On to the 3rd Round of the NCAA tournament and we will see the Gonzaga Bulldogs take on the Wichita State Shockers. The game is scheduled for an 8:40 pm (Eastern) start time and will be televised on TNT. Currently the Odds for the game have Gonzaga favored by 7 points while the total sits at 128.
Analysis: Not only is Gonzaga the top seed in the region and owners of the most victories in the nation at the moment with 32, the squad is also the top- ranked team in the country according to the latest Associated Press poll, but you would have never been able to tell all that when the Zags hit the floor for their first game of the tournament versus Southern on Thursday. The Bulldogs are a team that ran the table in the West Coast Conference during the regular season and then picked up yet another conference tournament title in a convincing win against Saint Mary's, and still the critics were wondering if Gonzaga could be a legitimate power given the schedule it has played this season. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, they left those skeptics with even more questions on Thursday when they needed a late 8-2 run to close against 16th-seeded Southern in order to grab the uninspired 64-58 victory. Olynyk started slow against Southern before cranking it up and scoring 17 of his 21 points in the second half. The West Coast Conference Player of the Year took a more aggressive approach over the final 20 minutes and it paid off. “In the second half, I really just had to focus on finishing plays,” said Olynyk, who also grabbed 10 rebounds for his fifth career double-double. Bulldogs coach Mark Few said there was extra emphasis placed on working the ball into Olynyk. Sophomore guard Kevin Pangos also played well and made four 3-pointers en route to 16 points.
As for the Shockers, they played second fiddle to Creighton in the Missouri Valley Conference in 2012-13, losing to the Bluejays twice this month, including the MVC Tournament title game almost two weeks ago. However, because WSU was competing against a top-flight team like Creighton during the regular season, the ninth-seeded squad was not scared off by the prospect of taking on eighth-seeded Pittsburgh on Thursday. In fact, the Shockers went on the attack versus the 20th-ranked team in the nation and came up with a somewhat unexpected 73-55 triumph. Armstead had 22 points and junior forward Cleanthony Early added 21 against Pittsburgh, but a player who had only six points also was one of the heroes. Sophomore guard Tekele Cotton pestered Panthers’ leading scorer Tray Woodall to two points on 1-of-12 shooting and recorded a career-best five steals. “Malcolm called him a free safety - I think he’s more of a strong safety,” Shockers coach Gregg Marshall said. “I think he’s going to come up and help in run support. He’s a tremendous athlete.” Senior forward Carl Hall (12.7 points, 7.1 rebounds) will be a key player against a Gonzaga squad with a strong frontcourt. Hall has posted five consecutive double-digit outings and has 43 blocks, second on Wichita State behind senior center Ehimen Orukpe’s 54. The Shockers are aiming to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2006, but they are 1-6 when playing the nation’s top-ranked team.
Pick: I am going with the Bulldogs in this one as I look for them to get back on track. They did play a flat game vs Southern, but nerves may have been apart of that, after all this is thier first time in the tournament as a number 1 seed. I expect them, to calm down in this one. Wichita State had a big win vs Pittsburgh, but they also shot 41 FTs in that game and that won't happen here. Look for Gonzaga to get most of the critics off their backs with a big DD win in this one.
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