What to watch at MSG
The East Region in the Garden has unofficially been renamed the “Retread Region.’’ It is the only one to have lost its top two seeds. That might not make this the sexiest region, but there are some good personalities. Here are four key storylines heading into this weekend’s action as third-seeded Baylor faces seventh-seeded South Carolina and fourth-seeded Florida takes on eighth-seeded Wisconsin:
Baylor made
Fairly or not, Baylor is best known for scandal the likes of which we haven’t seen since SMU got the NCAA’s death penalty in football. One lawsuit alleged that more than 30 football players were involved in 52 rapes. The head football coach and university president left in disgrace. Can the Bears use the March Madness podium to show the university in a better light?
“The goal’s to be the safest college campus in the country and that’s an admirable goal,’’ Baylor coach Scott Drew said.
Sin-sation
South Carolina has never made the Sweet 16. Star Sindarius Thornwell wears No. 0 because when he got to campus in Columbia, it was the only number available. The 6-foot-5 guard and SEC Player of the Year leads the NCAA Tournament in scoring at 26.5 points. How does Baylor stop him?
“The whole team will be defending him,’’ Baylor’s Ishmail Wainright said. “We have all watched at least about three hours of film on just Sindarius.’’
Badgers of honor
Wisconsin is this year’s winner of the “Jeopardy, March Madness Edition.” Which is the only program to have advanced to four consecutive Sweet 16s? With 6-foot-10 Ethan Haap inside and Bronson Koenig (31 NCAA Tournament 3s) outside, the Badgers are tough to defend.
“That’s the key to the whole game,’’ Florida coach Mike White said. They put you in a quandary. They really do. And I don’t even know what that word means.’’
Fearing Florida
Florida has had eight players lead the team in scoring this season. The Gators are averaging 77.9 points, similar to the 79.6 points the 2007 national champs averaged. Why is Florida so balanced?
“We put our egos to the side and know that there’s bigger goals for us,’’ said Devin Robinson, whose team has only allowed two opponents to score more than 80 points this season.