A Jersey Guy: Trojans are Ready for Epic Upset
The numbers suggest that this will be a historic college basketball season for factors beyond COVID-19 issues.
With a maximum of three games remaining in what has thus far been a flawless (29-0) season, Gonzaga appears more than capable of becoming the first Division 1 men's college basketball season since Indiana in 1976 to post an unbeaten season.
Coach Mark Few's Zags rolled into Tuesday night's NCAA West Regional finals with an 83-65 win over Creighton on Sunday night.
Not only is Gonzaga winning, it is winning with ease. The victory over Creighton was the Zags 26th straight double digit victory and sent them into the Elite 8 for the fourth time in five years.
What is even more scary for the few teams that could be on Gonzaga's dance card before the season concludes with a Final Four weekend is that they feel they have not reached their full potential.
""I don't think we've peaked,'' said guard Andrew Nembhard, part of a program which has a 33-game winning streak and has been part of an evolution which has been transformed over the past 20 years into one of the most dominant college basketball programs in college basketball. ""We can always get better.''
It would seem foolish to doubt that wisdom as the Zags prepare to face USC in Tuesday night's West Regional finals.
But we are.
There is literally a Trojan horse stalking Gonzaga.
Picking USC over Gonzaga is not a Hoosiers 2021 version of Hickory upsetting South Bend Central upset, but it will suffice.
Unlike Gonzaga, USC began this season with little fanfare
Coach Andy Enfield's Trojans were picked to finish 6th in the Pac-12 in the pre-season. It should be noted that another Pac-12 Elite 8 participant, Oregon State, was picked to finish last, so it's probably not a good idea to give Pac-12 prognosticators Nostradamus status.
The Trojans, who came into the NCAA tournament as a middle of the road No. 6 seed have blitzed their way into their first Elite 8 appearance in 20 years with easy victories over Drake, Kansas and Oregon.
The Trojans have done it with a chip on their shoulder attitude and a defense that has smothered their opponents.
In their three tournament wins, the Trojans have held Drake and Kansas to under 30 percent shooting and limited Oregon to 37 percent.
Led by brothers, (center) Evan and (guard) Isiah Mobley, with steady contributions from Tajh Eaddy and Drew Peters, the Trojans are peaking at the right time, with the combination of defense, size, scoring ability all melding at the right time.
Plus they have an attitude, which they have carried all season. ""Once we found out they had us at sixth in the Pac-12, I really think we came together,'' said Isiah Mobley, who has been the on the court catalyst for the Trojan surge, "Just to prove everyone wrong.''
Attitude and almost everything else has failed to work for teams that have challenged Gonzaga this season.
Only West Virginia in a five point loss in December, has made the Zags sweat into the final minutes of any game.
The odds--Gonzaga is a nine point favorite--indicate Tuesday's outcome won't be different than any other game Gonzaga has played this season.
But strictly on a hunch and considering that it is still March Madness and the tournament has been set in the hoop dream environment of Indiana and adding Enfield, who had his NCAA Cinderella Moment with Gulf Coast College 8 years ago, the conditions for an upset are all in place.
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Elite 8 pairings kick off Monday night, where Baylor takes on Arkansas (South Regional) in what looks like an old fashioned Southwest Conference rivalry and Houston and Oregon State (Midwest Regional), a pair of programs with prolonged Final Four drought, square off.
Tuesday night's other Regional (East) final will match Michigan vs. UCLA in a blue-blood battle.
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"Don't be surprised if Texas waits until Thursday when the price of buying out Texas Tech' coach Chris Beard's contract drops from $5 million to $4 million to close the deal.
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Loyola coach Porter Moser, who was a hot commodity last week, may be down to choosing to stay at Loyola or go across town and take over at DePaul, which would be a conference elevation move--Missouri Valley to Big East. If Moser stays at DePaul, Cleveland State's Dennis Gates becomes a key person of interest.