Recap: Gonzaga @ Davidson

Final Score:

(10) Davidson 82 (7) Gonzaga 76

Box score snapshot
Scorer: Steven Gray 21 points
Rebounder: Josh Heytvelt 8 Boards
Passer: Jeremy Pargo 6 Assists
Swatter: Josh Heytvelt 1 Blocks
Theif: Matt Bouldin/Jeremy Pargo 3 Steals

Game MVP: Steven Gray (21 Points, 2 Assists, 3 Boards, 7-12 from Three)
Was an Assassin, definately did what he could to try to win it for the zags.

Team Comparison: Zags/Wildcats
Points: 76/82
assist to turnover ratio:0.78/1.29
Rebounds:33/27
Shooting Percentage: 51%/49%
3pt Percentage: 44%/50%

Analysis:
Stephen Curry Drops 40 on the zags to secure the cinderella run for Davidson. Due to the lateness of this recap, we now know that they made a run all the way to Elite 8 and almost took down the Goliath that is Kansas. All i have to say is the zags were poorly seeded and poorly matched in the first round, but i guess thats the nature of the NCAA tournament. I guess we'll have to settle for another "Wait till next year..."

NCAA Tournament Preview

These are my opinions on the upsets and the final four.

Final 4 Picks
North Carolina
Clemson
Memphis
UCLA

Top 5 Upset Watch

Vs.=Mostly Neutral
@=Mostly Away

Oklahoma Vs. Saint Josephs 3/21 (Birmingham, AL)
Butler @ South Alabama 3/21 (Birmingham, AL)
Michigan St. Vs. Temple 3/20 (Denver, CO)
Miami Vs. Saint Mary's 3/21 (Little Rock, AR)
UConn Vs. San Diego 3/21 (Tampa, FL)

Gripes with the NCAA tournament Selection Committee

When all was said and done, and the dust had settled, i had many a gripe with the NCAA tournament selection committee. For one, Gonzaga a #7 seed gets #10 Davidson in Charlotte, NC. This is a HOME GAME for Davidson! I swear i have not seen a lower seeded team get a home game, that is quite ridiculous(FYI: We beat UCONN, Finish with a better record, and Advance further in our conference tourney, yet they get a #4 seed and we get a #7...hmmm). Also, Villanova gets in and Arizona St. does not. This is definately a West Coast biased descision, The PAC TEN was arguably the best conference in College basketball, but the BIG east gets 8 teams and the PAC gets 6? not a great decision by the Committee. I know they have a tough job, but think about the reprocussions of the decisions made while doing the job. Arizona St. Beat Arizona twice during the year and Xavier. I think AZ st. deserved a berth more than Oregon as well. I agree with Bobby knight that we need to allow 128 teams into the tourney, and have a play in game to decide the top 64 seeds, this would remove a lot of the bad teams from the crowd and make sure that the true top 4 teams get a chance to compete. Just a rant from a concerned college basketball fan.

Scouting Report: Davidson

Scouting Report

W-L:26-6
RPI:45
SOS:140
Best Wins:
#108 Winthrop W60-47

but the real story is the losses:
#1 North Carolina 72-68
#4 UCLA 75-63
#7 Duke 79-73
#69 Charlotte 75-68
#104 NC State 66-65
#119 W. Michigan 83-76

Current Rankings:
AP: 23
ESPN: 25

Team Leaders:
Points: Stephen Curry 25.1
Assists: Jason Richards 8.0
Rebounds: Boris Meno 5.8

Best Players:
Stephen Curry, So., 6-3 185, SG
Shoots 48.6% from the field and 43.8% from three. One of the most dangerous shooters and scorers in the country. Keeps his team in the game, with his gutsy preformances. Had 8 30 point games this year.

Jason Richards,Sr., 6-2 185, PG
One of the top passers in the country, and why not when hes got Curry to pass to. Shoots at a respectable 42.5% clip from the field. 9 games this year with at least 10 assists.

MY Prediction:
WOW, what a horrible first round matchup. All i have to say is we got shafted with an almost true home game for Davidson. Nonetheless, i will stay upbeat and predict a zags win, i think Mark Few can get this squads mind right and push forward. Davidson is sneaky good, and Stephen Curry should be a first team all american as a sophomore, he has NBA superstar scorer written all over him.

Final Score: Gonzaga 74 Davidson 73

NCAA Tourney Projections

Heres my final Mock up for selection sunday, i have projected out all teams that will make the tourney.

