Mythical March Madness Preview: Gonzaga Regional

Out West, Gonzaga looks very stout in Mythical March Madness, but there is some sneaky competition and a team that will get to sleep in their own beds that could challenge the Bulldogs.

Gonzaga is 31-2 and if pressed, Mark Few's team sure looks like they can outscore just about anybody. The Bulldogs have an imposing front line of 6-11 forward Filip Petrusev, who averages 17.5 points and contest. Then there is 6-7 small forward Corey Kispert with his 14 points a game, and then 6-10 Killiam Tillie averages 13.5 points a game and is a big, physical style power forward. 

The guy that makes it go is point guard Ryan Wooldridge, who can score but can pass the ball even better. Aas you would expect, Few's team plays sound basketball and makes few mistakes. No pun intended, okay a little. 

Gonzaga average outscoring opponents by 20 points a game and out rebounds them by an average of 9.2 a contest. The Zags will be formidable. 

BYU knows them well and I think the four-seed is a solid sleeper with Yoeli Childs scoring 22 points a game and BYU, who opens with Bradley has wins over tournament teams Houston, UCLA, and Utah State.  

You cannot discount Oregon, who while they don't play on the older court at McArthur Court, they are familiar with the historic gym and they will be sleeping on their own campus. The Ducks have eight wins over teams in the tournament and a big scorer of their own in Payton Pritchard at 20.5 points a game. If you don't like green and gold then plan on missing the opener in the tournament as the Ducks play the Bison of North Dakota State and green and gold will be about all you will see.

Just a reminder to help with preventing the spread of the COVID-19 virus, there are no fans, no cheerleaders, poms, mascots or pep bands. Only players, coaches, support staff, officials, and scorer's table personnel in the building for games. 

Oklahoma State is in this regional as a "homer" pick, but we think the Cowboys and talented full speed point guard Isaac Likekele will give a great account of themselves. I'm predicting a win over first round opponent Michigan, which would avenge a first round loss to the Wolverines in the Cowboys last NCAA appearance in 2017. 

My big sleeper in the region and maybe the entire tournament is Utah State. The 10-seed Aggies open with Marquette and then get the Michigan State-Siena winner. Sam Merrill of Utah State scores 20 points a game and just like some of the top seeds, the Aggies are big in averages. They average beating their opponents by 12 points a game and outrebounding them by nine a game.  They have also beaten four teams in the tournament. 

Play in Eugene, Ore. on famed McArthur Court begins on Thursday.