A quick look at Saint Mary's and VCU in the NCAA Tournament

By AP
Published

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) No. 7 seed Saint Mary's (28-4) vs. No. 10 Virginia Commonwealth University (26-8)

First round, West region; Salt Lake City; 7:20 p.m. EDT.

BOTTOM LINE: This should be a clash of styles. Saint Mary's runs a deliberate offense to go along with the No. 2 scoring defense in the nation. VCU wants to speed up the pace of play and get out in transition. Whichever team controls the style of play has an advantage.

BIT OF EVERYTHING: Saint Mary's 6-foot-11 center Jock Landale leads the team in points (16.8 per game), rebounds (9.3) and blocks (1.2).

TOURNEY EXPERIENCE: VCU's JeQuan Lewis, Doug Brooks, Mo Alie-Cox, Torey Burston and Jordan Burgess are playing in their fourth NCAA Tournament. The program has gone to seven straight, including the 2011 Final Four.

FROM DOWN UNDER: Saint Mary's features seven players from Australia on the roster. The pipeline began during Randy Bennett's first season in 2001-02 and has included NBA champions Patty Mills and Matthew Dellavedova.

THORN IN THE SIDE: Three of Saint Mary's four losses were to Gonzaga, the No. 1 seed in the West. The teams would play for a fourth time if they both advance to the regional final.

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