NCAA Semifinals: Malool vs. Glatt, Scotch Plains vs. Summit

Oh, it's on.

West Virginia takes on Duke this Saturday in the semifinals of the NCAA March Madness, and for any of you local diehards following the tournament, you may know that this competition hits close to home. West Virginia's team features Summit High grad Wellington Smith. Duke's team stars none other than Scotch Plains' native Lance Thomas, a former SP-F High student who's been waiting his whole collegiate basketball career to make it this far in the tournament.

We at Patch saw this as the perfect chance to start a (friendly) rivalry between the two towns. Scotch Plains Mayor Nancy Malool (Republican) and Summit Mayor Jordan Glatt (Democrat) graciously agreed to join in on the fun, and the two met up Friday to place a bet on whose hometown star will win Saturday's game. Loser has to buy the winner a restaurant gift card treating the mayor to dinner in his or her town.

The two mayors came together at a middle meeting ground - the basketball courts of Irwin Park in Springfield - this morning to shake hands on the deal.

Tensions were relatively low at this first-time meeting of the mayors, but both had their reasons for why their hometown player would win out this weekend.

"Well we had two state championships this year, so I'll let our athletic program speak for itself," Mayor Glatt said.

"Well our baseball team won 16-0 last night," Mayor Malool bounced back in defense. "Our schools have a history of a strong athletic program."

Glatt went on to point out that his town is home to New York Jets coach Rex Ryan and a host of other well-known sports stars.

So how are the odds shaping up for the two?

Well, Thomas, a 6-foot-8, 225-pound forward, averaged 24.9 minutes, 4.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game this season. Smith, a 6-foot-7, 245-pound forward, averaged 23 minutes, 6.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.

No. 2 seed West Virginia is 31-6 this season while No. 1 seed Duke is 33-5.

To read more about Thomas, go here. To learn about Smith, go here.

West Virginia takes on Duke this Saturday at 8:47 p.m. in Indianapolis. CBS will air the game. The mayors said they'll be watching closely to see how they fare.