Sports
Zags Grab #1 Seed; Former Renton Stars at WWU Head to D2-NCAA
The first time in school history the Gonzaga Bulldogs secure a #1 seed in the West Region of the NCAA tournament.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs continue with many firsts this season, their first number one ranking and now their first number one seed in the West Region of the NCAA Tournament with their first match-up against 16th seed Southern University (23-9) Thursday at the EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.
"For the first time, we were dealing with expectations," said Gonzaga coach Mark Few. "We'd never had expectations."
This will be the second meeting between Gonzaga and Southern University. Gonzaga hosted Southern in the McCarthey Athletic Center to open the 2010-11 season, earning the 117-72 victory on Nov. 12, 2010.
Find out what's happening in Rentonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The winner of the Gonzaga/Southern game will play the winner of the University of Pittsburgh/Wichita State University Saturday. Pittsburgh (24-8) is seeded No. 8 and Wichita State (26-8) is seeded No. 9.
The Zags were a No. 2 seed back in 2004 and lost to Nevada in the second round. Their best NCAA tournament finish was an Elite 8 in 1999. The Bulldogs have gone dancing 15 consecutive seasons.
Find out what's happening in Rentonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Complete NCAA Tournament Brackets
The University of Washington returns to the NIT with its first round match-up Tuesday against third seed BYU at 6:30 p.m. PT on ESPN in Provo, Utah.
"It gives our seniors three more games," said UW coach Lorenzo Romar, in the aftermath of UW losing 80-77 Thursday night to eventual league-tournament champion Oregon in the second round of the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas.
Husky senior Scott Suggs said Sunday "I'm just excited to be able to keep playing," the co-captain said. "I wish things would have turned out differently in the Pac-12 tournament but nonetheless we're able to keep playing. We have another chance to win something."
The winner will play the winner of Tennessee and Mercer sometime between Thursday and next Monday, March 25 in the NIT's second round. Quarterfinal games will be played March 26 and 27.
Washington is 10-8 all-time against BYU, 4-4 in Provo. Their first meeting was in the 1951 NCAA tournament. The Dawgs and Cougars haven't met since Dec. 9, 1997, when UW won 83-68 at BYU.
Seattle Pacific University and Western Washington boys basketball are playing in the second round of the Division II NCAA Tournament. Seattle Pacific plays No. 2 Cal Poly Pomona Monday 2:30 PT in Bellingham. Western Wash. who is the number one seed plays CSU San B'dino at 7:30 p.m. in Bellingham.
If SPU and WWU both win, they will face off Tuesday.
Lindbergh graduate Jimmy Keum and Kennedy graduate Joey Schreiber play for WWU. Both have not seen any playing time, but experience as they expect to become possible starters after the Vikings will lose six key seniors. The Vikings are the defending Division II NCAA champions.
**Additional information for this story was provided by Gonzaga University Athletic Department and the University of Washington Athletic Department.
