South No. 15 – UNC-Asheville Bulldogs (Overall: 22-11, Conf: 12-6)
Team Strengths:
The Bulldogs are a pesky bunch, alright. They rank fifth in the nation in steals per game (9.2) and third in steals per play (11.3 percent). In turn, they are also a superb eighth with an average of 15.8 turnovers per contest.
The team also just proved that it’s still the team to beat in its conference. UNC-Asheville pulled-off back-to-back wins against the top two seeds in Winthrop and High Point to secure its third Big South title in six seasons.
Considering that they’re coming from the low-major depths of the Big South, the Bulldogs barely got a taste of elite-level competition this season. They only faced two opponents this season that are also part of the Big Dance – Texas A&M and Middle Tennessee – and lost to both of them by 30 points combined.
The boys from Asheville were even drawn a very unlucky straw on Selection Sunday by having them pitted against No. 2 seed Villanova in the first round. The Wildcats are one of the best programs at taking care of the ball (42nd in the nation with just 11.1 turnovers per contest), so the Bulldogs’ apparent plan of attack will likely fizzle right away.
Team Stats:
Category
Stat
NCAA Rank
Points Per Game
74.5
132
Rebounds Per Game
37.0
109
Blocks Per Game
3.2
184
3-Point Percentage
32.2%
278
Free Throw Percentage
70.1%
167
Starting Lineup:
Position
Name
PPG
F
Sam Hughes
10.9
G
Dylan Smith
13.5
G
Dwayne Sutton
12.0
G
Ahmad Thomas
11.2
G
Kevin Vannatta
11.7
Writer’s Prediction:
The Bulldogs get overwhelmed by the overall talent of Nova, leading to another early March Madness exit.
