NCAA Tournament Opening Round Game 1



     The First Game of the 2013 NCAA Men's Tournament is between these two teams on Tuesday at 5:40CT.








               The Liberty Flames (15-20) come into this match against the
North Carolina A&T Aggies  (19-16) after making an unbelievable run winning the Big South Tournament Championship.
                The Flames are the only team in the tournament with a sub-500 record. They were 6-10 in the Big South during the regular season but ended on a 2 game winning streak. Liberty was seeded 5th on the North end and in a tie for 9th overall.
                 The Flames are currently on a 5 game winning streak, and during the title match they had 3 players score in double figures including two in the 20 plus point range. John Caleb Sanders scored 27 and picked up nine rebounds while Davon Marshall scored 20 points going six for seven from beyond the arc.
                 Their opponents, the Aggies, are also on a winning streak, this time of four games; all of which came in the MEAC Tournament where they were victorious from the 7th seed. They finished with an 8-8 regular season conference record. The Aggies won in the first two round of their tournament by double digits, but the last two were very close. They also had 3 double digit scorers, but the most had 14 points.
                 Overall these teams seem fairly even. Liberty averages seven more points per game (69.1 to 62.2), but NC A&T gives up eight points less per game (61.1 to 69.9).
                 The winner of this matchup goes on to face the overall number one seed Louisville Cardinals on Thursday in Lexington, Kentucky.
                 My overall prediction will be a close one. Liberty 53 NC A&T 52. The upset will give Liberty their first win in the NCAA Tournament ever.
                Liberty 3rd appearance (0-2)
                North Carolina A&T 10th appearance (0-9)