Vandy will look to dictate tempo against UConn
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In that situation, the Commodores will almost certainly lose.
“I think if the game is a track meet, we are going to be in trouble, because they’re the fastest team from the defensive boards to the offensive end that I’ve seen in college basketball,” Stallings said.
Vanderbilt is embracing the underdog role, throwing out the “no respect” line over and over again Wednesday after the team practiced at America West Arena.
Vandy (23-9) advanced to the NCAA tournament’s final 16 for the first time in 11 years. The sixth-seeded Commodores play No. 2 seed UConn (29-6) in the first game of the Phoenix Regional on Thursday night.
The second game features defending NCAA champion Syracuse (23-7), seeded fifth, against Alabama (19-12), the eighth-seeded team that shocked No. 1 Stanford last week.
Pesky UConn point guard Taliek Brown will be anxious to push the pace against a Vandy team overmatched athletically. The four-year starter scored 14 and 11 points in the first two rounds — the only time this season he’s had double digits in consecutive games.
“It will be a contrast of styles in some ways,” said Huskies coach Jim Calhoun, whose team is in the final 16 for the eighth time in 11 years. “I don’t think Vanderbilt wants to get up and down the floor with us. We, in turn, want to accelerate the game.”
Star UConn center Emeka Okafor again declared himself healthy Wednesday.
Okafor, sought after by Stallings to come to Vanderbilt, has been bothered all season by back spasms and sat out two games during the Big East tournament before returning for the championship game against Pittsburgh.
The last time he faced Vandy, Okafor had 25 points and 11 in a 76-70 win on Dec. 1, 2002.
“What happened yesterday doesn’t matter,” he said. “Anything can happen in this tournament, and we know that.”
Stallings and his players insist they’ve been slighted in terms of attention.
“We are an extreme underdog and there’s not much belief or thought out there that we can win,” Stallings said. “Connecticut is a great basketball team, probably the most talented team in the tournament.”
Vanderbilt will need another big game from 6-foot-10 power forward and career scoring leader Matt Freije, who on Sunday scored 11 of his 31 points over the final 3:28 as the Commodores rallied for a 75-73 second-round victory over North Carolina State in Orlando, Fla.
He made four 3-pointers and shot 11-for-11 at the free-throw line for the overachievers from Nashville, Tenn., who are in the tournament for the first time since 1997.
Stallings’ job Thursday will be to make sure Freije gets periodic breaks so he stays fresh.
Vanderbilt joins Alabama as the only teams still alive from the SEC.
The Crimson Tide stunned Stanford in Seattle and is confident it can pull off another upset.
“We respect everyone, but fear no one,” point guard Antoine Pettway said.
Syracuse has ridden its trademark 2-3 zone defense this far, a postseason run that seemed farfetched in late January when the Orangemen lost four of five Big East games by an average of 17 points. Then, starting point guard Billy Edelin quit the team for personal reasons.
“At one point in the season, we were staring at the NIT,” point guard Gerry McNamara said. “It really set in that we had to flip things around. The season that felt great the year before didn’t mean anything at that point.”
McNamara’s first-round performance surpassed even what Carmelo Anthony did for the Orangemen in the postseason before he bolted for the NBA last spring.
McNamara scored 43 points, including a school-record nine 3-pointers, in a win over Brigham Young — the most points ever scored by a Syracuse player in an NCAA tournament game.
Syracuse held on for a 72-70 victory over Maryland in the second round.
“They’re a team that just finds ways to win,” Alabama coach Mark Gottfried said.