Elite Eight Preview – East Rutherford Region
(1) St. Joseph’s vs. (2) Oklahoma State
All-American senior guard Jameer Nelson (Chester, PA) and junior guard Delonte West (Greenbelt, MD) have been outstanding for the Hawks but will face their toughest test when they take on Oklahoma State. The Cowboys bring a nine-game win streak into the East Rutherford Championship game and have claimed this year’s Big 12 regular season and tournament titles. Head coach Eddie Sutton was named both conference Coach of the Year as well as the NABC District One Coach of the Year.
The Cowboys have defeated Eastern Washington, Memphis and third-seeded Pittsburgh on their path to the Elite Eight while St. Jo’s beat Liberty, Texas Tech and Wake Forest.
Senior guard Tony Allen (Chicago, Ill.) leads the Cowboys in scoring with 16.1 points per game while junior guard John Lucas III (Houston, TX/Baylor College) averages 15.2 per contest. The Cowboys do not go deep into their roster but junior forward Joey Graham (Brandon, FL) and senior forward Ivan McFarlin (Missouri City, TX) have had spurts in this year’s tournament.
Oklahoma State will have to find a way to control the backcourt tandem, which includes Nelson, whose brought St. Joseph’s University national prominence with the 2004 season. Nelson decided to skip the NBA, withdrawing his name from the NBA lottery draft last fall to finish his final season at St. Jo’s. Good Choice.
A National Player of the Year candidate, Nelson is averaging 19 ppg so far in postseason play and is coming off a 24-point performance versus Wake Forest. West, arguably, is playing better ball than Nelson in the tournament so far. West put up 33 points in a first round 82-63 victory over Liberty. West proceeded to go off for back-to-back 24-point performances versus Texas Tech and Wake Forest.
The winner punches their ticket to San Antonio to take on Georgia Tech or Kansas next Saturday in the Final Four.
