Sizing up keys to game

CLEVELAND -- As those who have climbed into a boxing ring have noted, "It's not the size of the man, but the size of the fight in the man." But in the matter of Craig Smith vs. Joah Tucker, both men will pose formidable opposition when Smith's fourth-seeded Boston College Eagles square off against Tucker's 12th-seeded University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers today in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

In looking at the tale of the tape, the 6-foot-7-inch, 250-pound Smith would seemingly have the advantage over the 6-5, 220-pound Tucker, who stepped up big in Milwaukee's 83-73 upset of fifth-seeded Alabama Thursday by scoring 21 points and grabbing four rebounds.

"He's a nightmare matchup," UWM coach Bruce Pearl said of Tucker. "He wants to play the 3, but he's more like a 4 1/2 -- we used him at both positions. Joah has courage and he has toughness. Smith and Joah remind me of each other. Smith is an undersized NBA player and I think that Joah has a chance to play somewhere.

"I mean, Mark Aguirre was only 6-4, and that's what Joah is," Pearl noted. "If Joah gets a little more of a perimeter game, he can play at the next level. He went up against [Alabama's] Kennedy Winston, who's going to be an NBA player, and Josh outplayed him."

It remains to be seen if Tucker will be able to duplicate the feat against Smith, who had 15 points, 13 rebounds, and a career-high 7 assists in BC's 85-65 romp over 13th-seeded Pennsylvania Thursday. Smith, for one, is relishing the matchup.

"It's part of the sport to be competitive," said Smith. "I've gone against other undersized guys in the Big East, guys like [Pittsburgh's] Chevon Troutman and [Providence's] Ryan Gomes, and I just love to battle."

Shot selection
Ed McCants's double-clutch baseline jumper in the second half of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's upset over Alabama was the talk of yesterday's press conference. Asked if the shot surprised even him, McCants said, "Nah, I wasn't surprised. I shoot a lot of garbage in open gym." Said Tucker, "Nobody on our team was surprised. I mean, Ed once hit a shot while sitting down on the court." Junior forward Adrian Tigert picked up the story from there, saying, "Coach actually stopped practice and said, `What are you doing?' and Ed looked at him like, `What do you mean? I was open.' He was sitting down but he was open." Said McCants: "I've shot a lot of different shots. I got a good look and did a double pump and it was only from 6-7 feet, so it wasn't too difficult." . . . BC coach Al Skinner arrived at his appointed time for his press conference, but when he learned that No. 13 seed Ohio, coached by former BC assistant Tim O'Shea, was in a tight game against fourth-seeded Florida in the Syracuse Regional with less than a minute remaining, Skinner asked the assembled media if it was possible to delay the start to hear the outcome, which he did by a two-person relay. Ohio lost, 67-62 . . . Pearl on his BC days: "I was a senior when Doug Flutie was a freshman and that's when things really started to take off, when Doug came to Boston College. BC's a great school. I could never get into BC now. You'd have to add my SATs twice, and then multiply it by four, and then I'd have to take out like the most ridiculous student loan. I couldn't afford BC anymore, but I've got that diploma, and so I'm proud of the way the school has developed."