First one seed falls. Wichita State beats Gonzaga.
March 23rd, 2013 at 11:55 PM ^
Arizona matchups up very well with OSU. I don't think OSU gets to the final four.
March 24th, 2013 at 12:12 AM ^
I am really looking forward to the Cuse Indiana game.
March 24th, 2013 at 12:35 AM ^
Yeah, 'Cuse is big and athletic down low and IU can shoot the 3. It's like they're both facing the thing that can beat them most easily. Going to be an interesting one. Assuming IU beats Temple of course.
March 24th, 2013 at 12:20 AM ^
that proves what most teams have come to realize, which is that it is absolutely worth a few extra losses to either play in a tough conference or load up the pre-confreence schedule with some meaty games.
One other observation -- if virtually every betting person realized that the Zags were way overseeded, what's up with the selection committee? Also, Oregon State.
March 24th, 2013 at 12:28 AM ^
You mean Oregon? They were overly slavish to the RPI, except, oddly, in seeding the MWC.
March 24th, 2013 at 12:33 AM ^
It proves if your opponent nails 14 3's you are in trouble. A lot of those were end of the shot clock heaves as well.
As far as OSU goes, Lyons is going to be huge problem for them. Playing physical against him will not bother him in the least.
I believe oregon was up to #9 at one point this season, then I think somebody got injured for a long stretch and they lost quite a few games without him. Whoever that was is back though, def not a 12 seed
March 24th, 2013 at 11:35 AM ^
and in their case it was an absolutely critical injury. Think Michigan without Burke. The Ducks look very dangerous now, though.
March 24th, 2013 at 12:14 PM ^
Playing a difficult schedule certainly prepares you for tough teams in the tourney and given that Gonzaga is in the WCC they need to do that. But Gonzaga consistently plays one of the tougher non-conference schedules and this year they played West Virginia, Clemson, Oklahoma, Davidson, Washington State, Illinois, Kansas State, Baylor, Oklahoma State and Butler. They are clearly trying hard to schedule major conference and quality mid-major opposition. So this doesn't really apply to them.
Anyway, it's one game and stuff happens. This game was decided by Wichita State going 14 for 28 from 3. If the Shockers shoot their season avg of 34% from 3 then they make 9 of 28 and score 15 fewer points on those 28 shots and lose this game.
March 24th, 2013 at 12:39 AM ^
No idea why people consider this a huge upset. Gonzaga was given a number 1 seed after playing a weak conference schedule. I had them losing in the second round but to Pitt instead. They should have never gotten a one seed in the first place.
March 24th, 2013 at 12:40 AM ^
I see that our game will be on Friday against the UNC/KU Winner
Sparty will be playing friday also, I wonder if they'll schedule the games in the same slot? Stupid if they do so, CBS that is.
March 24th, 2013 at 12:55 AM ^
Damn. Was really hoping for Thursday/Saturday again. Family gathering on Easter Sunday so I'll be in a car for six hours...
March 24th, 2013 at 12:43 AM ^
I'm just so glad Gonzaga got exposed for what they were: a decent, top 25ish team who built up a gaudy record playing no one.
Well, to be fair, they were both right. Gottlieb was correct that Gonzaga was overrated and Anthony was correct that Gottlieb is an idiot.
March 24th, 2013 at 12:46 AM ^
Lame that the west bracket is set up for Ohio to breeze it's way to the final four. Iowa state is no pushover though so you never know.
Well, I mean we're not in Kansas anymore, right..?!
I had Wichita State beating Gonzaga in my bracket. Unfortunately, I also had Wisconsin and Georgetown in the Elite 8.
From the box score:
| FG% | 3FG% | FT% | Eff. FG% | Off. Reb. % | |
| WICHITA ST. | 50.00% | 50.00% | 66.67% | 64.00% | 36.00% |
| GONZAGA | 35.59% | 34.78% | 68.97% | 42.37% | 52.63% |
| Def. Reb. % | Assists | Steals | Turnovers | Pesonal Fouls | |
| WICHITA ST. | 47.37% | 16 | 8 | 15 | 22 |
| GONZAGA | 64.00% | 13 | 8 | 13 | 17 |
This game was actually fun to watch overall, I thought, and particularly the last 12 minutes or so, as Wichita State was down 49-41 around that point before turning on the jets, if you will. After that, starting around the six minute mark or so, the Shockers started a brief but spectacular downpour of threes and suddenly found themselves up five with a minute left. They did it despite being dominated on the boards by Gonzaga for the most part too.
