We already have an upset in the Arizona Draft Tournament
Coy Partee (7) of the Underdogs
The 31-team Arizona Draft Tournament kicked off last night, and the higher seeds couldn’t even escape opening night without a big upset happening.
The “Underdogs” is quite a fitting name for a team that finished the regular season in Gilbert 2-6, ending the season on a six-game losing streak, earning them the 26-seed. The team name turned fortunately ironic in the postseason, as they took down the seven-seeded Phoenix Phenoms 73-62.
“That was probably the best game we’ve played all season,” Coy Partee said in a post-game interview after the win.
You can tell just from the box score how well the Underdogs played, as so many players made big contributions. We’ll start with Juan Gonzalez, who was the game’s leading scorer with 31 points. The Underdogs shot a pedestrian 38% from the field, but Gonzalez shot 11-22 from the field and 7-16 from deep.
There were three players on the Underdogs who each recorded a double-double, as Partee had 17 points and 10 rebounds, Calvin Wooten had the inverse stat line of 10 points and 17 rebounds and Steven Wess had 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
While these teams were 19 seeds apart, it’s not considered that big of an upset by everyone.
“They were overrated from the jump,” Steve Bertrand said in a Facebook comment.
Melvin Orji responded to Bertrand saying he didn’t think Phoenix Phenoms were overrated, and their attendance is what contributed to the loss. The Phenoms were missing Carlos Nosie III and Erick Booker, who combined to average 30.8 points per game this season.
Attendance ended up being a big factor in both of the games between these teams this season, as the Phenoms defeated the Underdogs 97-95 two weeks ago in Gilbert. In that game, the Phenoms were full strength while the Underdogs were missing Wess and Marcus Fort, who have combined to average 23.9 points per game this season.
Regardless of what led to the upset, the Underdogs are moving on and the Phoenix Phenoms are done for the season. The Underdogs will play again on Thursday where they will play the winner of Wednesday’s game between the 23-seed Pure Stroke and the 10-seed Kawhi Me A River.