There is really not much to blog about. Gonzaga appears to be unstoppable. They completely destroyed USC 85-66, and truth be told, they took their foot off the gas for the last 4 minutes of the game – taking the clock down for the full 30 seconds most possessions.
Apparently, I missed most of the excitement. Charlie had an orthodontist appointment today and his mouth was sore – so we decided after dinner to get him ice cream from Sonic to make him feel better. I was sitting at the Sonic and just listening to the game on the March Madness app – and listening to Gonzaga score at will. And then the scary moment – official Bert Smith collapsed on the sideline. In a way, I am glad I didn’t see it – I was extremely nervous for him while I drove home with the announcers saying they were still tending to him and so they were going to commercial.
Fortunately, the reports I am reading say that he was feeling light-headed and being tended to at the stadium, but he was stable and did not need to go to the hospital. Very thankful that he was ok.
Anyways, by the time I got back home and we got everyone their ice cream and I sat down on the couch, I looked at my phone and could see the score was Gonzaga 23, USC 8. I didn’t even make Katie turn off Descendents 3 on the TV. I knew the game was already over – you simply go to get ice cream and miss the first 8 minutes of the game (well not completely, I listened to the dominance), and you have missed everything.
A point to make about how good Gonzaga is. If you look at the KenPom adjusted statistics, USC had the 4th best adjusted defense in the country. Gonzaga scored 49 points on them in the first half. They took one of the best defenses in the country, and just scored at will on them. The game never got close. At one point, USC scored to make it a 17 point lead, and the announcer said, it is hard to realize it, but the Trojans are actually playing much better basketball in the second half – but no matter what they do, Gonzaga won’t let them chip away at the lead.
Gonzaga is now 30-0. In 29 of those 30 victories, they have won the game by double digits. The closest anyone has gotten to them in the tournament is Oklahoma – who lost by 16. In the regular season, those double digit victories included games against 2 seed Iowa, 3 seed Kansas and 4 seed Virginia. I do think that they might be one of the best teams that I have ever seen.
You never know what March will bring. There is a reason we haven’t had an undefeated team since Indiana did it 1976. The pressure for perfection can be amazing. But for the moment, the West Coast Conference Champions have met every challenge they have faced this season – and that has earned them a well-deserved spot in the 2021 Final Four. Congratulations to the Gonzaga Bulldogs!