Texas A&M-CC 2007 NCAA Tournament Capsule

Texas A&M Corpus Christi Islanders - Southland (26-6, 14-2)

Seed: #15 - Midwest Region

Big Wins: 1/2 Kent State (81-73), 1/11 at Northwestern State (69-57), 3/3 at Sam Houston State (85-68)

Bad Losses: 12/2 at Mississippi State (72-96), 2/3 Sam Houston State (79-84), 2/22 at Lamar (77-78)

Last NCAA Appearance: none

Coach: Ronnie Arrow (1-2 in 2 NCAA appearances)

Probable Texas A&M-CC Starters:

• Josh Ervin, Senior, Guard, 8.0 ppg, 3.7 apg, 3.2 rpg

• Taurean Mitchell, Senior, Guard, 7.6 ppg, 3.9 apg

• Kevin Menifee, Senior, Forward, 6.4 ppg, 3.3 apg, 5.6 rpg

• Seth Engelken, Senior, Forward, 5.2 ppg, 2.0 rpg

• Chris Daniels, Senior, Center, 15.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.5 bpg

Key Roleplayers for Texas A&M Corpus Christi:

• Josh Washington, Senior, Guard, 12.8 ppg, 1.4 apg

• Cedric Smith, Senior, Forward, 10.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg

• Manuel Johnson, Junior, Forward, 9.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg

Why They Can Surprise:
Last year Texas A&M Corpus Christi was without a conference and fans of other teams in the Southland wish it would have stayed that way. Led by Coach Ronnie Arrow, TAMU-CC cruised to a 14-2 conference mark and won the regular season conference championship. What has made the Islanders so successful is their depth and experience. Eight players have started at least seven games during the regular season and seven of those eight players are seniors.

The Islanders are a high scoring team, but it is not because of running and gunning guards. It is because of great interior scoring by Chris Daniels, Cedric Smith and Manuel ‘Scooby’ Johnson. Each of those players, who are three of the top four scorers on the team, do most of their damage in the paint and shoot over 58% from the floor.That trio, along with Kevin Menifee, leads the way in the rebounding department as well. The Islanders outrebound their opponents by seven boards a game. In four of the five non-conference games the Islanders played against top 100 RPI teams, they outrebounded the competition.

Why Texas A&M Corpus Christi Can Disappoint:
Hovering around the 16 turnovers per game area is the main concern for TAMU-CC. However, the team still has a positive assist/turnover ratio as Josh Ervin, Taurean Mitchell and Menifee all averages over three assists per game. Ervin and Mitchell are quality scorers from the perimeter and will keep the tempo to the Islanders liking.

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Who To Watch:
The main scorer on the perimeter is Josh Washington. The 6-3 senior is a tremendous outside shooter and will get plenty of open looks when the defense collapses in on the big men. Washington will spend most of his time outside the three-point line and needs to become more aggressive if his shot is not falling.

By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 79.8 (10th in nation, 1st in conference)

Scoring Defense: 69.6 (195, 6)

Field-Goal Percentage: 52.4 (2, 1)

Field-Goal Defense: 43.6 (153, 3)

Free-Throw Percentage: 70.8 (116, 4)

Rebound Margin: 6.5 (17, 1)

Assists Per Game: 18.1 (5, 2)

Turnovers Per Game: 16.3 (272, 4)

Joel’s Bracket Says: First Round loss to Wisconsin

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