Shocker Shock the Nation

The Butler Bulldogs had quite a wild ride against the Marquette Golden Eagle, it was a back and forth game. It would end with an inbound pass thrown out of bounds by the Golden Eagles with 2.9 seconds left. But, Butler couldn't get it to Rotnei Clarke who had 24 points, and with no time-outs they gave it to Andrew Smith who bricked a 3. That would end Butler's tournament and they would go home on a 74-72 loss. Vander Blue was the man who made the 3 to put the Golden Eagles up and gave them momentum at the end. He had 29 points that game and was 3-4 on the 3 ball.

The Syracuse Orange have been lead to another victory by James Souterland. This game against the California Golden Bears, Southerland had 9 rebounds and 14 points not taking as many shots. C.J Fair was though, the junior had 18 points and 6 rebounds at forward. But, when Richard Solomon got hot he started cutting Syracuse' leads from 10 to 5 and the Golden Bears were back in it. Solomon played amazing this game with 14 rebounds and 22 points. This added up to a 66-60 loss for the Golden Bears.

Overrated, Overrated, Overrated, that is what half the nation sees number 1 Gonzaga to be. They have just lost 70-76 to the ninth seeded Wichita State Shockers. The Shockers were winning nearly the whole game, but keeping it close, then Cleanthony Early helped the Shockers yet again run away with it as time expired. Early had 7 rebounds and 16 points. Not even Kelly Olynik could win it for the Bulldogs, he had 26 points and 9 rebounds, sadly for the Bulldog fans that wasn't enough. Not even Kevin Pangos's 19 points was enough, not even Mike Hart's 14 rebounds was enough. My point is Wichita State played to well as a team for any singular star to beat them alone.

As Marquette moves on who do you think they will play, Miami or Illinois? I believe that the Illinois will win because, they have already beaten Ohio State, Gonzaga, Indiana, and Butler. I think they can add Miami to that list. Post your opinion in the comments.

Round of 32 Matchup

  Earlier today, Gonzaga beat Southern University, 64-58.  Pittsburgh lost to Wichita State today too.  This means Gonzaga will be playing Wichita State in the round of 32.  Pittsburgh is a team who can bring on the pressure.  Many people were expecting Pitt to win.  The reason Pitt won so many games was because of their home court advantage.  The Panthers are not a very good team on the road.  This game was in neutral territory, and Pitt didn't have as much fan support and noise as they did during the regular season.  Wichita State was a team that surprised many people last year.  They are a good team that can grind out any win.  When they are told they can't win, they win, and they make it a big deal.  Gonzaga had an amazing record this season at 31-2.  Their only significant loss was to Butler in the middle of the season.  Butler also won today.  Gonzaga didn't have a very difficult schedule this season, a result of their astounding record.  Still, to only lose two games in one season is impressive no matter who you play.  When Gonzaga plays Wichita State, I think Wichita State will win.  Wichita State is a team that grinds out wins in hostile environments and in important games.  Gonzaga has been celebrating and they will most likely carry that on when they play Wichita State.  This is normal for any team and any player after a big win, especially after a close win.  Wichita State remains calm and keeps their composure, allowing them to comeback from large deficits.  This game will be a hard fought battle though.  Every player's skin will be left on the floor from hustling.

By Ameen I.

Vander Blue to the Rescue

In the first round of the NCAA March Madness Tournament the Marquette Golden Eagles faced failure in the eye against the Davidson Wildcats, until Vander Blue of Golden Eagles made a last second lay-up to put Marquette up by 1. Vander Blue wasn't even the best performer over all for Marquette, Chris Otule had that one in the bag. Otule had 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 blocks. The Wildcats top performer was Jake Cohen who had 20 points leading all scorers this game. The final score was 59-58 Marquette.

Gonzaga and Southern University were also among the teams to play in the first round today. Gonzaga faced a bad loss in the eye until they broke away in the second half playing cat and mouse. Then, they struck taking a 6 point lead and keeping it to win by a score of 58-64. Kelly Olynik was a big help for the Gonzaga Bulldogs with 10 rebounds and 21 points, Olynik did have 4 fouls so he had to play carefully the last minute or so. For the Southern University Jaguars Derick Beltran lead the club 21 points and shared the lead in assists with 3.

As the scores keep coming we'll keep getting the information out!

By David B.

NCAA Tournament Seeds

The NCAA tournament seeds have been releases and the top 5 seeds are listed below.

