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NCAA Tournament Predictions: 3. New Mexico vs. 14. Harvard
- Updated: March 18, 2013
Tony Snell
3 New Mexico (29-5, 13-3 Mountain West)- The Lobos were incredibly impressive in winning the Mountain West conference outright and capturing the tournament title. Tony Snell absolutely went off during the MWC tournament, doing his best James Southerland impression and knocking down three after three. Snell has been on fire of late, and even though
New Mexico also has plenty of size in 7-foot center Alex Kirk. He is a defensive menace, and can absolutely intimidate opponents around the rim. Point guard Kendall Williams is fantastic, and one of the most underrated players in the Mountain West, averaging 13.5 points and 5 assists per game. This New Mexico team is legit, and they’ve got a real shot at advancing out of the West Region and reaching the Final Four.
KEY STATS:
43rd Defensive Field Goal Percentage (.435)
61st Assists Per Game (14.6)
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Siyani Chambers
14 Harvard Crimson (19-9, 11-3 Ivy League)-Tommy Amaker did an outstanding job of getting the Crimson back to the NCAA Tournament despite losing arguably his two best players, Brandyn Curry and Kyle Casey, to an academic cheating scandal before the season.
Harvard is a stingy defensive team that likes to slow the game down on both ends of the court, but they are also one of the most efficient offensive teams in the country, ranking 11th in America in field goal percentage (.482). Leading scorer Wesley Saunders (16.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg) is long at 6-5 and can pose some matchup problems.
Harvard is also incredibly young. Saunders is a sophomore, second-leading scorer Siyani Chambers is a freshman and leading rebounder Steve Muondou-Missi is a sophomore. Last year’s NCAA experience probably doesn’t help much, because most of the main guys on this team weren’t involved much last season.
KEY STATS:
11th Field Goal Percentage (.482)
139th Points Per Game (68.9)
PREDICTION: New Mexico
