NCAA

Cadougan and Martel Hanging By A Thread

March 25, 2011

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Every year, the NCAA Tournament inevitably produces numerous stunning upsets. Tonight, two Cinderella teams look to take one further step towards their improbable goals of winning the NCAA Tournament – the Marquette Golden Eagles, with Toronto’s Junior Cadougan, and the Richmond Spiders, who have Montreal-native Francis-Cedric Martel.

Newark, NJ – The #11-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles are set to face off against the powerful #2-seed North Carolina Tar Heels tonight in a bid to make the Elite 8. After impressively dusting off the 6^th-seeded Xavier Musketeers, the Golden Eagles stunned the #3-ranked Syracuse Orangeman last weekend to earn a spot in the Sweet 16. They will have their hands full with the Tar Heels, as the depth, size and athleticism that the Heels possess can give any team fits.

Toronto-native Junior Cadougan has played a key role in the Golden Eagles’ tournament success thus far, playing over 23 minutes a game at the point guard slot, and averaging 7 points. Cadougan is flanked by star players Jimmy Butler, Darius Johnson-Odom and Jae Crowder, who all bring toughness, versatility, and a knack for hitting big shots to the table. The key to this game will be for them to slow down the high-octane offence of the Tar Heels. Aside from future NBA players John Henson and Tyler Zeller, the Heels have the freshman phenom Harrison Barnes manning the wing for them.

Cadougan will need to be at his best to help his team pull off another upset tonight. The Tar Heels’s offence is anchored by point guard Kendall Marshall, whose passing ability and vision are remarkable. If Cadougan can effectively stop Marshall from penetrating the lane, and put constant pressure on the ball, then the Tar Heels might find themselves having to slow their tempo down. For a team like Marquette that often has to gut-out scrappy wins, this would be an ideal situation for them to find themselves in.

The game is set to tip-off at 7:15pm, ET.

PHOTO COURTESY : GOMARQUETTE.COM, RIVALS

San Antonio, TX – In a true case of a David versus Goliath, the 12^th-seed Richmond Spiders find themselves going toe-to-toe with the Kansas Jayhawks, whom many picked to go all the way this year. The Spiders knocked off the 5^th-seeded Vanderbilt Commodores in the first round, 69-66, and then blew out Morehead State by 17 points to slide into the Sweet 16. Tonight will surely be a tougher game to win.

The Jayhawks are an imposing team with one of the best front courts in the NCAA, and a deep back court. They are tough defensively, and very gifted offensively. The one advantage Richmond has is their 3-point shooting, which will be the key for them tonight, as they force the heels to stretch their defence out to the perimeter. If they are hitting their shots, then they can stay within striking distance of pulling off the huge upset. If their shots don’t drop, they will need one of the greatest defensive performances in NCAA history to avoid getting run out of the gym.

Look for Montreal-native Francis-Cedric Martel tonight, as he suits up to play the small forward spot for Richmond off the bench. A 6’6 Junior, Martel has chipped in 8 points and 3 rebounds a game for Richmond so far in this tournament. It will be fun to watch as he finally gets to show the world what he’s made of in a prime-time game against one of the best teams in the NCAA.