Enter Samhan...

...into the Sweet 16?

...into NCAA Tournament lore?

...into the NBA?

However you want to put it, the one thing that is clear is that Omar Samhan and his St. Mary's Gaels have solidified themselves as the leader's in the clubhouse for this year's tournament darling.

The Gaels weren't supposed to be in the Sweet 16. Hell, if they hadn't won the WCC conference tournament, SMC may very well be playing in the second round of the NIT right now. Three-loss WCC teams don't get at-large bids.

You think the Gaels proved they belonged today?

College hoops fans around the country are going to spend the next few days harping on the Big East's (the Big Least? The Big Easy?) struggles in this year's tournament. Rightfully so. This was supposed to be one of, if not the best conference in the country, and here we are one game into the tournament's second round, and just three Big East teams remain -- Syracuse, West Virginia, and Pitt.

In regards to Villanova, the overrated tag may just be correct. The Wildcats struggles defensively have been well documented this year, they don't have any size inside, and their talented group of guards relies solely on their ability to go one-on-one. Play tough, disciplined defense, force their talented back court to take difficult, low-percentage shots, and they can be beaten.

The secret was out on Villanova. That's why they lost seven of their last ten games.

And St. Mary's took advantage of that.

But don't call it an upset. Is it possible that the better team won today?

Villanova simply had no answer for Omar Samhan. Frankly, few have this season. Samhan came into today's game averaging 21.2 ppg and 11.0 rpg while shooting 55% from the floor. In two games this tournament, he's upped those numbers 30.5 ppg and 9.5 rpg while hitting 24 of his 32 FG attempts. That's 75% from the field.

On Saturday, Samhan was as impressive as he has been all season long. He ran the floor hard. He sealed hard. He blocked a few shots. And, most importantly, he was unstoppable when he caught the ball on the block. Samhan has an impressive variety of moves, from powerful drop-steps to charminny-soft turnarounds to jump hooks to nifty spins along the baseline.

And they were all on display this afternoon.

But as is usually the case when you see a player have a performance as impressive as Samhan's was today, you tend to forget the other four players on the court.

Doing so would be doing the Gaels an injustice.

Matthew Dellavedova doesn't have an ounce of athletic ability. His shaggy hair, mouth guard, and ugly looking jump shot make him look like the guy that doesn't get picked at open gyms. But he's crafty, is an excellent passer, and that ugly jumpshot goes in more often than not. Mickey McConnell barely leaves the ground when he shoots and his jumper comes close to hitting the Dunkin Donuts Center's roof, but you'll take it from a guy that hits over 50% from deep and averages 5.3 apg.

Ben Allen, Clint Steindl, Jordan Page, Beau Levesque. St. Mary's has size, they have shooting, they have a go-to post scorer, and they certainly aren't playing scared on the sports biggest stage.

Is it possible that St. Mary's is the best team in the South Region?

Well, no. Probably not.

But it doesn't mean they can't play like it.