They aren't rooting for Montana in Montana

Deadspin did a map county-by-county of who is rooting for who in the NCAA Tournament via Facebook. As you can see there are a lot of homers and raging front-runners in this country. The first thing I looked at was how Gonzaga did and as you can see they had a clean sweep of the state of Washington and did a number on Oregon and Idaho.

Also have you noticed how many people are UNC fans in this country? I thought Duke fans were all over but apparently I was wrong. Look at UNC... they're in the entire south and northeast, the midwest and parts of California, Utah, Oregon and Nevada, Alaska and Hawaii. Wow.

And last... look at Montana. The Griz are a 13 seed in the tournament and you'd think the state would be whipped up in a frenzy. Instead there are a whopping two counties in the entire state that are rooting for Montana. One is Missoula county the other is some eastern part of the state, I actually think that might be where Bozeman is located. The rest is UNC, Gonzaga, Syracuse (??? the team the Griz will be playing) and then a few counties where I'm assuming Facebook doesn't exist.

What's the deal Montana, shouldn't you have better fans?

(Get your Griz gear here.)

Montana dancing again

Much to the chagrin of the rest of the Big Sky and Bozeman, MT ... the Grizzlies are once again dancing in the NCAA Tournament. After winning the conference tournament by downing Weber State 67-64 in the championship game.

The Grizzlies got a 13 seed from the NCAA Selection Committee and they'll face off against No. 4 seed of Syracuse. The Orange are ranked 19th in the nation after falling to No. 4 ranked Louisville in the Big East Championship Game.

This is Montana's third NCAA Tournament appearance in four years (Way to give them a challenge, Big Sky) and you might remember that in 2006 they upset Nevada in the Big Dance, 87-79.

That being said, you might remember the Big East being absolutely ridiculous this year. I mean, I know the conference is dissolving with their football/basketball schools, but that didn't stop them from getting 8 teams invited to the tournament. Syracuse reached the championship game in the Big East Tournament before losing to an NCAA No. 1 seed, and have six wins over ranked opponents.

The Griz obviously play in the Big Sky which neither have ranked opponents nor NCAA No. 1 seeds. While I'm sure Montana can play one another, I'm not exactly sure you want to take the Grizzlies for the upset special. You just can't beat Syracuse's NCAA Tournament pedigree.

(To get on the Griz bandwagon, click here.)

Gonzaga Basketball: Sizing up Southern

The best time of the year for sports is about to begin as the NCAA Tournament is officially here. Since Pac-12 basketball is a steaming pile of suck, and Eastern Washington University had a down year (their 10th straight down year), the only "dog" in the race that the state of Washington has is the No. 1-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs.

For the first time in school history, which you know began in 1999, the Zags earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will be facing No. 16-seed Southern University. Now if you said you've heard of this team before, you're lying, but Gonzaga should be able to get business done against this squad. Hailing from the Southwestern Conference with a 23-9 record, the Jaguars have won 22 of their last 25 games after starting the season 1-5. However...

- They rank statistically 162nd for points scored (67.7), 148th rebounds (35.2), 270th in assists (11.4) and 172nd in field goal percentage (.434). Gonzaga is ranked 12th in scoring (77.6), 54th in rebounding (37.3), 28th in assists (15.2) and third in field goal percentage (.504).

- Southern had an RPI of 182 and have a 1-7 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament. Only two other teams in their conference finished with a record over .500.

- Derick Beltran is the top scorer for the Jags with 15.9 points per game, then there's Malcom Miller with 15.8 points per game. Notice though that assists and field goal percentage aren't specialties for Southern.

The Zags, on the other hand, are No. 1 in the country for a reason. Southern has shown a knack for not being able to score... and you can't do that against the Zags - plain and simple.

(To get your Gonzaga gear, click here.)

And just like that the Huskies season is over

After the Huskies knocked the Cougars out of the Pac-12 Tournament, they promptly lost their next-round matchup against Oregon. Other than a meaningless appearance in the NIT Tournament, their season is now pretty much over.

UW had a chance to win it in regulation, but blew it, falling to the No. 3 seeded Ducks 80-77 in overtime.

The Huskies led 58-52 with 6:24 left, but they never really had control of the game, which included seven lead changes and 14 ties.

With the score knotted at 64-64 on the final possession in regulation, C.J. Wilcox had the ball in his hands with a chance at a game-winner.

