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Georgia State
Road to the Final Four.............................................................................................
The Panthers won the TAAC's automatic bid, but could have made a strong case for the TAAC's first at-large bid since 1994 had they stumbled in the conference tournament. But Lefty Driesell's collection of talented castoffs crashed the party with a convincing run through Atlanta and now enter the tournament as the team nobody wants to play. Why? Start in the backcourt with Shernard Long, Kevin Morris and Darryl Cooper, three transfers who could be starting for the schools they left -- Georgetown, Georgia Tech and LSU, respectively. Then there is Driesell, who's taking his fourth team to the NCAA Touranment after runs with Davidson, Maryland and James Madison. This season is just the culmination of Driesell's four-year blueprint of success. Prior to four straight winning seasons under Driesell, the Panthers had three winning seasons in 35 years. The Panthers never had reached the 20-win plateau until this season. State, which had been to the NCAA Tournament just once previously (1991), opened the season by beating Georgia and added UAB and Northridge to its non-conference list of victims. Unbeaten at home, its losses included a seven-point setback at Creighton and late-season trip to New Mexico. In the imortal words of Lefty: "I don't know how good we are, but I know we ain't bad." The Panthers were pretty good in Round 1, rallying from a 16-point deficit to upset Wisconsin and set up a rematch between Driesell and one of his former teams, Maryland. Player to Watch Players like Shernard Long don't show up in the TAAC unless they transfer in from a high-profile school, which is exactly what Long did last season. The 6-foot-4 former Hoya was the conference player of the year, scoring from behind the arc, slashing to the basket or scoring off is own misses. Long averages 18.1 ppg, grabs five rebounds a contest and shoots 47 percent from the field. Long doesn't always take over the game, but he'll certainly keep the Panthers in any first-round matchup. In the TAAC final, he grabbed 14 rebounds and scored 12 points. With the Ball Let's see: The Panthers launched 40 three-pointers in beating Troy State in the TAAC championship game. They made 15 (40 percent) and on the season shot 36.6 percent as a team. Yes, Lefty has given his club the green light -- to the tune of 735 treys in 32 games. Thomas Terrell leads the team at 40.2 percent from behind the arc, but at 6-7, 240 pounds, the juco transfer can easily go inside to score some of his 16.6 ppg. Running the show is Morris, who averages 12.9 points and 4.3 assists a game as the "point guard." He scored a game-high 18 in the TAAC final, while Terrell had 17. The Panthers aren't big, but they have plenty of options within the offense and can score (71.8 ppg) on the run.Defending the Ball The Panthers were athletic enough to press the heck out of TAAC schools to average 10.4 steals a game. Look for them to keep pressing in the dance without a starter over 6-7 (Terrell). Georgia State will try to get its opponent to run with them and not slow the game's tempo.Seed Analysis Exceeding the Seed None. Playing to Expectations Falling Short None. BRACKETOLOGY SCORE: 1.000 (1.000 is playing exactly to a team's historical seeding) Bracketology Report 1985-2000: If Eastern Illinois and Georgia State had been paired in the preliminary round, it would have been an All-Panther play-in. But Lefty Driesell's team is too good for that, and will not be overmatched like the 1991 Panthers were as a No. 16 seed. The TAAC has won two NCAA games in its history, 1997 (No. 12 Charleston over No. 5 Maryland) and 1986 (No. 14 Arkansas-Little Rock over No. 3 Notre Dame). Digger?.Digger? Roster
 NCAA Basketball Championship Week It's March, which means the madness has started and invitations are being reserved throughout Championship Week.  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories |  |
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Coach Lefty Driesell attributes the loss to poor shooting (Courtesy: NCAA Productions).
Georgia State's Shernard Long felt Maryland ran their gameplan perfectly (Courtesy: NCAA Productions).
