NCAA Madness

First off, i want to apologize for the long hiatus. I was recently offered a new job and it has eaten away at my available time. So in the last month a lot has happened in the world of college basketball. Gonzaga lost to Saint Mary's in the conference championship, the Zags won their first round match up with Florida State, and then lost...badly...to Syracuse in the 2nd round. This made me mad to begin with because i really felt that had Matt Bouldin and Steven Gray showed up and hit a few threes this would have been a completely different result. But last night was the last straw. We got to see Butler, who i would consider to be the Gonzaga of the East, take down Syracuse using a game plan that i thought we would use, but didn't. That hurts...

In Other news, usually i would say that i could not root for Saint Mary's as they are our biggest rival (Outside UW of course) but as a fellow WCC member, i can not lie, i was cheering them on in their win over Villanova, and i will continue to cheer them on for as long as they last in the NCAA tourney. With Baylor up next, I wonder what their Final Four Odds would be? While Cinderella teams have shown the ability to reach the highest pedestal in college sports, Ala George Mason, in recent years, i think Saint Mary's has taken a step above Cinderella and moved into the national spotlight. Patty Mills surely helped them with his dynamic talent, and now Omar Samhan has become a beast in the low post. It pains me to say it, but with the current setup Saint Mary's has a great chance at the Final Four.

Looking ahead to the future, Gonzaga has a lot going for them. While the loss of Matt Bouldin cannot and should not be taken lightly, Steven Gray is in line to step up and become the senior leader. This team also boasts the return of what i would say is the best young front court in all of college Basketball in Elias Harris and Robert Sacre. Then you have the young supporting cast of Grant Gibbs, Kelly Olynyk, Manny Arop, and Bol Kong. This team really is built for the future and i have to applaud Mark Few for his vision on the recruiting trail, not many coaches can create such a hodge-podge of talent and turn it into a team. You have to remember that this team had 9 freshmen to start the year and a couple sophomores. This was by no means a veteran team. With the loss of Austin Daye, Josh Heytvelt, Micah Downs and Jeremy Pargo a year ago, i really don't think even the most die hard fan could have seen this team having this much success this soon. As always i am looking forward to the next season with high hopes and maybe even higher expectations. LETS GO ZAGS!

Game Recap: CSUB @ Gonzaga

Scouting Report: Cal State Bakersfield

Cal State Bakersfield
W-L: 7-21
RPI: 286
SOS: 220
Best Wins:
(201) Montana St. W, 71-61

Best Losses:
(31) Utah St. L, 68-51

Team Leaders:
Points: Trent Blakley 15.0
Assists: Stephon Carter 3.0
Rebounds: Santwon Latunde 7.9

Best Player:

Trent Blakley SF 6-4 220 SR
Blakely is a great scorer, getting over 20 points 8 times this year.

My Take:
Great tune up game before the WCC Tourney. i expect a blowout on Senior Night. This will be Will Foster and Matt Bouldin's last games at the Kennel. We will miss you both.

Final Score: Gonzaga 95 CSU Bakersfield 60