He never got off a shot because Oregon guard Johnathan Loyd poked the ball away and time ran out.

Ah, keep on trucking Huskies.

(Since all the UW fans need a bandwagon to jump onto, get some Ducks gear here.)

Washington Women post impressive comeback win

I don't think I am breaking into any new ground when I say that a 22-point lead in womens basketball is usually pretty concrete. Unless of course you're playing the Washington Huskies. During the Pac-12 Tournament on Thursday, UW rallied past Oregon in a historic win.

A normal player looks at a 22-point deficit and doubt creeps in, wondering if the game can be won. But Washington point guard Jazmine Davis isn't a normal player.

Teammate Kristi Kingma continued to tell her team they were OK despite last-placed Oregon shooting three-pointers to build an early lead in their Pac-12 women's basketball tournament opener on Thursday.

Davis believed her, taking over the second half to help UW win 69-62.

Fifth-seeded Washington (20-10) advanced to play No. 19 Colorado on Friday at 8:30 p.m. at KeyArena. The Huskies lost to the Buffaloes 68-61 in Boulder earlier this season.

Now Oregon was really terrible this year, and Colorado should be really good, but hey, a win is a win right?

(To hop on the UW bandwagon, click here.)

Why the Zags at No. 1 is a big deal

After surviving BYU and crushing Portland this weekend, the Zags did what they needed to do and they were rewarded handsomely.

Gonzaga is No. 1 for the first time in school history, and unlike having to play any more regular season games - the move right into the WCC Tournament.

Why is this such a big deal?

Spokane usually doesn't get to lead the country in anything except for weird street people that like to ask for money and mumble to themselves. The town will go absolutely nuts and they deserve it since they live and die with their Zags.

Playing in the WCC, Gonzaga is the definition of a mid-major. While a No. 1 mid-major squad has happened before, it's still amazing for someone that doesn't play in the big 6 conferences to get the nod. Look at how the Zags have been chewing up the WCC and it's in stark contrast from years past where Gonzaga was eeking by these opponents and then wondering why they didn't get respect from the national media. They're impressive, if not the most impressive version of the Zags I've seen.

What does this mean? Probably a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, which practically means a trip to the Sweet 16 (probability wise). The Zags have never gotten any further than the Elite Eight and it looks like that this season Gonzaga might be able to go further.

Is this the year the Zags make the leap?

(Click here to get on the bandwagon now)

Gonzaga heading to No. 1?

Spokane is about to implode on itself from the combined weight of it becoming the center of the college basketball universe. First, Gonzaga was recently ranked No. 2 in the AP Poll, and last night the No. 1 team Indiana lost to Minnesota 77-73, which means the Zags could be looking at their first No. 1 ranking in school history. 

Now there is a chance they could get leap-frogged by Miami or Duke, but considering they've been ranked as high as No. 2 already and receiving first place votes, you'd think the voters would also give them the nod for No. 1. 

But hold on, Gonzaga still has to win their games this week to be considered. And it won't be easy.

Coming up, the Zags travel down to Utah to face 20-9 Brigham Young on Thursday, then on Saturday will host the 11-19 Portland Pilots. They might be a little slowed from travel to BYU in the Portland game.

If they win those two, expect the Zags to be No. 1 and be shocked if they aren't.  

I need a drink now

I need a drink. A big drink. I couldn't stomach my Eagles' loss to Montana last night after they had a commanding lead, blew it before halftime, played close the entire second half and fell at the end. It doesn't help anything that it was to the loathsome Montana Grizzlies and that it was in the Griz's home arena. Bottoms up! Here's Dave Cook with the skinny on the game...

It was déjà vu.

Montana overcame an 11-point lead by Eastern Washington University and pulled away in the final 1:45 for a 74-66 victory Tuesday (March 6) in the semifinals of the Big Sky Conference Men’s Basketball Championship in Missoula, Mont.

The Grizzlies advance to face Weber State in the championship game Wednesday (March 7) at 6 p.m. Pacific time and televised on ESPN2. The Wildcats trailed Portland State for 36 minutes in Tuesday’s other semifinal, but the Wildcats rallied for a 69-63 victory behind the 22 points of NBA prospect Damian Lillard.

Eastern’s season ended with a 15-17 record. The last time Eastern met the Grizzlies in Missoula, Eastern let a nine-point second half lead slip through their hands in a 79-71 loss.

