Three more Cinderella candidates were added to the NCAA Tournament field on Monday night as Manhattan, Northeastern and Wofford all captured conference tournament titles.
Both Northeastern and Wofford were either favored or considered close bets, while Manhattan played the role of the underdog.
In an effort to better get to know each member of the field, we chose a player or two from each squad that college basketball fans should become familiar with, just in case Madness does indeed play out on the first weekend of the tournament.
For Manhattan, keep an eye on high-scoring wing Emmy Andujar, who pours in 16.5 points per game while pulling down 7.5 rebounds per game as well. Andujar had 18 points in the upset win over Iona.
When dealing with Northeaster, much of it comes down to how you handle David Walker. Walker is a deceptively athletic wing who could get his teammates involved on nights when his scoring tough isn’t there, but certainly is most dangerous when looking for his own shot. Walker shoots 40-percent from deep, so he is definitely a candidate to keep defenses honest no matter the opponent.
Wofford was a three-headed monster in their conference championship game, as the dependable duo of Karl Cochran and Lee Skinner got production from point guard Eric Garcia as well, with Garvia knocking down four three-point shots. Still, the Terriers are paced by Cochran and Skinner, and it’s a tandem that no one, and I mean no one, in the three-to-five seed range wants to deal with on the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
