Don't Sleep On 'Em

One sleeper in this year’s NCAA Tournament has to be the Missouri Tigers. There is a lot to like about Coach Mike Anderson’s squad. The Tigers are the epitome of a team effort in winning games. Only two players, forwards Demare Carrol (16.8 ppg) and Leo Lyons (14.2 ppg) average double figures in points each night. However, Mizzou’s style of pressing throughout the entire game has worn down opponents. The Tigers give up just 66.5 points per game while scoring an average of 81.1 each night.

Missouri will pose a serious threat to Number 1 seed Connecticut and Number 2 seed Memphis in the West regional. For a team that hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2002, the Tigers have made serious strides to become an annual contender. Their dream season has featured wins over tournament-bound USC, California , Oklahoma State , Texas , Kansas , and Oklahoma . UConn, who will be without guard AJ Price for the entire tournament, and Memphis , which starts a freshman point guard in Tyreke Evans, need to be ready for the pressing Tigers. If they don’t, they will be watching Mike Anderson’s squad in the Final Four instead of playing in it.