First round: Lost to Ohio State, 87-61

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You could tell that former Tar Heel player Buzz Peterson brought a lot of North Carolina system with him to Appalachian State. Peterson's team moves well without the ball, screens and uses a lot of bodies.

The Mountaineers are a pressure-oriented team defensively. They rely a lot on the press to create turnovers and easy opportunities. That takes the pressure off the halfcourt offense.

They have one of the best under-six foot players in the country in Tyson Patterson. He is a jet with the ball in the open floor and a solid jump shooter. He can beat people off the dribble. Their leading scorer is their sixth man, Rufus Leach. He gives them instant offense off the bench. He's athletic and a tremendous 3-point shooter. He gets to the basket in a hurry in the halfcourt offense.

Cedrick Holmes sets picks down low, rebounds and crashes the offensive glass as well, but the Mountaineers still lack size. The team, however, will rise and fall with Patterson. In the Southern Conference semifinal game, he scored 22 of their 36 second-half points, including 12 of the last 14. They will go to him early and often. If he can set the tone, and their pressure confuses teams and causes turnovers, Appalachian State could win a game or two in the tournament. -- Len Elmore

ROSTER

No	Name	Position	Height	Weight	Class	Rebounds	Assists	Points
-	Brian Boxler	C	-	-	-	-	-	-
-	Buddy Davis	FC	-	-	-	4.5	0.4	5.3
-	Cedrick Holmes	F	-	-	-	7.5	1.2	12.1
-	Corey Cooper	FC	-	-	-	5.0	0.5	8.0
-	Jonathan Butler	G	-	-	-	0.9	1.3	1.0
-	Josh Shehan	F	-	-	-	2.5	0.3	2.9
-	Kent Phillips	G	-	-	-	0.5	0.5	0.7
-	Matt Mcmahon	G	-	-	-	1.8	1.9	7.0
-	Micah Hill	F	-	-	-	-	-	-
-	Mike Patten	F	-	-	-	1.0	0.1	2.5
-	Nathan Thorne	F	-	-	-	-	-	-
-	Nick Huge	G	-	-	-	1.0	0.4	1.6
-	Rufus Leach	G	-	-	-	1.7	2.2	16.6
-	Shawn Alexander	G	-	-	-	5.0	1.9	11.2
-	Tyson Patterson	G	-	-	-	2.8	6.9	14.2