NCAA Tournament 2001 - Western Kentucky


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Western Kentucky
RECORD: 24-7  REGION: South  SEED: 14
COACH: Dennis Felton  CONFERENCE: Sun Belt
RESULTS| STATS | HISTORY | MESSAGE BOARD

Road to the Final Four.............................................................................................

PREVIOUS GAMES LEADERS
OPPONENT ROUND RESULT POINTSREBOUNDSASSISTS
Florida 1st Round L 69 - 56 Haslem 24 Marcus 16 Nelson 4


with Andy Katz


With Western Kentucky, knowing only one of its players is enough. Chris Marcus is the real deal. He's a 7-foot-1 junior who is talked about by NBA scouts as maybe the top big man in the country. Western Kentucky can ride Marcus into its first-round game against Florida. The problem is that the Hilltoppers don't have the quickness to hang with Florida. The Gators' ability to trap and press will probably cause too many problems for Western Kentucky to pull off the upset.
Team Statistics
 TEAM
Points Per Game 74.3
Rebounds Per Game 37.9
Assists Per Game 14.6
Steals Per Game 8.0
Blocks Per Game 5.2
Turnovers Per Game 14.2
Field Goal % .454
Free Throw % .691
3-Point % .352
3-Pointers Per Game 6.9
Scoring Margin 13.4
How They Got Here
Western Kentucky went from 11-18 last season to 24-6 and Sun Belt Conference champions this season. The Hilltoppers avenged an early-season loss to South Alabama in the championship game of the conference tournament, giving them 14 wins in their last 15 games heading into the tournament.

Player to Watch
At 7-foot-1, 285 pounds, Chris Marcus is hard to miss. He dominated the Sun Belt this season, earning Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors. He averaged 16.9 points, 11.9 rebounds and 3.25 blocks per game. His rebounding average ranks second in the nation, and Marcus gains good position inside and has good hands and a soft touch around the basket.

With the Ball
Marcus is the team's No. 1 option, but he is surrounded by solid players. Nashon McPherson averages more than 10 points a game and is a good shooter, while Filip Videnov is a solid 3-point shooter and Derek Robinson takes care of the ball and has a 2.2-to-1 assist/turnover ratio.

Defending the Ball
Opponents get very little inside with Marcus patrolling the paint, and Robinson and Tremain Rowles are good defenders on the ball. Opponents scored just 60.4 points per game against WKU this season, shooting only 41.9 percent from the field and .315 from 3-point range.

Seed Analysis
Exceeding the Seed
  • 1993: No. 7 seed, Southeast Region, lost in Sweet 16.
    Playing to Expectations
  • 1995: No. 8 seed, Midwest Region, lost in second round.
  • 1994: No. 11 seed, Midwest Region, lost in first round.
  • 1987: No. 7 seed, East Region, lost in second round.
    Falling Short
    None.
    BRACKETOLOGY SCORE: 1.167 (1.000 is playing exactly to a team's historical seeding)

    Bracketology Report
    1985-2000: Whatever happened to the Sun Belt Conference? A league that often sent multiple teams to the tournament-including four in 1986-has become a mid-major at best. Western Kentucky may be the league's best entry in several years, but a No. 14 seed reflects what the selection committee thinks of the conference. The Hilltoppers reached the Sweet 16 in 1993, the last time a Sun Belt team has advanced in the dance.

    Roster
    NO NAME P  HT WT YR  PPG RPG APG MPG FG% FT% 3PT%
    2 Chris Marcus C  7-1  285 Jr. 16.712.10.929.5.547.639.000
    23 Derek Robinson G  6-1  175 Jr. 8.93.23.825.9.430.708.345
    34 David Boyden F  6-8  230 So. 7.45.11.025.3.461.545.328
    12 Nashon McPherson G  6-4  200 Sr. 10.43.61.624.0.383.741.365
    11 Raynardo Curry G  6-0  180 So. 4.72.22.219.4.429.722.312
    13 Filip Videnov F  6-4  200 So. 6.52.41.818.5.460.815.410
    42 Tremain Rowles G  6-4  200 Jr. 6.02.31.618.3.425.650.368
    30 Nate Williams F  6-8  240 So. 4.82.70.414.8.490.667.000
    15 Mike Wells G  6-3  185 So. 5.22.50.614.6.406.875.277
    31 Raimonds Jumikis F  6-8  220 Fr. 2.41.40.57.0.460.680.000
    55 Brian Allenspach F  6-11  245 Jr. 2.00.90.26.8.417.667.000
    1 Golden Ingle G  5-10  170 Fr. 1.20.30.44.0.125.750.143
    4 Nathan Eisert G  6-5  180 Fr. 0.70.30.21.5.750.000.667
                  0.04.00.00.0.000.000.000

    VS TOURNEY TEAMS (0-1) LEADERS
    OPPONENT RESULT POINTS REBOUNDS ASSISTS
    St JosephsL, 74-68Phillips 21Marcus 8Robinson 5
    LAST 5 GAMES LEADERS
    OPPONENT RESULT POINTS REBOUNDS ASSISTS
    South AlabamaW, 64-54N/AN/AN/A
    UL LafayetteW, 82-75Marcus 33Marcus 13McPherson 5
    Florida IntlW, 68-51Marcus 22Marcus 14Boyden 3
    Middle Tenn StW, 92-51McPherson 21Marcus 9Robinson 6
    @ Arkansas StW, 100-60McPherson 18Marcus 11Robinson 4



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