Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY -- It was every frontrunner’s nightmare.
Top-seeded Gonzaga ran into a No. 16 seed that wasn’t playing like one, a crowd itching for an upset and the very real prospect of making history in a most embarrassing way.
Somehow, the Zags maneuvered their way out of that mess Thursday with a 64-58 win over Southern University, but not before they provided plenty of fodder for all those who wondered if that small school from the small conference really belonged at the top of the West Region bracket.
"The more I watched film on them, the more I thought, ‘This could be a real grinder,"’ coach Mark Few said of the Jaguars, champions of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. "They don’t give you many easy opportunities. They’re very patient on offense."
Gonzaga’s win wasn’t safely in hand until the final buzzer sounded. No. 1 seeds improved to 113-0 since the NCAA tournament field was expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
Led by Derick Beltran’s 21 points, Southern (23-10) made life hard on the West Coast Conference champions from beginning to end, blocking eight shots, making 10 3-pointers, harassing its star player, Kelly Olynyk, and never letting the Bulldogs out of striking range.
Olynyk scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half to help the Zags (32-2) advance to Saturday’s game against Wichita State.
But there was
"That crowd gets going, everyone wants to see that first 1-16 loss," Few said. "My guys deserve credit. They showed a lot of poise down the stretch when things weren’t going their way."
And the Jaguars, the team from the school in Baton Rouge, La., with enrollment 6,900, never stopped scrapping.
This was a program nearly wiped off the map three years ago because of an NCAA investigation into problems in the classroom. They still have players on the roster who were around for the 20-plus-loss seasons that ensued. Their coach, Roman Banks, looked to Gonzaga -- tiny school with big dreams -- as the program his players should try to emulate.
"We were basically an unknown ballclub that showed they can play the game of basketball," Banks said. "But we came here to win a ballgame, not play a ballgame."
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