“We came into an extremely tough venue and gave them all they could handle,” said first-year Eastern head coach Jim Hayford. “It was a great basketball game and I was very proud of the way our team played. We did a fantastic job to hold them to 40 percent shooting, including 23 percent from three. We just fouled a little too much. We played a complete game and I’m really, really proud.”

And for your Eagle fans that thought I had gone soft after moving to Montana. Lets just saw I was a bit mad last night. Look at this string of Facebook status updates I put together

"Difference between EWU and UM... drive outside of Cheney for 15 minutes and you're in the second biggest city in Washington State. Drive outside of Missoula for 15 minutes and you're kidnapped by the Unabomber. #Icantstandlosingtothegriz"

"Things I don't like 1. The Griz. 2. People posting photos of their toddlers in Griz gear on Facebook. 3. Memes about the Griz or Memes in general. 4. The fact that Griz fans are so uneducated they can't figure out what Big Sky Co-champions means in football."

"For the record, Bozeman is a way better college town than Missoula."

"And Monte is a hack."

And for the kicker, here's what my apartment looked like after the EWU loss...

EWU Men playing in Big Sky Semifinals

While heading to Missoula would normally be considered a punishment (Because what the heck is there in Missoula?), EWU is welcoming the trip after defeating Idaho State in the Big Sky quarterfinals and advancing to the conference semi-finals. Here's EWU Sports Information Director Dave Cook with the skinny...

Portland State defeated Montana State 75-53 Saturday night (March 3), and as a result, Eastern Washington University will play Montana Tuesday (March 6) in the semifinals of the Big Sky Conference Men’s Basketball Championship in Missoula, Mont.

Big Sky runner-up and No. 2 seed Weber State (23-5) will take on No. 3 seed Portland State (17-13) at 4:30 p.m. Pacific time at Dahlberg Arena. The fourth-seeded Eagles (15-16) will take on the top-seeded and host Grizzlies (23-6) at approximately 7 p.m. Pacific time.

EWU is 0-6 against the remaining teams BUT those games were decided by an average of less than 10 points, so anything can really happen in the postseason. One thing that will be tough is playing in the Grizzlies home arena, which is only an hour and 20 minutes south of me, so maybe I should go tip the home-court advantage in the Eags favor?

Big Sky Championship games close to home

Senior night for the Eagles wasn't actually Senior Night. With their victory over Idaho State, they clinched the right to host a Big Sky quarterfinal game this Saturday.

Senior night at Reese Court turned out to be only the beginning.

Seniors Cliff Colimon and Laron Griffin had career nights to lead Eastern Washington University to a 77-64 victory over Idaho State in the final Big Sky Conference regular season men's basketball game of the year for both teams Tuesday (Feb. 28) at Reese Court in Cheney, Wash.

The victory clinched the No. 4 seed in the Big Sky Conference Tournament for the Eagles, who finished the regular season 8-8 in the Big Sky and 14-16 overall. The victory means the Eagles will host the Bengals this Saturday (March 3) at 2:05 p.m. Pacific time at Reese Court in a quarterfinal game of the tournament.

Another good bit of info. With Montana defeating Weber State last night, the bulk of the Big Sky Tournament will be played down in Missoula meaning if the Eagles make it to the Semis, they'll be playing just an hour and 20 minutes south of me.

Soooo close...

Eagles heading to the Big Sky Tournament

It's time to party! EWU is headed to the tournament! Well... the Big Sky Conference tournament, but at least the Eagles have looked much-improved this year with first-year head coach Jim Hayford.

POCATELLO— Tremayne Johnson scored five of his seven points on the night during the final 33 seconds, converting 5 of 6 free throws, to secure Eastern Washington’s 85-78 win over Idaho State.

The win ensured a Big Sky playoff berth for the Eagles (13-15, 7-7) and puts them in a position to garner a home game during the first round.

Now if Montana can take care of business, the BSC tourney might be held in Missoula meaning I will be making the trip south to watch some Eagle basketball. I hate to say it but I will actually be rooting for the Griz.

RUHT ROW! Somebody give the Zags some Scooby Snacks

With St. Mary's losing to Loyola Marymount, all Gonzaga had to do was win out and they would at least have a share of the title. However, after last night's loss to San Francisco, the Zags have blown it.

