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How the West will be won
Posted: Thursday March 23, 2000 07:17 PM
By B.J. Schecter, Sports Illustrated ALBUQUERQUE -- In this week's Sports Illustrated magazine, we point out that this is the year that Cinderella died. While this has taken away some of the heartwarming stories the first two rounds normally present, it has given us some tremendous basketball to look forward to as we head into the Sweet 16. So, as we bid adieu to Cinderella, say goodbye to the seedings as well. Throw them out. They mean nothing. Already we've lost two No. 1's, three No. 2's and three No. 3's. Out here in the Wild Wild West we have a No. 4, 6, 8 and 10. How the West is won will be one of the more compelling stories of the tournament, so let's take a look at the draw and break down the four remaining gunslingers. Purdue vs. Gonzaga Though Gonzaga has beaten some very good teams this season, it hasn't faced the kind of physical challenge that Purdue presents. The Boilermakers love to bang, and how well the Zags are able to handle the pounding is the key to this matchup. When the two teams squared off last year in West Lafayette, Purdue crushed Gonzaga, 83-68. This is certainly much different scenario, but Gonzaga has yet to prove that it can beat a big, physical team. Gonzaga is definitely not a Cinderella. But the Zags don't play in the Big Ten and will have a difficult time matching up with the Boilermakers. If Gonzaga frontcourt starters Casey Calvary and Axel Dench get into foul trouble, this one could get ugly. On the other hand, point guard Matt Santangelo and sharpshooter Richie Frahm give Gonzaga an advantage in the backcourt. "Richie has the ability to make any point guard look good," says Santegelo. True, but when teams have been able to shut Frahm down Gonzaga has lost. Purdue should be able to do that. Purdue players have extra incentive. They would love to be the team to remove Gene Keady's "best coach never to go to a Final Four" label. "He has accomplished so much and he's given us so much, we want to give him his missing piece," says Brian Cardinal, Purdue's emotional leader. Prediction: Purdue should be able to get a step closer to that goal. The Boilermakers are too big, deep and physical for the Zags. Purdue prevails 85-75. LSU vs. Wisconsin I'm not trying to take anything away from Wisconsin, but will someone please tell me why people are constantly harping on the theory that LSU won't be able to play a halfcourt game? First of all, the Tigers can play a halfcourt game if they need to but it won't even come that. Wisconsin plays excellent pressure man-to-man defense, but the Badgers won't be able to force the tempo against LSU. Who's the most athletic team in the Big Ten? Michigan State. And what happened when Wisconsin played Michigan State? It lost both times. Badly. Yes, Wisconsin slowed the tempo against top-seeded (and a weak No. 1 at that) Arizona, but LSU is much better than Arizona. In fact, the Tigers beat 'Zona by 26 points during the regular season. "Everybody's talking about Wisconsin's defense," says LSU coach John Brady. "But what people don't realize is that we led the SEC in field goal and three-point field goal percentage defense. We play some pretty good defense too." The Tigers do. And they have two dominating post players in 6'9" Stromile Swift and 6'11" Jabari Smith. Wisconsin has no answer for them. Prediction: Wisconsin has enjoyed a wonderful run, but it ends here. This one won't be close. LSU wins 80-55. B.J. Schecter is a Sports Illustrated reporter. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.
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