Thursday night in Sweet 16 action, there will be a battle of two underrated squads, both hoping to continue their Cinderella run. While most of the attention nationally is going to Florida Gulf Coast, and rightfully so as they are a 15 seed in the Sweet 16, La Salle versus Wichita State is a game guaranteed to send a Cinderella team to the Elite 8.
The thirteenth seeded Explorers will face off against the ninth seeded Shockers at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Thursday night. While the seeding would lead you to believe that both teams were heavy underdogs entering the tournament, but they may have been underrated by the seeding committee due to the conferences they play in. La Salle is currently 24-9 while Wichita State is 28-8. The opinions of the conferences they come from have given the perception they are huge underdogs, but it's safe to say neither team sees themselves that way.
The Explorers path to the Sweet 16 has been a hard-fought one. La Salle topped Boise State in a First Four game, to earn the right to face fourth seeded Kansas State. The Explorers pounced on the Wildcats early, and held on late to advance to the Round of 32. Next the Explorers met another low-seeded team with Cinderella dreams, the Ole Miss Rebels. La Salle won by two points again, as they topped Marshall Henderson and the Rebels to advance to the school's first Sweet 16 in 58 years.
The Shockers first round match up saw them face Pittsburgh, and absolutely demolish the Panthers. After an eighteen point victory over Pitt, Wichita State advanced to face the number one seed in their region, the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Many believed the Bulldogs did not deserve such a high seed, and the Shockers helped their argument, topping Gonzaga 76-70 to earn a Sweet 16 birth.
Thursday's match up will pit a guard heavy La Salle squad against the 27th ranked rebounding team in the country, Wichita State who averages 38.4 boards per game. If the Explorers are still without big-man Steve Zack, this will be an even bigger problem, as they will need Jerrell Wright to carry even more of the load on the glass. This could be a weakness the Shockers look to exploit, and the Explorers must find a way to counter. Wright and the Explorers will need to control the Shockers leading scorers and rebounders, forwards Cleanthony Early and Carl Hall in order to advance.
While they may not win the rebounding battle, the Explorers are extremely athletic and fast, and could make up for their lack of size in transition. For the Explorers to win, they will need spectacular performances from Ramon Galloway, Tyrone Garland, and Tyreek Duren at the guard position. La Salle will need good perimeter shooting in the game, as the Shockers look to have a definite size advantage.
Thursday's match up appears to be setting up to be pretty exciting, as La Salle's athletic guard-heavy roster will look to defeat Wichita State and it's big-men. It's anybody's game in this Sweet 16 match up. Which Cinderella story will have the clock strike midnight on it Thursday night? Only time will tell, so sit back and enjoy the ride. GO EXPLORERS!
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