Recap: CS Northridge @ Gonzaga

Final Score: Gonzaga 85 CS Northridge 59

Now i know what your thinking. "Cal State Northridge? Who the heck is Cal State Northridge?" Well they are one of the better teams in the Big West Conference this year. This was more of a cool down game before the Zags hop back into the grueling Non Conference schedule. The zags came out with the idea to prove its offense can and will score, tying their season high with 85 points. Then used the new found stingy defense to hold its opponent to its lowest scoring night of the year at 59. Micah Downs continued his coming out party, scoring a season high 19 points, 1 shy of his career high 20 from last year. Matt Bouldin bounced back with 18 points after being embarrassed by wazzu and held to 0 points on 0-9 shooting. Even Abdullahi Kuso got in on the action getting a season high 11 rebounds. When all was said and done the zags got a much needed breather win under their belts.

changes to the Zagaholic Website

If you have not yet been to the zagaholic website click here. I've made some big updates today, the recruiting page now has pics of each recruit as well as some of the recruits that the zags are going after for 2009. Also there are videos up of recruits on the front page and some news postings up for the zags. Come check it out, also GU and Cal State northridge tomorrow night.

Scouting Reports: CS Northridge and N. Colorado

Note: Due to the low magnitude of the next two games, i decided to do a scouting report for both teams in one post.

The Matadors are led by seniors Jonathan Heard and Calvin Chitwood, both of whom have played very well this year. They also have an excellent Low post player in center Tremaine Townsend. The matadors have played well against every team they've played this year and currently stand at 6-1. Their only loss came at the hands of Duquesne who is playing very well in the A-10 this year. My Prediction: Gonzaga 92 CS Northridge 76.

The Bears are a fiesty team in the Big Sky conference. To put it in perspective, Gonzaga beat Montana by 23 earlier this year, and they are considered one of the best teams in their division. The bears are led by Jabril Banks and Sean Taibi. Banks is a stout JC transfer who has shown an excellent shooting touch this year shooting at almost 65%. Taibi is the resident senior leader who is very inconsistent. My Prediction: Gonzaga 95 N Colorado 67.

So basically get ready for a few weeks of really nothing serious, but be aware Oklahoma and Tennessee loom ahead, hopefully we'll be seeing Heytvelt and Gray suit up for both games.

Recap: Wazzu at Gonzaga

Final Score: Wazzu 51 Zags 47

I feel for the Baltimore Ravens. I mean i really feel for how they were snubbed. It's bad enough to lose by your own fault; but losing because of the Refs? Just Ridiculous. By the same token, i feel for my own team, the Gonzaga Bulldogs. We not only had an invading army of crimson colored ninja defenders, but had to deal with the zebras too. I mean we got slashed, hacked, punched, and kicked, you name it and it was probably being done to Austin Daye or Matt Bouldin. Even Pargo, who despite his amazing talent and acrobatic heroics, could not save the day. This will go down as a dark day for the Zags, even though they outplayed the cougs in the 2nd half. I mean no offense (really they have no offense) to the cougars, but even with the amazing D they play, the zags were still in it until the very end. The turning point in the game was when the zags down by 2 points and having stopped the cougs for two straight full ticks of the clock, the refs claimed pargo touched the ball on its way out of bounds, it was surreal. Of course on the in bounds pass having done as much as they could, the zags melted allowing the caped crusader Mr. Weaver to get his tip in. You have to hand it to the bulldogs, this was quite the fight. No one gave up, no one crumbled to the floor in tears, no one argued with the final score. Mark few did it best by just walking to Tony Bennett and shaking the giddy young coaches hand. I think even though this is a loss, its a good loss, it shows character and solid development. Only once this year have i seen the zags give up before the game ended and that was against Texas Tech. Imagine what will happen when our best player(Josh Heytvelt) gets back? Imagine how much tougher and athletic we will get. Even Steven Gray, who Mark Few claims is the best shooter, will provide a big boost. This team is growing, its coming together and making strides to be the best in the west. Andy Katz kept raving about how when we get both injured players back, the zags will be a lock for the top ten. I think a lock for the top 5, maybe even a final 4. Lets Go Zags! Lets Go!

