St. Mary’s Vs. Baylor: Omar Samhan Is Determined That You Know His Name

Road to the Regional
Gaels: Defeated Richmond, 80-71, and Villanova, 75-68
Bears: Defeated Sam Houston State, 68-59, and Old Dominion, 76-68

Omar Samhan was undoubtedly one of the biggest stars of the first weekend, putting up 29 and 12 against Richmond and 32 and 7 against Villanova. Mr. Samhan meet Ekpe Udoh and Josh Lomers, who will be a far stiffer challenge inside than anything either the Spiders or Wildcats were able to offer in Providence. This is particularly true on the boards, where Old Dominion's Gerald Lee struggled mightily Saturday, grabbing only one rebound on the evening.

In the backcourt, LaceDarius Dunn and Tweety Carter will be an interesting matchup for Matthew Dellavedova and sharpshooter Mickey McConnell, especially as Carter and his backup, A.J. Walton are a bit more creative from a playmaking perspective than the Gaels' backcourt stars.

Matt O'Brien says that the Bears' are a dangerous opponent because while they aren't quite firing on all cylinders, they're tantalizingly close.

Especially heartening for Baylor fans should be that their defense -- their ostensible weakness -- has picked up the past few games. If this newfound commitment on the defensive end continues, and they get back to their usual scoreboard-lighting ways, watch out.

My pick: Baylor

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