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USU calmer the second time around in NCAA tourney By
Reuben Wadsworth
And for also the second straight year, the Aggies are the 12th seed and are heading east instead of staying west. USU will play Ohio State University in the first round Thursday at about 10:25 a.m. (MST) in Greensboro, N.C. ³For our fansı sake, we were certainly hoping to be out West,² said USU head coach Stew Morrill. ³We felt like after last year being shipped across the country (Birmingham, Ala.) maybe we'd get fortunate this year and have a chance to go to Boise or San Diego. That didn't happen, but that's the nature of selections, and we are excited to be playing a team of Ohio State's caliber.² Both coach and players agree that going to the tourney two years straight has its advantages. ³I think the fact that we are going back-to-back years it won't be like its all new surroundings to us and we won't be kind of overwhelmed by the process,² Morrill said. ³We were all new to it and all our stomachs were tossing and turning and we were all excited [last year],² said USU point guard Bernard Rock. ³We are a little more mature. We know what to expect this time and we are just going to go out there and try to win." Last year the tournamentıs newness made it more exciting, Rock said. He is excited about going back, he said, but not as excited as last year. This year heıs going in knowing what to expect. Rock said last year the most important lesson he learned from playing in the tournament was not to rush things. ³Iım not going to go out there and force the issue,² he said. ³I think Iım a little more calm this year,² Aggie forward Shawn Daniels said. Daniels, like Rock, is a little more at ease with the tournament this year. In Danielsı mind, everything is ³good² for USU at this point. "We have a real good team this year and real good team chemistry,² Daniels said. ³Everyone is playing really good together right now and we are playing real good team defense and I think that is going to help us a lot." ³I think we'll have seen it and hopefully be better able to deal with it,² Morrill said. The Buckeyes finished the season with a 20-10 overall record, including an 11-5 Big Ten Conference showing. OSU is led by 6-foot-4 point guard Brian Brown, who averages 14.6 points per game. The other Buckeye averaging in double figures is 6-foot-11 center Ken Johnson at 12.4. Morrill said he doesnıt know much about the Buckeyes, but will get in the film room soon to prepare for the match-up.
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