NCAA Tournament: Gonzaga plasters McNeese State, serves notice to the rest of the Midwest
The Zags were a trendy pick to lose to the No. 12 Cowboys. Instead, they played like a No. 1 seed.
Instant reaction to Gonzaga’s 86-65 victory over McNeese State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament …
The alarms proved false. All of them.
Gonzaga wasn’t quick enough to keep pace with McNeese State?
Wrong.
Gonzaga would suffer the same fate as myriad No. 5 seeds before them?
Dead wrong.
Gonzaga didn’t have the talent to replicate the NCAA success so many of coach Mark Few’s teams produced before?
Absolutely. Dead. Wrong.
The fifth-seeded Zags were superb Thursday evening in the opening round of the Midwest regional, blistering McNeese State from start to finish and setting up a second round duel with either No. 4 Kansas or No. 13 Samford.
It was hardly the outcome many expected.
The Zags looked more vulnerable this season than they had in recent years and carried their lowest seed into the NCAAs (No. 5) since the 2016 season.
Combine that fair-to-middlin’ seed position with ominous history — No. 12s have won 35 percent of the matchups against No. 5s — and the Zags were a popular pick to exit early.
Instead of an upset, or even a breathless escape, the Zags dispatched McNeese State with the ease usually seen when No. 1 seeds face No. 16s.
In a first half that was nothing short of master class, they shot 58.6 percent from the field and 72.7 percent from 3-point range.
They had 15 assists on 17 baskets.
They committed just four turnovers.
And they had a 23-point lead.
But as Few himself said during a brief halftime interview on TBS, “We’re playing great defense.”
Gonzaga’s frontcourt size affected the Cowboys, leading to a bevy of errant shots from close range.
On the perimeter, the Zags challenged jumpers, sealed off passing lanes and held the Cowboys to 1-of-10 shooting from behind the line.
It was a clinic on both ends of the court, and it raised to the rafters an intriguing possibility: Could this version of Gonzaga — a version devoid of both the high seed and high draft picks usually associated with Few’s program — actually match the standard set by its predecessors?
Could the Zags turn all the skepticism into a boulder on their shoulder that serves as propellant for a deep run through March?
The Midwest is arguably the weakest region, with a No. 1 seed (Purdue) that typically struggles in the NCAAs and a No. 2 seed (Tennessee) that does the same.
Oh, and No. 4 Kansas just announced that its best player, guard Kevin McCullar Jr., would miss the tournament because of a knee injury.
March Madness is full of twists, and here’s one to ponder:
What if the Creighton-Oregon winner — the teams meet Saturday in the second round — looms as the greatest obstacle between Gonzaga and the Final Four?
After all, both the Bluejays and the Ducks were sensational today.
And so was Gonzaga.
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