There have been more and more upsets of top seeds in the NCAA Tournament in recent years and Omaha is looking to add to that total against the St. John’s basketball team on Thursday night (9:45 p.m. ET, CBS)
The Mavericks are very loose entering the Round of 64 and JJ White let everybody know about it.
“We’re playing with house money tomorrow,” the 43.9-percent 3-point shooter said on Wednesday during his media availability. “The pressure is not on us, it’s on them.”
His message was brash, but it was not wrong. No one expects the Mavericks to pull the upset against Rick Pitino and the No. 2 seed Johnnies, but it was still interesting to get his perspective on the game.
His teammates agreed.
“We have nothing to lose,” Tony Osburn, White’s backcourt mate explained. Osburn, a 40.4-percent 3-point shooter this season is coming off of a 30-point game in the Summit League Tournament Semifinals but struggled in the quarterfinals and championship, shooting a combined 3-for-12.
St. John’s has made it very clear that it knows what Omaha is capable of on the court.
“They’re a talented and offensive team,” Zuby Ejiofor explained. “Their point guard. He’s the best there is in the country and their power forward, as well, stands out.”
The Red Storm center was referencing White and Marquel Sutton, the Summit League Player of the Year.
“They can really, really play,” Rick Pitino said.
“There are certain teams I have seen sometimes in scouting that had a lot of weaknesses that you could exploit. I don't see that with this basketball team.”
As for the pressure facing St. John’s? It’s nothing they haven’t heard before from Rick Pitino to close the regular season and in the Big East Tournament.
“We know the stakes,” Aaron Scott explained. “We know its win or go home, obviously, but we’re not thinking about that. We’re just playing our game.”