Charlotte

Charlotte 49ers

Atlantic 10 (20-13, 9-7)

Seed: #6

RPI: 66

Big Wins: 12/5 Davidson (75-68), 1/9 at Clemson (82-72), 1/16 St. Joseph’s (70-66)

East Regional

Thursday and Saturday, March 27 and 29, 2008

Charlotte Bobcats Arena

Three Stars of The Day

We handpick the best performances of the day, whether it be stat lines that make you drool, or clutch performances.  Either way, its our way of showing the love:

6-3 Winthrop gave it another good run against a ranked team.. falling in overtime to Wiscosnin. The Eagles pose an interesting problem for how we look at mid-major teams. For example, well-played, close losses at UNC, Maryland, and Wisconsin are impressive and have to count for something. But on the flip side, Winthrop's best win so far is at Mississippi State. We had Winthrop in our CHN Top 50 Ranking.. and I still believe they are a top 50 team.. but there gets to the point that they have to win a big game to warrant the ranking. If Purdue for example lost to those three teams and had only beaten Mississippi State and some nobodies, then it would seem perfectly normal not to put them in the Top 50. The difference though when comparing a Purdue and a Winthrop is that a Winthrop will never have the chance to play the likes of a UNC, Wisconsin, and Maryland on their home floor. Winthrop plays a 5th BCS team this year, Texas A&M, but also on the road. I'd say its an assumption that if a team goes on the road and takes a team to OT, that they would be the favored team at home. Unfortuntely, we may never know.