[Chief Joseph]

I have watched nearly all of their games this year and imo this was by far their best effort. Kentucky has a deeper and more athletic team, but the Zags played smart and hard, plus made nearly all of their free throws. Although if that last lob pass by Kentucky would have been a foot higher, they would have tied the games. Great effort and win, best of the year so far.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

For a team that for much of the season was considered in danger of not making the Tourney, I was surprised they ended up with a 5 seed. Today they whooped an overrated and overseeded IMO Kansas team to advance to the Sweet 16 yet again. The jersey still said Kansas, but they lost 11 games this year. Sometimes you are what your record says you are.

[Chief Joseph]

Gonzagas offense was amazing and Kansas had no answer. Nembhart had 12 assists half way through the second half and the game was essentially over at that point. I think he is better than his brother who plays for the NBA Pacers. They are are most unselfish team possible, and if they move the ball and knock down open 3's, they are tough to beat since they have like 5-6 players that can knock down an open 3....a contested 3, not so much. If Ike stays out of foul trouble then they have the inside outside game that is tough to defend. Kansas was missing their top player-scorer McCullers so that for sure had an impact. But the Zags were hitting on all cylinders today and imo would have beat any team in the country today. The real test will be if they can win despite an off night.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

Not a great 3rd Round matchup. Already lost to Purdue this year, Edey went off on them. IIRC Clingan from UConn gave them all kinds of trouble too. They aren't built to deal w/ legit 7+ foot big men.

[Get Out and Go]

Credit to Hall of Famer Mark Few. After a slow start to the season, he developed this team over the past couple months; just as he always makes halftime adjustments and they usually come out flying in the second half, like yesterday. I always hope/expect them to get past the first weekend, which they did. Gonna' be a bit tougher now.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

[Sculpin]

Some teams just aren't that good, but I can't recall seeing a good team sleepwalk on defense in an NCAA tournament game like Kansas did. They looked like they thought it was an NBA All Star Game!

[Chief Joseph]

I think that the Zags are an overall better team than Purdue except for the Big Man. One key will be for Ike to stay out of foul trouble. One thing that I see that the Zags do better than most other teams is that they don't typically take very difficult shots, unless the shot clock is running out. Getting to the Sweet 16 after a slow start to the season is a victory in itself. If they do beat Purdue I expect it to be by a thin margin, maybe in OT, there have been a few of those already.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

Zags women also in the Sweet 16.

[Stefan]

[Chief Joseph]

Purdue is currently favored by 5.5 points so no real pressure on the Zags, if they play well, it should be a close finish. Only two of the teams that played today impressed me much, Uconn and Clemson, they are in their first Elite 8 since 1980. Uconn is going to be VERY tough to beat going forward. Watching the games tonight, teams take so many unnecessarily difficult shots, it's a testament to Few's coaching that the Zags rarely do the same.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

Yeah, I'm pretty much resigned to UConn being the first back to back Champs in almost 20 years. Clemson vs. Alabama in a Regional Final?! What sport is this? Football season ended long ago. So weird. Tommy Lloyd has won a bunch of games at Arizona, but he doesn't get it done in the post season. Really underachieving 3 years in a row as a #1 or #2 seed.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

Not particularly close. Not surprised. 14 loss NC State to the Elite 8. Regular season don't mean nothin', you just get hot for a week or two and that's all that matters.

[Chief Joseph]

You were right, Edey was a big problem, first by his presence opening up 3 pointers in the first half and dominating the paint in the second half. The Zags for sure did not have their best game, but I don't think even their best would have been enough today. One thing I don't get is the lack of playing time for Braden Huff, he has had some really good games off the bench but barely played tonight. He went with Stromer who didn't do much. Glad to see NC State winning, but they did not look that good tonight, Marquette was simply horrible. Pretty sure this was their last win of the season. I DVR all the games and go back and forth trying to watch them all. Things were going perfectly and I was about to switch back to the NC state game when an announcer spoiled the ending for me, hate when that happens. The Zags went as far a they were realistically able to, especially given their slow start to the season.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

Not a good day for hoops fans in Spokane. Zags women are getting crushed by Texas at the half. Abysmal offensive performance so far for the GU women.