Young Guns
Conventional wisdom dictates that Top 25 teams are upset in the "preseason" because bigger programs rely on younger talent, whereas smaller schools depend on upperclassmen. As the season progresses, talent overtakes experience and the big boys begin to dominate.
This "preseason," however, David has been younger than Goliath. The heroes of the past week's upsets have all been underclassmen.
Mercer beat USC behind James Florence, a sophomore guard who collected more points (30), assists (4) and steals (4) than any other Bear.
Gardner-Webb defeated Kentucky thanks to Grayson Flittner, another sophomore guard. The former walk-on scored a career-high 22 points on 7-for-10 shooting.
Division II Findlay upset Ohio State (exhibition) courtesy Marcus Parker, a sophomore guard who stands only 5-foot-9 but led all Oilers with with 18 points.
Division II Grand Valley State bested Michigan State (exhibition) because of Justin Ringler, a freshman forward who contributed 16 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
(Though it was a senior, Callistus Eziukwu, who scored the game's final points in double overtime, it was Ringler who enabled GVSU to extend the game past regulation. With less than 13 seconds remaining, he stole MSU's inbounds pass and made a driving layup which turned into a three-point play that give Cinderella a 65-63 lead. Two Drew Neitzel free throws then forced the first overtime).
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