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Western Michigan at Vanderbilt Game Preview 3/18/2004
Western Michigan at Vanderbilt Game Preview ORLANDO — Vanderbilt is happy to be in the NCAA tournament – even if many are predicting it won’t get out of the first round. The Commodores will look to prove the analysts wrong when they face Western Michigan. Vanderbilt earned its at-large bid after going 8-8 in the Southeastern Conference, including wins over Kentucky and Florida in the regular season and a victory over Mississippi State in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. The NCAA tournament berth was the first for coach Kevin Stallings, whose team had not reached the tournament since 1997. “I saw the neatest thing that I’ve ever seen in all my years in college athletics (Sunday) when our name came up on the screen in my living room,” said Stallings, whose 2000 squad was left out of the field after going 8-8 in the SEC. “The reaction was completely joyous and overwhelming. It was really a special scene. I wish I had taped it.” A number of analysts have predicted the Commodores won’t win this game, but Stallings said that will only motivate his team. “We already heard on television today two guys said they liked Western Michigan. They hardly had time to speak and they liked Western Michigan,” Stallings said. “Obviously, there’s already a bunch of people who think they’ll beat us. By the time Friday gets here, we’ll probably be severe underdogs. “There aren’t any bad teams in this tournament.” Vanderbilt lost 91-69 to Florida in the semifinals of the SEC tournament, but knocked off Mississippi State 74-70 in overtime in the quarterfinals, costing the Bulldogs a possible No. 1 seed. Mario Moore scored 16 points against the Gators, and Matt Freije, who led the SEC with 18.5 points per game, had 11. The Broncos earned their berth with a 77-66 win over Kent State in the Mid-American Conference tournament championship. They’re hoping for a repeat of their last tournament appearance in 1998, when they upset Clemson 75-72 in the opening round as an 11th seed. “It’s one of those things that’s kind of coincidental and it’s a lot of fun for the fans and the media to talk about, but we don’t have anybody from that team on this team and obviously the opponent’s different, so it’s probably not going to have any bearing on this game,” coach Steve Hawkins said. Senior forward Mike Williams, who leads Western Michigan with 18.8 points per game, was the MAC player of the year. Junior guard Ben Reed, averaging 16.2 points, was also a first-team All-MAC selection. Vanderbilt and Western Michigan are meeting for the first time. GAME: No. 11 Western Michigan (26-4) vs. No. 6 Vanderbilt (21-9). PROBABLE STARTERS: HOW THEY GOT HERE: ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD: |
