Associated Press
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SPOKANE, Wash. — Maryland’s Greivis Vasquez will try to slow Houston’s Aubrey Coleman in an NCAA tournament opening-round matchup of high-scoring guards.
“He can flat-out score,” Vasquez said. “We definitely are going to give him respect. Players like that can take over a game.”
Vasquez also knows Coleman will have to play some defense on him, too, when the teams meet in the first round of the Midwest Regional on Friday.
Coleman is the nation’s leading scorer, averaging 25.6 points per game for Houston (19-15). He’ll certainly draw some attention from Vasquez’s teammates on fourth-seeded Maryland (23-8), which doesn’t play much man-to-man defense.
Vasquez might cause Houston some fits, too. After all, he was the ACC player of the year and averaged 19.5 points a game.
“This is going to be a sight to see, I think,” Coleman said of his showdown with Vasquez.
Houston, the 13th seed, is back in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1992. They did it by winning four games in the Conference USA tournament, beating top-seeded UTEP in the final. It was their longest winning streak of the season.
Coleman was reveling in his first NCAA appearance.
“We don’t have no high hopes,” he said. “We’re going to play loose, dead man walking.”
This is the first time the teams have played since the 1983 NCAA tournament during Houston’s Phi Slama Jama heyday
Maryland shared the ACC regular-season title, but lost to Georgia Tech in the league tournament. They drew an at-large bid to make their 17th consecutive postseason appearance.
Both teams average nearly 80 points per game, but Maryland has a better shooting percentage and defense.
In an odd twist, Maryland coach Gary Williams and Houston coach Tom Penders both have 648 career victories, tied for fifth among active coaches.
“Longevity helps in those situations,” Williams said of the coaching wins.
The two have known each other for many years, although Williams estimated they have not coached against each other since Penders was at Texas 15 years ago.
“The tie will be broken,” Penders said with a smile. “We have different styles, but we both take great pride in how hard our teams play. And no teams play harder than Gary Williams teams.”
The versatile Vasquez averaged 6.3 assists and 4.6 rebounds this season, and the 6-foot-6 senior is the only player in ACC history to post 2,000 points, 700 assists and 600 rebounds in his career. He’s also the only active player in the nation to reach those three milestones.
“Last year, he led our team in scoring, rebounds and assists,” Williams said. “This year, he became a better defensive player. That really helped us.”