Who's in:

ACC:(4) Duke, Clemson, North Carolina, Miami
Big East:(7) UConn, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Marquette, West Virginia
Big Ten:(4) Michigan St., Indiana, Wisconsin, Purdue
Big 12:(6) Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Kansas St., Baylor, Texas A&M
PAC TEN:(6) Stanford, UCLA, USC, Wazzu, Oregon, Arizona
SEC:(6) Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Mississippi St., Arkansas, Kentucky, Georgia
A10:(3) Xavier, Temple, Saint Josephs
WCC:(3) San Diego, Saint Mary's, Gonzaga
Sun Belt:(2) Western Kentucky, South Alabama
Mountain West:(2) BYU, UNLV
Missouri Valley:(2) Drake, Illinois St.
Colonial:(1) George Mason

The Rest:(18) Oral Roberts(Summitt), Mount St. Mary's(NEC), Cornell(IVY), Davidson(SoCon), Siena(MAAC), Butler(Horizon), Portland St.(Big Sky), Belmont(ASun), Austin Peay(OVC), Winthrop(Big South), American(Patriot), UMBC(America East), Memphis(CUSA), Kent State(MAC), Mississippi Valley St.(SWAC), Coppin St.(MEAC), Boise St.(WAC), Cal St. Fullerton(Big West), UT-Arlington(Southland)

As you can see, im projecting Georgia to win the SEC after reaching the final versus Arkansas. This will effectively remove any chance that Dayton, UMass, Houston, UAB, New Mexico, or Villanova had at reaching the tourney. I am also projecting the PAC 10 to get 6 teams as well as the SEC, and Big 12.

Bubble Watch

Still On The Bubble:

MVC: Illinois St.
Colonial: VCU
SEC: Kentucky
CUSA: UAB, Houston
Mountain West: New Mexico

Improved Resume:
Texas A&M beat K-State and now looks almost a lock.
Saint Marys became a lock with the movement on the bubble.
Kent State become a lock with the movement on the bubble.
Saint Josephs beat Xavier and now looks like a almost lock regardless of the A10 championship tonight.
Temple can secure an auto bid with a win over hometown rivals Saint Josephs.
Arkansas is now a lock with its win.

Hurt Resume:
Villanova pretty much had to beat GTOWN to get into the Tourney, but with the newest losses Nova might still have a chance.
Arizona might have played themselves into a NIT bid regardless of their SOS.
Arizona St. lost to USC, and it might have doomed the Sun Devils to the NIT.
Dayton lost to Xavier, and with Xavier losing to Saint Josephs last night, Dayton is looking like a NIT berth waiting to happen.
Florida St. lost to UNC, and pretty much sealed their fate as a NIT contender.
UMass now looks like they will miss the tourney with that loss to Charlotte.
Ohio St. had to beat MSU for the second time in a week to secure their chance to dance, instead the NIT will host the national title contenders from a year ago.
Kansas St. will be watching selection sunday with their fingers crossed after losing to Texas A&M
Baylor will be sweating sunday out with KState after the A&M win.
Oregon NIT? could be after blowing a chance at Wazzu.

Bracketology now has Gonzaga as a #7 seed again playing Arkansas with a second round draw of Kansas, this draw even seems more favorable than the last one of UCLA, hmmm.

Bubble Watch

Still On The Bubble:

BIG 12: Kansas St.
MVC: Illinois St.
Colonial: VCU
SEC: Kentucky, Arkansas
CUSA: UAB, Houston
BIG TEN: Ohio St.
Mountain West: New Mexico
A10: Saint Josephs, UMass, Temple

Improved Resume:
Florida St. got itself a nice matchup with #1 UNC and if they can pull out the miracle win, they would become a lock.
Texas A&M won but might still have to beat K-State to get into the dance.
Miami became a lock with the win over NC State.

Hurt Resume:
Villanova pretty much had to beat GTOWN to get into the Tourney.
Mississippi is probably out after the worst case scenario loss to Georgia.
Arizona might have played themselves into a NIT bid regardless of their SOS.
Florida with the loss, its offically over in Gainesville.
Arizona St. loss to USC might have doomed the Sun Devils to the NIT.

May not matter for resume:
Baylor lost but may still get in as an at large regardless.
Dayton lost to Xavier, but with wins over Louisville and Pitt earlier this year they may still get into the dance.
Oregon Beating Wazzu would have helped Mr. Kent get his ducks into the dance, without it, they are very much on the bubble.

Bracketology has Gonzaga as a #8 Seed now, with a Second round draw of UCLA, at first when i saw that i was a little miffed, but it would be on the west coast and i would like a crack at UCLA. Revenge for 2005's Ref led win for UCLA.

NCAA Tourney Time!

So its NCAA Tourney time, the weekly rankings will no longer be in effect, instead i will give updates when new info becomes available on the tournament status of the whole field. As of now, Bracketology has the Zags at a #7 seed playing #10 Texas A&M assuming A&M even gets in...and with that i give you my stats and numbers.