This may not shock anyone either, but at least at TeamRankings, Wichita State was 28 spots higher in the SOS rankings than Gonzaga, although Gonzaga had the higher overall RPI on the season (0.640 to 0.611, so not by much).
A general note - after yesterday's results, all #5, #14 and #16 seeds are now out of the Tournament. All seeds have seen at least one similarly seeded team fall now.
I watched Gonzaga 3 times this year and I didn't think they were anywhere near the elite teams in the B1G. Maybe as good as Illinois or Iowa, but probably not as good as Minnesota.
I was rooting for the Shockers to expose the Zags, and I liked that. Then I realized Ohio's path was easier, and I didn't like that. Then I remembered I wanted B1G teams to advance as far as possible in the tournament. I'm very conflicted here.
March 24th, 2013 at 10:03 AM ^
probably the worst #1 seed ever especially considering they were the #1 overall seed. Illinois beat them by double digits at Gonzaga. IMHO I don't think they wouldn't have finished in the top half of the BIG.
March 24th, 2013 at 10:54 AM ^
March 24th, 2013 at 10:14 AM ^
I agree that Gonzaga probably shouldn't have received a one seed due to their schedule, but I don't feel that the two games they played proved that.
For starters, a one seed has now fallen in the second round 3 of the last 4 years (Kansas in 2010, Pitt in 2011 and now Gonzaga in 2013). This is relatively new, as you have to go back to Kentucky-UAB for a prior example.
Numerous other teams have had close calls in that situation. In just that same 2010-now span, Duke only beat us by 2 in 2011 and MSU only beat Saint Louis by 4 in 2012.
Looking at this year's tournament, while Gonzaga struggled with Southern in round one, Kansas was equally as bad against Western Kentucky. Did the Jayhawks not deserve to be on the top line?
There is the nature of the game itself. At 6:28, Kevin Pangos made a three to put Gonzaga up 58-51. Over the course of the next five minutes Wichita State hit six straight long jumpers, five of which were three-pointers, to go up 70-65 with 1:32 remaining. A team that shoots 33% from three shot 100% over the course of 5 minutes.
Gonzaga lost a fluky game. If Wichita State clangs that first three off the rim (like VCU did so many times yesterday on so many open looks), would they have won? If they shot 50% during that stretch would they have won? Both of those scenarios are far more likely than what actually happened. But unfortuanately for Gonzaga, things didn't fall their way.
I think Gonzaga should have been a two-seed, but losing to Wichita State didn't prove they were undeserving of their status.
March 24th, 2013 at 10:50 AM ^
Zag's got "the wips" and started missing, turning the ball over, etc.
March 24th, 2013 at 12:46 PM ^
Confidence is part of it, but making 6 straight long jumpers, some of which were contested, is very unusual.
And it doesn't refute the fact that "better" programs have lost or been challenged in that same spot (Duke and MSU both lost in the next round).
The Gonzaga hate is incredibly sad.
March 24th, 2013 at 10:16 AM ^
March 24th, 2013 at 10:23 AM ^
March 24th, 2013 at 11:57 AM ^
Gonzaga has been one of the most chronically overrated teams in the NCAA for the past ten years. They were 4-2 against teams on the level of Illinois or Minnesota going into the tournament, and beat up on tomato cans in their conference. They should never have sniffed the top ten, what alone #1.
Instead of seeing this, the media will rank them too high next year, and make excuses for their "upset loss." In reality, though, this game was no "shocker." The only team that played more under their so-called level of competence in the round of 64 was Wiscy. If Gonzaga had been playing Ole Miss instead of Southern University, they would have lost in that round.
Good riddance to bad media hype.