ATB: Gonzaga is For Real
Posted by rtmsf on December 10th, 2008
Game of the Night. Gonzaga 74, Washington St. 52. This game, more than any other thus far this year, proves to us that Gonzaga is for real. More than the Maryland blowout one day after the Terps pounded Michigan State. More than the Tennessee win where the Zags held the high-scoring Vols to 36% shooting. No, while all you guys were sleeping on the east coast, the Zags were laying waste to their in-state nemesis in a rivalry game whom had frustrated and annoyed and outworked them in victories the last two seasons. Not this time around. Take a look at the gametracker below. Wazzu hung in there for a half, only going into the locker room down 32-29. After a quick post-halftime bucket, Gonzaga then went on a 15-0 run followed by another 10-4 run (totaling 25-4 for the mathematically challenged) to completely eviscerate the Cougs on their home court. What was the difference? Once again, the Zags played some serious defense. They held WSU to only 33% shooting from the field and a paltry 2-19 (11%) from three while grabbing seven steals and hitting ten threes on the other end. The Zags are currently 9th nationally in defensive FG% (34.7%) and 8th in defensive pts per possession (.80), and they’ve done so against the current RPI #2 schedule in the nation. Josh Heytvelt continued his renaissance with 22 pts, Austin Daye added 14, and Jeremy Pargo contributed 11/10 assts for the Zags. We were all over this team a year ago, but we didn’t realize the extent of Heytvelt’s injuries – now that he appears to be nearly 100% back, this team is legit.
Upset of the Night. Charlotte 70, Mississippi St. 64. Can we just go ahead and establish the SEC as a two-bid league this year? When a 2-6 team can come into the house of (supposedly) one of the better SEC West teams (6-2 prior to tonight) and run out to a 24-pt lead and never really be threatened, something is seriously wrong with the league. We’re certain RTC’s SEC correspondent Kurt Wurth will have something to say about this next week.
Mushing Eric Devendorf. You’ve probably heard by now that the Syracuse Judicial Board decided to boot guard and key cog Eric Devendorf out of school for “punching” a woman in the face on Nov. 1. Devendorf will probably get reinstated on appeal, but if you read the comments at Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician, you’ll learn about “mushing” someone who might be a little too amorous on the dance floor (and what Devendorf may have allegedly done to this woman). Great stuff. Check it out.
Other Games You Really Care About.
- St. Peter’s 51, NJIT 38. 42 in a row. NJIT actually led 20-19 at the half. Short-lived.
- Xavier 78, Ohio 56. Terrell Holloway returned from his foot problem to lead XU to its second-best start ever. Now they prepare for the Crosstown Shootout on Saturday at Cincy.
- Indiana 66, TCU 56. We have to admit, Indiana is better than we thought they would be. We didn’t think they would win games like this one.
- Oklahoma 78, Maine 52. Blake Griffin continues to slow down a little – only 22/10 tonight.
- California 72, Utah 69. Nope, we can’t figure either of these teams out, but Cal is starting to make us think they’re finishing top three in the Pac-10 this year. Jerome Randle hit a three to win the game with six seconds left.
- Butler 87, Bradley 75. Butler moves to 8-0 with a solid win over an MVC foe.
- Creighton 77, Dayton 59. Dayton takes its first loss in a tough way, getting thumped by Creighton and their 13 threes, five of which came for Booker Woodfox, one of the best names in CBB this year.
- Arizona 69, San Diego St. 56. A close game became not close as UA scored the last 11 pts of the game behind Jordan Hill’s 25/14.
- BYU 94, Boise St. 56. BYU rode a 61-pt second half to a humiliation of Boise, and remained unbeaten as a result.
On Tap Thursday (all times EST):
- Miami (OH) (-14.5) v. Wisconsin-Milwaukee (ESPN FC & 360) – 7pm
- Villanova (-10) v. St. Joseph’s (ESPN2) – 8pm
- Kansas St. (-5.5) v. Southern Mississippi (ESPN FC & 360) – 8pm
