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!

Hello Everyone

My internet was shut off right after the Saint Mary's game and as a result i have not been able to post anything, im sorry to everyone, but i will be getting back to posting once the WCC tournament starts. GO ZAGS!

Recap: Gonzaga @ St. Mary's

Recap

Final Score: St. Mary's 89 Gonzaga 85 OT

Box score snapshot
Scorer: Jeremy Pargo 27 points
Rebounder: Abdullahi Kuso 12 Boards
Passer: Jeremy Pargo 9 Assists
Swatter: Austin Daye 4 Blocks
Theif: Jeremy Pargo 2 Steals

Game MVP: I have to give this one to both Pargo and Kuso. Kuso played at such a high level and pargo took over the game at times.
Jeremy Pargo
27 points, 4 Boards, 2 steals, 9 assists, 50% from three.
Abdullahi Kuso
11 points, 12 boards, 3 blocks, lots of energy

Team Comparison: Zags/Gaels
Points: 85/89
assist to turnover ratio:-0.88/+1.56
Rebounds:41/37
Shooting Percentage: 50%/41%
3pt Percentage: 41%/41%

Notes from the sideline:
-Austin Daye continues to look more and more confident, he showed some sick moves for a man of his height that took his defenders out of their shoes.
-To start out the offense showed some great fluidity, i think starting steven gray was a great idea, he provided some good perimeter defense and a good shooter for the offense to kick it out to
-Josh Heytvelt looked horrible at times, and he was held out for large portions of the game.
-Abdullahi Kuso was brilliant, he did not get into foul trouble until the end of the game and was a monster on the boards all night long. He even showed some flashes of great offensive awareness, something that has been a weakness in the past.

What it means for the future (Analysis):
First of all, this game was called very poorly by the refs for both sides. Honestly the zags outplayed the Gaels for large stretches of the game, the end saw many bad calls in the Gaels favor that helped them walk out with the Win. All said, the zags played a great game, and made lots of good decisions, i think when i comes time for the rematch it will not be close and the zags will overcome. I still think the zags will walk away with 1 loss in conference and take the conference title again.

SUPER 16 Rankings

SUPER 16 Rankings

(RPI in parenthesis)

1. Memphis 21-0 (2)
2. Duke 19-1 (4)
3. Georgetown 18-2 (6)
4. North Carolina 21-1 (3)
5. Tennessee 18-2 (1)
6. Kansas 20-1 (5)
7. UCLA 19-2 (10)
8. Michigan St. 19-3 (9)
9. Drake 18-1 (8)
10. Butler 19-2 (24)
11. Wisconsin 18-3 (14)
12. St. Mary's 17-3 (23)
13. Washington St. 17-4 (20)
14. Xavier 18-4 (15)
15. Stanford 18-3 (18)
16. Texas 16-4 (11)

Scouting Report: St. Mary's (CA)

Scouting Report

W-L:17-3
RPI:23
SOS:111
Best Wins:
#8 Drake 72-66
#45 Seton Hall 85-70
#51 Ohio 70-63
#55 Oregon 99-87
#63 San Diego St. 69-64


Current Rankings:
AP #20
ESPN #20

Team Leaders:
Points: Patrick Mills 14.5
Assists: Patrick Mills 3.9
Rebounds: Diamon Simpson 9.4

Best Players:
Patrick Mills, Fr., 6-0 175, PG
Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! OI! OI! OI! Need i say more? He is the top scorer, a freshman sensation, dropped 37 on Oregon, the top passer, and has scored more than 15 points 8 times this year. Mr. Mills is a NBAer, pure and simple. I expect him to be a tough matchup for Pargo tonight.

Diamon Simpson,Jr., 6-7 200, SF
The Diamond in the rough. Mr. Simpson is a rebounding force, he has 10 games with 10 or more boards this year. He is the yin to Patty Mills yang on the perimeter. I expect the zags to be out-rebounded thanks to this man. Did i mention he also shoots 55% from the field and averages almost 2 blocks a game?

Omar Samhan,So., 6-11 265, C
The second straight game that we have had to contend with a low post monster. This time it is with the offensive prowess of Samhan. He shoots 56% and has scored more than 15 points 7 times this year. He is also a great rebounder and shot blocker, teamed with Simpson, they are the best low post tandem in the WCC and maybe on the west coast altogether.

MY Prediction:
When i had a chance to go through St. Mary's schedule i noticed a big difference from the zags, we travel, they dont. The Gaels have had 5 true road games all year and are 2-3 on the road. Their biggest wins(Drake, Oregon, and Seton Hall) have come at home. Now what does this mean? Well the zags are going to McKeon Pavilion tonight, that does not mean this is a guaranteed loss, but i think it gives the Gaels a sizeable advantage. The arena rocks every time the zags come to town. I think when all is said and done the zags are a better team, however the Gaels edge the zags in a close one with the homecourt advantage.
Final Score: St. Mary's 72 Gonzaga 70

Recap: Gonzaga @ Santa Clara

Recap

Final Score: Gonzaga 87 Santa Clara 82 2OT

Box score snapshot
Scorer: Austin Daye 22 points
Rebounder: Josh Heytvelt 7 Boards
Passer: Jeremy Pargo 7 Assists
Swatter: Austin Daye 3 Blocks
Theif: Bouldin/Downs/Gray 2 Steals

Game MVP: Austin Daye
22 points, 5 Boards, 1 assist, 1 steals, 3 blocks, 75% from three.

Team Comparison: Zags/Broncos
Points: 87/82
assist to turnover ratio:+.70/-.72
Rebounds:23/31
Shooting Percentage: 50%/52%
3pt Percentage: 39.1%/38.5%

Notes from the sideline:
N/A

What it means for the future (Analysis):
Well i thought it would be a tough game. John Bryant and Brody Angley were dominant at times, and honestly the zags were outplayed. We will see what this development means for the big St. Mary's matchup, if the zags lose, we could see the Gaels take a firm lead of the WCC, whereas if the zags win they continue to assert their claim for being the best in the west.