(13) East Tennessee State (27-7)
There seems to be a lot of buzz around the Buccaneers upsetting the Gators in the first round, but I’m not really sure why.
Other than just the madness that in the NCAA Tournament, there isn’t much tangible to point to.
The Buccaneers are 40th in the nation in scoring with 79.9 points per game. But they went 2-6 against RPI Top 100 teams, with UNC-Wilmington and Dayton being the only two tournament teams they played this year, both of which were losses.
What they do have is two good guards. Senior T.J. Cromer was first-team in the Southern Conference, averaging 19.1 points and 3.2 assists while shooting 40 percent from three. And Desonta Bradford averaged 10.6 points and 4.0 assists.
Guard play is important come tournament time but it’ll be tough for them to get passed the Gators, who have a few tough guards themselves.