Robert Sacre

Now this is a Dunk!





And i dont think Mr. Calhoun was very pleased with the results...





Lets Go Zags! Lets GO!

TIME TO WHOOP UP ON THEM COUGS!!

New Zagaholic Home Site

With all the recent attention this Blog has had, i decided to make a temporary zagaholic home site. If you would like to check it out, this is the link.

Weekly Top 32

RK Team PVS
1. Memphis 1
2. North Carolina 3
3. Georgetown 4
4. Kansas 5
5. Texas 7
6. Washington St. 6
7. Duke 9
8. UCLA 2
9. Louisville 11
10. Pittsburgh 10

11. Indiana 12
12. Butler 14
13. Gonzaga 18
14. Marquette 13
15. Michigan St. 15
16. Tennessee 17
17. Clemson 16
18. Texas A&M 8
19. Oregon 19
20. Xavier 26

21. Vanderbilt 28
22. Saint Mary's 25
23. Miami (FL) UR
24. Arizona UR
25. BYU 27
26. Stanford UR
27. USC 21
28. Arkansas UR
29. Wisconsin 24
30. West Virginia UR
31. Virginia UR
32. Davidson UR

Others Receiving Attention:

UConn, California, Crieghton, NC State, Kansas St., Arizona, St., S. Illinois

This week in College Basketball

Recruiting News:

As far as recruting goes Gonzaga is still heavily recruiting Verdell Jones, rivals.com has a new article showcasing his potential here. And i quote, "Illinois point guard Verdell Jones continues to lie under the radar. The long and lanky prospect has a good feel for the game, good height and clearly has potential." Personally i think he could end up being as influential as Jeremy Pargo if he signs on at GU.

Another Recruit that Zags coaches are making a trek to view is Patrick McCollum from Mt. Tahoma High in Tacoma, WA, here is his Rivals profile.

P.S. Two big upsets tonight, Texas A&M lost to Arizona, and UCLA lost to Texas.

Stay tuned for my Top 32 Rankings Update tomorrow.

Scouting Report: Washington State

The cougars game at Baylor was ugly to say the least. There was only one portion of the game where the cougars dominated, and that was the opening 3 minutes when the jumped to a 7-0 lead. Baylor would go on to lead by as much as 14 and fought hard to keep the struggling cougars at bay. When all was said and done the Bears let a win slip through their fingers and allowed Wazzu to keep their perfect record intact. The cougars are led by Robbie Cowgill, Kyle Weaver, and Derrick Low. They are loaded at the guard positions and Cowgill can really play the game from the 4 or 5 spot; he dropped 18 points and has been averaging 65% from the field so far this year. I think if you take cowgill out of it early on, and keep him under control you can then concentrate on their streaky guards and handle the weak offense that they try to throw at you. Defenseively this may be one of the toughest teams the zags have come across this year, specifically Kyle Weaver. My Prediction Gonzaga wins 65-57, and it may not be pretty.

Recap: Gonzaga @ UConn

Final Score: 85-82

I am almost speechless. This game was so huge, so big in the scale of the Zags season. Matt Bouldin was literally breathtaking, Jeremy Pargo was almost perfect, Robert Sacre and Micah Downs flashed potential i have not seen before. When all was said and done, Gonzaga walked away with a 2 win east coast road swing, Amazing! Honestly, with the recent struggles of our offense and the plethora of silly mistakes and turnovers, i almost felt that UConn would walk out with an upset. Pargo would have none of that, demoralizing A.J. Price with 4 big threes; many times it appeared that price was "challenging" Pargo to hit the big three with his recent struggles at the long range shot. Bouldin appeared at times to be a wizard with the rock, dishing it out, weaving thru triple stacked defenders and swooshing big mid range jumpers. I think the turning point in the game with only a couple minutes on the clock was how the zags seemed to continue to attack Hasheem Thabeet and take the Gentle Giant out of his element and force him into careless foul situations. Big Win, Bigger confidence booster, look out Wazzu, this isnt the depleted young roster of last year that seemed to disappear with the game on the line. LETS GO ZAGS! LETS GO!

P.S. Andy Katz had an article showcasing the Zags tough Road trip here.