revenge against East Tennessee State in the conference tournament championship game. This is their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2001 and just their third in program history.
Big Wins: 12/16 at NC State (81-76), 2/7 at Furman (80-67), 2/12 East Tennessee State (74-56)
Bad Losses: 11/28 at Presbyterian (72-74), 1/29 at Chattanooga (85-87), 2/17 at Mercer (74-77)
Coach: Wes Miller
Why They Can Surprise:
The Spartans play very good defense and rank sixth in the country with just 62.4 points per game allowed. Defense is a good way to pull off an upset, but so is hitting three-pointers and there are only a handful of teams that shoot more three-pointers than UNC Greensboro. And Francis Alonso is one of the best shooters in the country. The junior guard’s three-point shooting percentage has dropped to 41.0 percent as he has taken on a larger role for the team this year, but that is still a great percentage. On the year Alonso has made 110 three-pointers. Marvin Smith, a 6-6 forward, and guard Demetrius Troy will hit plenty of long balls as well. Jordy Kuiper is also a capable shooter. The 6-9 senior can stretch the defense. Kuiper and Smith are not just shooters though. They are big guys who can help out on the glass. The biggest player of them all though is James Dickey. He averages 8.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game and he is a big reason why the Spartans have such a great rebounding margin.
Why They Can Disappoint:
The Spartans have the tools they need to pull off an upset. They can hit shots, create turnovers and hold their own on the glass against anybody. Of course the shots have to fall. But it could be turnovers that haunt UNC Greensboro in the end. Alonso and Troy are very good playmakers and will create plenty of turnovers, but they can commit a few too many turnovers too. Against a much higher seeded team that has more tournament experience, those few possessions could make all the difference.
Probable Starters:
Demetrius Troy, Junior, Guard, 7.5 ppg, 3.8 apg
Francis Alonso, Junior, Guard, 15.6 ppg, 3.0 apg
Marvin Smith, Senior, Forward, 12.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg
Jordy Kuiper, Senior, Forward, 7.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg
James Dickey, Sophomore, Forward, 8.9 ppg, 8.3 rpg
Key Role Players:
Kyrin Galloway, Sophomore, Forward, 5.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg
Isaiah Miller, Freshman, Guard, 8.5 ppg, 1.5 apg
Malik Massey, Sophomore, Guard, 3.7 ppg, 1.1 apg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 73.8 (178th in nation, 7th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 62.8 (6, 1)
Field-Goal Percentage: 44.8 (170, 6)
Field-Goal Defense: 40.8 (26, 2)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 9.7 (31, 4)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 36.2 (116, 4)
Free-Throw Percentage: 69.9 (233, 9)
Rebound Margin: 6.7 (17, 1)
Assists Per Game: 14.3 (124, 7)
Turnovers Per Game: 13.8 (262, 6)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2017 NIT First Round loss to Syracuse
2016 CBI First Round win over Houston Baptist
2016 CBI Quarterfinal loss to Ohio
*all team stats through 3/4
