SEATTLE — For those who wonder if participants in the NCAA Tournament are able to keep up with what is happening elsewhere in the event — well, nobody had to inform Northern Iowa players here Thursday that third-seeded Iowa State was already bounced out of the tournament by 14-seed Alabama-Birmingham in Louisville, Ky.
UAB entered the NCAA Tournament with a 19-15 record.
“We had a practice while (the Iowa State game) started, but we got to catch the tail end of it,” Northern Iowa standout forward Seth Tuttle said. “But it’s ‘Madness.’ It’s part of it.
“If we’re in the hotel, we’re watching games. On the way to the bus, we’re following games. As long as it doesn’t interfere with what we’re doing in our preparation to get ready to go, we’re pretty much locked into what’s going on in the NCAA Tournament.”
Las Vegas oddsmakers have made fifth-seeded UNI a 7-point favorite in Friday’s matchup with No. 12 seed Wyoming at KeyArena. There’s no question that Panthers coach Ben Jacobson reminded his team that upsets can and do occur.
“People kind of look at it and say, ‘How could Iowa State get beat as a 3-seed?’ ” Jacobson said. “Well, the team they’re playing is probably pretty good.
“To get in this tournament, you had to do something really good, either be good for four months or win three games in your (conference) tournament. Neither of those two things is easy. So everybody’s good enough to win.”
Early-round surprises in the NCAA can be head-scratchers, however.
“I’m watching all these upsets and I can’t quite believe what I’m watching,” Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. “Iowa State (losing) … I was blown away.”
Compare and contrast. Wyoming and Northern Iowa play similar styles relative to pace of play on offense and an emphasis on defense at the other end.
Is it an advantage or disadvantage to play against an opponent that’s a virtual mirror image?
“In a lot of ways, I’d rather play against a different style, I really would,” UNI’s Jacobson said. “I don’t know if that’s a personal preference I have or if that’s a coaching preference.”
Wyoming coach Larry Shyatt said he has never looked at matchups that way.
“It’s usually just about, ‘OK. What does (the opponent) do best? What can we take away from them defensively? What are we going to need to do to win the game?'” Shyatt said. “We try to be simple with our guys.”
Said Cowboys junior guard Josh Adams: “Our philosophy is that what we do can work against any team.”
Tom Kensler: tkensler@denverpost.com or