Who's in:

ACC:(4) Duke, Clemson, North Carolina, Miami
Big East:(7) UConn, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Marquette, West Virginia
Big Ten:(4) Michigan St., Indiana, Wisconsin, Purdue
Big 12:(3) Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma
PAC TEN:(4) Stanford, UCLA, USC, Wazzu
SEC:(3) Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Mississippi St.
A10:(1) Xavier
WCC:(3) San Diego, Saint Mary's, Gonzaga
CUSA:(1) Memphis
Sun Belt:(2) Western Kentucky, South Alabama
MAC:(1) Kent State
Mountain West:(2) BYU, UNLV
Colonial:(1) George Mason
Missouri Valley:(1) Drake

The Rest:(10) Oral Roberts(Summitt), Mount St. Mary's(NEC), Cornell(IVY), Davidson(SoCon), Siena(MAAC), Butler(Horizon), Portland St.(Big Sky), Belmont(ASun), Austin Peay(OVC), Winthrop(Big South)

Auto Bids left:

1 Bid Leagues:
Patriot 3/14
WAC 3/15
America East 3/15
MEAC 3/15
BIG WEST 3/15
Southland 3/16
SWAC 3/15

Multi Bid Leagues:
Pac Ten 3/15
Big East 3/15
SEC 3/16
Big Ten 3/16
Big 12 3/16
A10 3/15
Mountain West 3/15
ACC 3/16
CUSA 3/15
MAC 3/15

On The Bubble:

BIG 12: Kansas St., Baylor, Texas A&M
BIG EAST: Villanova
MVC: Illinois St.
Colonial: VCU
SEC: Kentucky, Florida, Mississippi, Arkansas
CUSA: UAB, Houston
BIG TEN: Ohio St.
PAC TEN: Oregon, Arizona, Arizona St.
Mountain West: New Mexico
A10: Dayton, Saint Josephs, UMass, Temple
ACC: Florida St., Maryland

So with that said there are 54 bids spoken for right now, with the possibility of 10 more leagues who could get a team in that would otherwise not get in, if we allow for 2 of those leagues to get a unworthy team in, that leaves about 9 "bubble" bids left. There are 23 teams on the bubble right now, so lets see how a few more of these leagues shape up on saturday.

Recap: Gonzaga @ San Diego (wcc tourney)

Final Score:

(20)Gonzaga 62 San Diego 69

Box score snapshot
Scorer: Jeremy Pargo 22 points
Rebounder: David Pendergraft 6 Boards
Passer: Jeremy Pargo 4 Assists
Swatter: Abdullahi Kuso 3 Blocks
Theif: Austin Daye 1 Steals

Game MVP: Jeremy Pargo, (Stat line: 22 points, 5 boards, 4

assists) He took over at times, but in the end his effort just wasn't enough.

Team Comparison: Zags/Toreros
Points: 62/69
assist to turnover ratio:0.64/1.88
Rebounds:23/36
Shooting Percentage: 52%/42.4%
3pt Percentage: 0%/31%

Notes from the sideline:
-The zags did not make a three pointer for the first time in 491 games.
-This is the first Conference Tourney loss since 2003 when San Diego also won on their home court, as of next year the WCC tourney is moving to Las Vegas, no more home court advantage.

Analysis:
So Billy Grier is the one laughing in the end, after the zags swept the season series 2 games to none, the Toreros are getting into the NCAA tourney for the first time since 2003. Congrats to Mr. Grier and all the San Diego Players, whats even more, the WCC will most likely get 3 teams into the NCAA tourney. Im happy for the conference, but dissapointed in the tournament loss. Hopefully the team will take this as a wake up call and improve considerably come the big dance.

Recap: Santa Clara vs. Gonzaga (wcc tourney)

Final Score:

(23)Gonzaga 52 Santa Clara 48

Box score snapshot
Scorer: Josh Heytvelt 15 points
Rebounder: Austin Daye 8 Boards
Passer: Austin Daye 3 Assists
Swatter: Austin Daye 3 Blocks
Theif: Matt Bouldin 2 Steals

Game MVP: Josh Heytvelt, (Stat line: 15 points, 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2-2 3pt FG) Is the mushroom man finally coming back to form right before tournament time?

Team Comparison: Zags/Broncos
Points: 52/48
assist to turnover ratio:0.53/0.79
Rebounds:26/18
Shooting Percentage: 42.1%/41.3%
3pt Percentage: 30%/37.5%

Notes from the sideline:
-Heytvelt asserted himself with confidence from behind the arc as well as in the low post, showing passion that has only been flashed at times this season, it seems he may finally be returning to form after a dissapointing and injury riddled season.
-Mark Few thought Heytvelt played one of his finest defensive games of his career against a very tough assignment (John Bryant) He held bryant to 12 points with 5 turnovers and foul trouble held him to 28 minutes.

Analysis:
sluggish, ugly, just plain nasty, the best description of this game. Six days after pummeling a shorthanded Broncos team, the zags fall victim to the look ahead factor, now fortunately for them, the team they played still gave the game away, but it wasnt pretty. Next up is the resurgent Toreros squad led by prodigal son Billy Grier.

Its almost WCC tournament time!

March Madness is here at last!

Its that special time of the year again, i can feel the fever. Expect the unexpected, shed tears of sadness when your team loses and cry out in glory when your team wins. This is for revenge, this is where champions are made, this is the passion that drives us all into such a fervor, This is the moment that you may be telling your grandchildren about, that special deep run into the depths of College basketball lore. This may be the year all your dreams come true. With a resounding praise the kennel club screams the chants of success, LETS GO ZAGS! LETS GO!