What does this  loss mean? Basically Gonzaga no longer controls its destiny to win the WCC regular season title. They need St. Mary's to lose. If they don't win the regular season title, that means their resume for the NCAA Tournament might take a hit. If it takes a hit, that means they're going to have to do good in the WCC Tournament in order to go dancing. If they go one and done at the conference postseason tournament... Spokane might be idle this March.

They host BYU in the Kennel on Feb. 23, and if they lose that game, their NCAA hopes could take a bigger dip. That's four conference losses. That's a WCC team that haven't beat in the regular season and could be facing in the postseason tournament. I'm not saying that Gonzaga's season is over, but it's hanging by a thread at the moment and some late season losses could put them over the edge.

I'm taking the plunge this year... becoming a super college basketball fan

WHY NBA? WHY? I've done nothing but love you and stick up for you these past few years, telling people that you have the best players, story lines (Stern vs. Cuban, come on! It's like Stone Cold vs. McMahon) and entertaining factors of all the major sports. Alas, you're going to plungue into that nasty pit of labor hell and cancel the first two weeks of your season.

... and judging from the articles I've read, there probably will be more than that cancelled. Even if you do come back online this year, it's going to be an abbreviated season with a lessened quality of play and stats that will be skewed.

Hence, I'm going to do this. After years of dogging this sport for sucking, I'm going to jump head first into college basketball. Oh boy, I am looking forward to the beneath the rim play and point guards I don't recognize because they'll only be in school one year. Bring on the pain!

Here's what I'll be hoping for...

1. Eagles improve with Jim Hayford as their coach
After winning 79 percent of his games at Whitworth, he can turn things around at EWU right? Here's hoping. I think that his ties to the Spokane community will mean better local recruiting. I'm not asking for a conference championship here - just finish around .500 guys.

2. Gonzaga guys will suck, girls will rock
Don't ask me how I can root so murderously against the Zags but cheer on the Lady Zags. There's seriously something wrong with me and I think it may have something to do with my inability to grow Adam Morrison-esque facial hair. Anyways, I hope the guys go down in flames.

Alright who's ready to go?!

Reign of Terror - The Butler Bulldogs

Kenny Mayne is no fan of Blue II, the Butler mascot, at the Final Four.

Washington kind of sucks at basketball

The NCAA Tournament has hit full force and the Washington State teams have already left the building with Washington losing to UNC and Gonzaga losing to BYU. So lets take a long look at just what happened to our March Madness hopefuls.

 

Washington lost because...

1. They made stupid mistakes down the stretch. Like OJ Simpson stupid mistakes.
2. Bad inbound pass... the type of pass you haven't seen since middle school AAU.
3. God and the eastern part of Washington hates the Huskies.
4. The movie "Twilight" is from the western part of the state and karma is a bitch.
5. They didn't have Damen Wayans spirit helping them out.

Gonzaga lost because...

1. Jimmer Fredette. Or like any year in the NCAA Tournament, a hot-shooting college star that lights up the Zags and knocks them out of the tournament. Stephen Curry anyone? 
2. Hey you've heard it before... Mark Few can't guard the three, the pope is Catholic and sun is actually a star.
3. Gonzaga got their quota for tournament wins of the year. I mean after all, they are the Duke of the west coast and the Blue Devils lose in the second round all the time right?
4. That rowdy Kennel Club with the four kids that jump up and down weren't at the game.
5. America's Team... which strangley only has fans in the Northwest, just couldn't handle America's player, Jimmer Fredette, who strangely only has fans in Utah.

Gonzaga loses to San Francisco, world ends

Gasp! I can't believe it happened but Gonzaga University laid an egg against a WCC opponent. Nevermind it's a young team that could make free throws if they were putting watermelons in a swimming pool, this is an outrage to Zags fans everywhere.

I would be surprised if season ticket holders even renew their seats after this season, after all they merely were the 8th ranked team in the country. After all, when you load up on that fine Jesuit tradition and the March Madness moments - this is simply unacceptable for the Bulldogs. 

(Gag. Hurl. )

These long tortured Zag fans drive me nuts. Sure they've been playing like crap but before this season the city of Spokane wasn't sure Gonzaga was even fielding a Div. I basketball team considering all the new faces on the roster. Sure last year's team looked lack-luster against WCC opponents, but they were woefully overrated  despite Final Four aspirations and even their run to the Sweet Sixteen was a bit by backdoor tomfoolery.

