St. Mary's College First Surprise Entry to Sweet 16

St. Mary's College has lived in the shadows for a while now. For years, St. Mary's College has been best known as the West Coast Conference's best team other than Gonzaga. While the Zags have piled up NCAA tournament bids and upsets for 10 years, the Gaels have toiled in the background while making NCAA tournaments of their own. However, they had not won any March games until two days ago against Richmond. Yet St. Mary's College is no longer the other WCC power, after they won their second NCAA tournament game against Villanova.

The second seeded Wildcats got lucky against Robert Morris, but luck ran out against the Gaels. The 10'th seed pulled out a 75-68 win, behind their star center and some big final shots, to reach their first Sweet 16 of the modern era.

St. Mary's College wasn't a huge underdog, per se, given Villanova's struggles and how the Gaels rolled past Richmond. Omar Samhan was expected to have a field day, and he did, scoring 32 points. The Gaels had their way early, as they led for much of the first half and led by as much as 10 early in the second half.

However, Villanova rallied back to take the lead, despite another poor game from Scottie Reynolds. The Wildcats' effort was better than Thursday's, as they got many points off of St. Mary's turnovers. The two traded spurts in the final minutes, until they were tied at 65 with under two minutes left.

At that point, St. Mary's College got their biggest shot in school history, as Mickey McConnell hit a very long three to take the lead for good. A subsequent blocked shot by Samhan led to the Gaels sealing things from the free throw line.

By becoming the first school in the 2010 Sweet 16, St. Mary's College has officially been put on the map. This run is starting to look familiar, as rival Gonzaga began their decade of dominance by reaching the 1999 Elite Eight as a 10 seed. The Gaels have as much of a shot as any to match that performance, as they face either Baylor or Old Dominion next week.

For Villanova, the loss completes a disastrous end to what looked like a championship season. A 20-1 start and No. 2 ranking gave way to a 3-6 finish, as the Robert Morris escape only delayed the inevitable. Scottie Reynolds ended his career with a 4-for-25 NCAA tournament, and couldn't get to the free throw line to make up for it this time.

With St. Mary's College in the Sweet 16, the South region now looks even more topsy-turvy. Duke stands above all others as the No. 1 seed, especially with Villanova gone. But if the Blue Devils don't win the region, a relative outsider - whether it be St. Mary's, Baylor, Purdue or Texas A&M - stands to make their way to the 2010 Final Four instead.

Other Cinderellas may join St. Mary's College in the Sweet 16 this weekend, but the Gaels have set the early bar for upsets. Given their battle-tested resume, Samhan's dominance, and outside rainbow shots, they may wear the glass slipper for a while.

Sources

USA TODAY- "Saint Mary's stump Villanova 75068 to advance to Sweet 16"

Washington Post- "Saint Mary's beats No. 2 seed Villanova"