Posted: Thursday, March 18, 2010, 6:11 PM | 4 comments |
 

Nova to face St. Mary's in Round 2
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PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Villanova won't get another showdown with a Philly guy, as seventh-seeded Richmond lost to No. 10 Saint Mary's, Calif., 80-71, in a South Regional first-round game.

Richmond is coached by Archbishop Ryan product Chris Mooney.

Instead, the Wildcats will face the Gaels, now 26-7 after posting their first NCAA Tournament victory since 1959. They had gone 0-5 since and 0-4 in the tournament in the last 21 years.

Omar Samhan had 29 points and 12 rebounds in the win over Richmond.

Here is more about Saint Mary's:

Location: Moraga, Calif.
Conference: West Coast.
Bid: Automatic
RPI: 35.
Strength of Schedule Rank: 120.
NCAA Tournament Record: 1-5 (0 Titles, 0 Final Fours).
Last NCAA: 2008, Lost in first round to Miami (Fla.), 78-64.
Head Coach: Randy Bennett, School and Overall: 181-82 (9 years).

Probable Starters, Pos., Hgt., Yr., Pts., Reb., FG%, FT%
Mickey McConnell G, 6-0, Jr., 13.7, 2.2, 51.4, 82.9
Matthew Dellavedova, G, 6-3, Fr., 12.5, 3.4, 40.1, 87.1
Omar Samhan, C, 6-11, Sr., 20.9, 11.0, 54.5, 73.7
Clint Steindl, F, 6-7, So., 7.0, 2.6, 42.2, 82.1
Ben Allen, F, 6-11, Sr., 10.8, 7.7, 49.6, 82.7

Other Key Players
Mitchell Young, F, 6-8, Fr., 4.3, 3.1, 51.5, 59.6
Jorden Page, G, 6-1, Fr., 4.1, 1.1, 41.7, 82.6
Tim Williams, F, 6-9, Fr., 2.6, 1.8, 68.8, 65.0

About the Gaels: A perennial thorn in the side of Gonzaga, the Gaels bested their WCC rival in the conference championship, 81-62, to earn their third trip to the tournament since 2000 ... McConnell would be leading the country in three-point shooting (51.5 percent), but his 67 made threes are 11 short of qualifying ... Samhan, a five-time WCC player of the week this season, keeps an online diary and blogs daily about his life as a player on the court ... Saint Mary’s has an enrollment of 3,916 ... This year was thought to be a rebuilding year with the exodus of 6-foot guard Patrick Mills, who left the Gaels for the NBA draft. He led Saint Mary’s in points, assists and steals.
Posted by Daily News staff @ 6:11 PM  Permalink | 4 comments
4
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 6:42 PM, 03/18/2010
    Better not sleep on these guy's. It look's like 'NOVA is not hungry enough.
    — fla.eagle
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:58 PM, 03/18/2010
    The Cats will definitely NOT be outcoached in this game. Right Jay, not out coached. Give Pat Chambers a call and find out what he had been telling the boys about defense that someone is not passing on this year. Little things, box out, rebound, switch, press the ball and talk to each other. This is Scotties last college wing ding so lets give it the old college try. I got my kids future Nova tuition on the game.
    — StorminNorman
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:52 PM, 03/18/2010
    Saw St. Mary's about 6 times this year; Nova won't intimidate them. If Nova plays like they did today, they'll be back in Philly real quick!
    — JBinPA
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:39 AM, 03/19/2010
    St Mary's has some serious height to deal with. Nova hopefully has the butterflies out.
    — charladan


4 comments
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