(And you're lucky that the team played in the ho-hum WCC because they sleep-walked for half the season. Zag fans wont talk about this. They were completely devoid of any passion or fire whatsoever. My least favorite Zag team ever.)

This year's team has probably met or beat expectations - just don't keep talking to me about how much better Gonzaga is better than other schools in college basketball. They're lucky they play in the WCC, and despite that luck, sometimes it runs out.

San Francisco showed last night that the Bulldogs are mortal and they have a long ways to go. People will jump up and down and talk about how "crappy" this team is... and then in a month when they're playing in the tournament, it will be like this never happened.

I cheered for Gonzaga for the first time in a LONG time

A note to Gonzaga fans out there, you guys are are kind of ridiculous.

Sitting at the bar last night watching the Bulldogs trail Santa Clara for most of the game, fan depression reached ultimate mass when they were down by double digits.

Problem was... there was 11 FREAKIN MINUTES LEFT.

After supposed die-hard Zag fans shut off their televisions - evident by the amount of texts and twitter updates I received on my phone - I thought to myself "well this is just ridiculous, GU's the better team, they have a chance for a final push to cut that deficit."

I started talking to my friends around "you know what, Gonzaga is going to win this game." I dunno, call it premonition, call it me being a snooty a-hole sipping on my martini, but I figured I'd go against the grain. After hearing everyone say the Bulldogs were playing like fecal matter, I decided I'd give the uber young team the benefit of the doubt. When you're a bunch of sophomores, you don't always come out with your best game.

I started cheering as soon as Gonzaga started proving me right. Santa Clara froze up since they haven't played this big of game... ever... and the Bulldogs took control of the game. Now there's  hitting a few threes and take the lead, that's not taking control of the game... then there's dictating the tempo and out hussling the other team on the floor. That's taking control of the game.

One the Zags took the lead, I knew it was over. Check please.

So question for all you Gonzaga fans, why did you jump ship so quickly?

Gonzaga the best team on the West Coast?

While the Pac-10 continues to be terrible, Gonzaga keeps climbing the polls and probably could be considered the best team in the western United States. I'm usually the one saying that Zags are overrated but not this season as they've slowly but surely moved up in the polls after one quality win after another. Nobody in the big "BCS" conference of the Pac-10 can even take a sniff close to Gonzaga or even some teams in the WCC. Wow, how weird is this season?

Gonzaga continued to climb up the rankings, moving up to 15th in the A.P. poll and 10th in ESPN/USA Today. GU (14-3) moved up two spots in A.P. and four in the other poll. Saint Mary’s lost a few votes in the ESPN/USA Today poll, receiving 16 compared to 25 last week, after its home loss to the Bulldogs.

The Zags were No. 10 in ESPN/USA Today’s final regular-season poll last season and finished 13th after advancing to the Sweet Sixteen.

Keep in mind that Gonzaga played the toughest part of it's conference this last weekend and came out smelling rosey. Assuming they don't have a brain-lapse and get upset, it should be all downhill for Gonzaga the rest of the season.

Seattle University shows that Oregon State sucks, so does the Pac-10

If you're a Pac-10 fan, you can't be happy with bottom-feeder Oregon State losing to Seattle University by 51 points, their worst ever in school history at home. Oh yeah, and SU is playing their first year in Div. I. Ooops.

The win was surprising on many levels. For one, an Oregon State team that had struggled early in the season appeared to be turning something of a corner when it lost close games at both Washington and Washington State over the weekend. For another, Seattle U.'s leading scorer, Charles Garcia — ninth in the nation at 22.6 points per game — barely contributed until the matter had been long decided, scoring just one point in the first 35 minutes while saddled with foul trouble.

Can we say now that since Oregon State played the some of the league's top two teams very closely - Washington and Washington St. - that the Pac-10 is officially crappy? Really crappy.

The blowout of 2010

Three days into the year and we've already had the Gilbert Arenas blowup on Twitter, Mike Leach becoming more of a sympathtic figure because Craig James and Adam James are the biggest pusses on the planet, and now the biggest blowout I've ever seen...

Powered by a dominant defensive effort and Brittney Griner’s eye-popping dunking prowess, fifth-ranked Baylor overwhelmed Texas State, 99-18, Saturday night at the Ferrell Center for the most lopsided victory in school history.

So if you're a Texas State fan do you come out with the "we'll just wipe this of the board and start with a clean slate mentality" and then go back into a closet somewhere to take your own life?