Georgetown / VCU Region 1st and 2nd Round Breakdowns
Top to bottom, this may be the most talented group in the NCAA Tournament. There is no pushover here at all and every game will be tough. Georgetown is the obvious favorite after their stellar year in the Big East, but it is a program that has been to just one tournament since 1997. One does not have to think back very far to remember Charlotte’s recent tournament experience.
#3 Georgetown vs. Charlotte/UAB
And the 49ers will be trying to make another epic tournament run. It starts at home against UAB. The Blazers, presumably, nabbed one of the last at-large spots after finishing the year with a 10-7-2 record. Conference USA was very tough this year and four teams made it into the tournament. The Blazers can usually stick around in most games and that will be needed in Charlotte. This is not UAB’s first trip to Charlotte either. Back in August they tied the 49ers 1-1. UAB will be looking for a similar result this time around, but they will need to find a way to crack Charlotte’s solid defense and stop goal scorers Giuseppe Gentile and Rex Jennings.
Georgetown is a difficult team to beat because of their balance. Strikers Brandon Allen, Steve Neumann and Andy Reimer are all great goal scorers. Neumann is also the main catalyst of the offense and dished out 11 assists on the season. Despite the impressive scoring from the strikers, Georgetown is not a very high scoring team. They ranked 7th in the Big East in scoring during the regular season. But the defense is very good and it is difficult to see Charlotte or UAB scoring more than a goal on Georgetown.
Cornell is back in the tournament for the first time since 1996. They have not won a tournament game since 1977. Daniel Haber and his 18 goals and seven assists will look to put an end to that little streak. The draw could have gone better for the Big Red as they face off against the Orange of Syracuse. The tough thing about Syracuse is all of the different scoring threats they have. Cornell relies quite heavily on Haber, but the Orange can get a goal from just about anybody. That makes them extremely tough to defend. But Cornell has had a magical season and brings a 15-1-0 record into the tournament.
The winner of Cornell and Syracuse will head to Virginia to take on the high power offense of VCU. The Rams are a lot like Syracuse in the sense that they have a whole slew of goal scoring threats. But they also have a main target up top with Jason Johnson. The junior totaled 13 goals and six assists during the 2012 campaign. The Rams tend to outscore their opponents, which can be a problem during the tournament. Once they run into a potent offense or a hot player, they could be in for a surprise.
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