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Nevada now left to deal with 'hex' of the No. 5 seed
STEVE SNEDDON
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Posted: 3/13/2006
LIZ MARGERUM/RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
The no. 5-seeded teams in the NCAA Tournament have been afflicted by an amazing hex in their first-round games.
The No. 12 seed has knocked off the No. 5 nine times in 20 games since 2001. The Nevada basketball team rightfully celebrated Sunday getting the highest seed in the NCAA Tournament for a Western Athletic Conference team in eight years, but the Pack is a No. 5 as it tests No. 12 Montana in the Minneapolis region at Salt Lake City Thursday.
"The 5-12 is a dangerous game," Pack player Nick Fazekas said. "Usually, the 12 is a dangerous team. That's what Montana is. Montana is a good team that has beaten some good teams. We're going to have to play well to beat Montana. I know that.
"We're playing Montana. They're Montana. They're not 12 Montana to me."
Last March, No. 12 Wisconsin-Milwaukee knocked out No. 5 Alabama in the first round. In 2002, three of the four No. 12 won their first-round games.
"Everybody is pretty satsfied with our seed," Kemp said. "Me, personally, I thought it was going to be a fourth or fifth.
"They say the 12th seed always gets the fifth seed. We're not going to buy into that. We're going to play hard, do what we always do. It's going to be a regular game. We'll do what we've been going to get this far to win the game."
Pack coach Mark Fox said the comparative good fortune of the No. 12 seeds in the first round games probably isn't an accident.
"There are so many good teams," Fox said. "There might be 50 teams that have real good shots at winning tournament games. Maybe there are 52, 53. It's not like you're playing the 65th best team in America."
Then he recalled the good No. 12 teams, starting with Wisconsin-Milwaukee and remembered a few of the No. 5s who fell short like Alabama.
"I don't want to join that group so we will have to play," Fox said.
He said he has been impressed by what he has heard about Montana, 23-6, which took an 88-69 win over Stanford at Missoula, Mont., in Decemeber.
Pack guard Kyle Shiloh said there's nothing wrong with being a No. 5 seed.
"It's definitely a good thing," Shiloh said. "We're getting our respect basically."
The Pack is getting its respect and is also getting a reasonably short trip to Salt Lake City with it.
Kemp said he's glad the game will be within the reach of the team's fans.
After Nevada won the automatic bid with its 70-63 overtime win over Utah State in the WAC Tournament title game Saturday, Fox made the case for the Pack staying in the West at either San Diego or Salt Lake City, somewhere fans could share the NCAA Tournament experience with the team.
"Hopefully, our fans will go support us," Fox said on Sunday. "It's amazing when you have an extra 5,000, 6,000, 7,000 on your side how much of a boost it can give you. It's close to Montana now, too.
"One of the great things about the game last night was Utah State had fans here and our fans didn't want to be outdone."
STEVE SNEDDON
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Posted: 3/13/2006
LIZ MARGERUM/RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
The no. 5-seeded teams in the NCAA Tournament have been afflicted by an amazing hex in their first-round games.
The No. 12 seed has knocked off the No. 5 nine times in 20 games since 2001. The Nevada basketball team rightfully celebrated Sunday getting the highest seed in the NCAA Tournament for a Western Athletic Conference team in eight years, but the Pack is a No. 5 as it tests No. 12 Montana in the Minneapolis region at Salt Lake City Thursday.
"The 5-12 is a dangerous game," Pack player Nick Fazekas said. "Usually, the 12 is a dangerous team. That's what Montana is. Montana is a good team that has beaten some good teams. We're going to have to play well to beat Montana. I know that.
"We're playing Montana. They're Montana. They're not 12 Montana to me."
Last March, No. 12 Wisconsin-Milwaukee knocked out No. 5 Alabama in the first round. In 2002, three of the four No. 12 won their first-round games.
"Everybody is pretty satsfied with our seed," Kemp said. "Me, personally, I thought it was going to be a fourth or fifth.
"They say the 12th seed always gets the fifth seed. We're not going to buy into that. We're going to play hard, do what we always do. It's going to be a regular game. We'll do what we've been going to get this far to win the game."
Pack coach Mark Fox said the comparative good fortune of the No. 12 seeds in the first round games probably isn't an accident.
"There are so many good teams," Fox said. "There might be 50 teams that have real good shots at winning tournament games. Maybe there are 52, 53. It's not like you're playing the 65th best team in America."
Then he recalled the good No. 12 teams, starting with Wisconsin-Milwaukee and remembered a few of the No. 5s who fell short like Alabama.
"I don't want to join that group so we will have to play," Fox said.
He said he has been impressed by what he has heard about Montana, 23-6, which took an 88-69 win over Stanford at Missoula, Mont., in Decemeber.
Pack guard Kyle Shiloh said there's nothing wrong with being a No. 5 seed.
"It's definitely a good thing," Shiloh said. "We're getting our respect basically."
The Pack is getting its respect and is also getting a reasonably short trip to Salt Lake City with it.
Kemp said he's glad the game will be within the reach of the team's fans.
After Nevada won the automatic bid with its 70-63 overtime win over Utah State in the WAC Tournament title game Saturday, Fox made the case for the Pack staying in the West at either San Diego or Salt Lake City, somewhere fans could share the NCAA Tournament experience with the team.
"Hopefully, our fans will go support us," Fox said on Sunday. "It's amazing when you have an extra 5,000, 6,000, 7,000 on your side how much of a boost it can give you. It's close to Montana now, too.
"One of the great things about the game last night was Utah State had fans here and our fans didn't want to be outdone."