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Southern Utah
Road to the Final Four.............................................................................................
Southern Utah earned a trip to the NCAAs by knocking off six-time defending champion Valparaiso in the championship game of the Mid-Continent Conference tournament. The Thunderbirds went 13-3 in conference play and 25-5 overall, and never lost back-to-back games en-route to a school-record 22 wins. Bill Evans was named Mid-Con Coach of the Year along the way for completing the turnaround of a team that finished with just seven wins three seasons ago.Player to Watch Jeff Monaco was named the Mid-Con Player of the Year and is possibly the best all-around player in the conference. He led the Mid-Continent Conference in free-throw percentage (.874), was second in scoring (17.4 ppg), assists (5.65) and steals (2.04), and ranked in the top 10 in 3-pointers made, 3-point percentage and assist/turnover ratio. A four-year starter, Monaco is the SUU career assists and steals leader, and is the second-leadeing scorer in school history.With the Ball Monaco does a little bit of everything and gets a whole lot of help. The acrobatic Fred House was an All-Mid-Con selection after averaging over 17 points. Transfer Dan Beus was the conference Newcomer of the Year after leading the team and finishing second in the league in rebounding while pitching in 11 points per game. Senior Justin Sant also scores in double figures and is an effective 3-point shooter. Defending the Ball Monaco is a terrific on-the-ball defender, and the Thunderbirds 10.6 steals per game were nearly three more than any other team in the conference. SUU also plays tough on the perimieter, allowing opponents to shoot only 34 percent from 3-point land, while Beus cleans up the opponents misses and finished among the conference leaders with over five defensive rebounds per game.Seed Analysis Exceeding the Seed None. Playing to Expectations None. Falling Short None. BRACKETOLOGY SCORE: 0 (1.000 is playing exactly to a team's historical seeding) Bracketology ReportHow many Fabulous Thunderbirds references will there be this week? Yes, Southern Utah is tough enough, but are they experienced enough to pull an upset in their first-ever NCAA encounter? Neither the seed nor the travel are promising, but Mid-Con representatives (Valparaiso, Wisconsin-Green Bay, Cleveland State) have certainly stunned us in the past. 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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