Troy Trojans: 22-14, 10-8 in the Sun Belt
Head coach: Phil Cunningham (4th season)
Players to watch: Jordon Varnado (16.5 PPG, 7.1 RPG); Jeremy Hollimon (12.1 PPG, 42.2 3PT%); Kevin Baker (8.2 PPG, 3.1 APG)
Season recap: After overcoming a 15-point deficit in the Sun Belt conference semifinals, the Trojans are back in the NCAA tournament for the second time in program history and the first since 2003. Troy, which faces Duke in the first round, plays a similar style of basketball to the Blue Devils—they score lots of points and allow plenty as well at 78.4 and 71.7 per game, respectively. The Trojans have three double-digit scorers in Jordon Varnado, Jeremy Hollimon and Wesley Person, but no player on the team averages more than 3.1 assists per game.
Troy has only the 147th RPI in the nation—and make no mistake, without winning their last six games, the Trojans would not still be alive.
How they make a run: The Trojans improve their defense and prevent the Blue Devils from dominating the paint like Duke did to win the ACC tournament.
How they falter: Troy struggles to create ball movement and put up enough points to fend off one of the nation's hottest teams.
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