Midwest                                                               South

1. Louisville                                                            1. Kansas
2. Duke                                                                  2. Georgetown
3. Michigan State                                                    3. Florida
4. Saint Louis                                                          4. Michigan
5. Oklahoma State                                                  5. VCU (Virginia Commenwealth University)

West                                                                     East

1. Gonzaga                                                             1. Indiana
2. Ohio State                                                          2. Miami
3. New Mexico                                                      3. Marquette
4. Kansas State                                                      4. Syracuse
5. Wisconsin                                                           5. UNLV

By David B.

Poll Before March Madness

  March Madness is only a week away and this is the time for teams to start winning games.  Gonzaga has held on to the number one spot and is drawing even more national spotlight.  Georgetown beat Syracuse, closing an amazing rivalry with a win.  So many teams are impressing people with their ability to win games on the road in important games.  The player of the should be Otto Porter of the Georgetown Hoyas.  He usually scores, but instead he drew double teams and passed the ball off for a wide open shot.  The following is a list of the top 25 teams in the AP Top 25 Poll.

1) Gonzaga
2) Duke
3) Indiana
4) Louisville
5) Georgetown
6) Michigan
7) Kansas
8) Michigan State
9) Miami (FL)
10) Ohio State
11) Kansas State
12) Marquette
13) Florida
14) Oklahoma State
15) New Mexico
16) Saint Louis
17) Pittsburgh
18) Arizona
19) Syracuse
20) Memphis
21) UCLA
22) Wisconsin
23) Creighton
24) Notre Dame
25) Virginia Commonwealth                                                                                                 By Ameen I.

New Number One

  The Gonzaga Bulldogs have taken the number one spot for the first time in school history.  Miami lost to Duke in Cameron Indoor while Ryan Kelly was on fire.  Kansas State fended off Baylor with a last second shot.  Now is the time for teams to start winning important games in their conferences.  Also, Indiana was upset by the Minnesota Golden Gophers.  In many minds and mine, Ryan Kelly of the Duke blue Devils is the player of the week.  In March, anything can happen; upsets.  March Madness is nearing and many games are already having a playoff environments to them.  The following is the list of the top 25 teams in the AP Top 25 Poll.

1) Gonzaga

2) Indiana
3) Duke
4) Kansas
5) Georgetown
6) Miami (FL)
7) Michigan
8) Louisville
9) Kansas State
10) Michigan State
11) Florida
12) New Mexico
13) Oklahoma State
14) Ohio State
15) Marquette
16) Saint Louis
17) Syracuse
18) Arizona
19) Oregon
20) Pittsburgh
21) Virginia Commonwealth
22) Wisconsin
23) UCLA
24) Notre Dame
25) Memphis                                                                                                                         By Ameen I.

Teams Shining and Falling

  The AP Top 25 Poll has just come out.  With Syracuse breaking an NCAA record of on campus attendance at a game with 35,012 and losing to the Georgetown Hoyas.  Miami was upset by Wake Forest and Gonzaga has moved up to the number 2 spot.  Indiana stayed at the number one spot after losing to Illinois and has stayed atop the nation.  Teams have risen and they have sunk while being in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll.  I think the player that should receive the most credit should be Otto Porter of the Georgetown Hoyas.  He is an amazing player, leading Georgetown to many of their wins. The following is a list of the Top 25 teams in the AP Top 25 Poll.

1) Indiana
2) Gonzaga
3) Duke
4) Michigan
5) Miami (FL)
6) Kansas
7) Georgetown
8) Florida
9) Michigan State
10) Louisville
11) Arizona
12) Syracuse
13) Kansas State
14) New Mexico
15) Oklahoma State
16) Ohio State
17) Wisconsin
18) Saint Louis
19) Memphis
20) Butler
21) Notre Dame
22) Marquette
23) Pittsburgh
24) Oregon
25) Louisiana Tech                                                                                                                By Ameen I.

Gonzaga vs. Butler

Butler and Gonzaga would have a wild ride in this game. There would be 6 lead changes in just the last 2 minutes. It would start with Gonzaga down 57-58 with only 1:51 seconds left in the game. Then the back and forth would start. Gonzaga would regain the lead when Kelly Olynyk would make two free throws leaving :04 seconds on the clock. Then after a Butler turnover Gonzaga's David Stockton would make a terrible inbound pass and it would be stolen by Roosevelt Jones who would then take the ball up the court and make a buzzer beating fade-away for the lead.

Gonzaga was being carried all game to the fourth quarter by forward Elias Harris who had 7 boards and 20 points which would tie for the most in the game. On the Butler side it would be Roosevelt Jones who had 20 points also and 5 rebounds. He only had one steal, but it was a very important one. The one that would win the game.

                 By David B.