Ankhe's 2011 NCAA Men's Basketball Bracket

Marcelo's 2011 NCAA Picks

Reviewing the Red Storm's 2001-2002 NCAA Appearance

Marcus Hatten / Upper Deck

On Thursday night, the Red Storm will face off against Gonzaga in what will be their first NCAA tournament appearance in nine years. It was announced Sunday that they earned the number six seed in the Southeast region. With this new found opportunity for St. Johns, it is important to look back at how they performed last time they qualified.

The Red Storm faced the Wisconsin Badgers on March 15^th, 2002 in the first round of the NCAA East Regional tournament. The Badgers picked up the win with a 80-70 score; however, they did not dominate the majority of the game. The two teams were tied at 24 for most of the first half and Marcus Hatten proved to be a key player from the very start of the game. By the end of the game, Hatten had shot 12-for-33 from the field Hatten made many shots including three pointers early on, putting pressure on the Badgers to score. Wisconsin identified their weaknesses after leading in the first half and had their best player play defense in the second half against Hatten. Freddie Owens stopped Hatten from making any more three pointers and sank 18 points of his own.

The Red Storm was led by three starters, Marcus Hatten, Anthony Glover, and Eric King. The starters guided them throughout the season with their contributions. Hatten averaged 20.1 points per game that season and also 4.5 assists. Anthony Glover also averaged 10.9 points and 6.7 rebounds . Eric King , averaged 7.6 and 4.5 rebounds. Hatten signed with the Los Angeles Clippers as an undrafted free agent and currently plays in Italy. None of the players on that team had long lasting NBA career. Jon Scheiman, reserve guard from the 2002 team, is the brother of our own math teacher David Scheiman.