'Zags in again

Gonzaga grabs at-large berth, will make fifth straight trip

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) -- Gonzaga will appear in a fifth consecutive NCAA basketball tournament, after the anxious Bulldogs were awarded an at-large invitation from the selection committee on Sunday.

Gonzaga (23-8) got a surprisingly high ninth seed in the West, and will face eighth-seeded Cincinnati (17-11) in the first round in Salt Lake City on Thursday. The Bulldogs had to sweat through nearly the entire selection process as they were among the last teams announced.

"That added an amount of stress," said relieved senior Zach Gourde, who has been a part of all five NCAA teams. "I want to end my career on a positive note."

Coach Mark Few said the first at-large bid in team history was yet another milestone in Gonzaga's storied run.

"What a great statement for our program," Few said. "The at-large shows the respect we have nationally."

Still, he added, the wait "was a tad too dramatic for me."

The Bulldogs were thought to be on the bubble after losing the West Coast Conference championship game to San Diego. But Few had expressed confidence that his team would be rewarded for playing a difficult schedule.

However, the team did not stage a public rally on Selection Sunday this year, worried that they might be overlooked.

The seeding was a pleasant surprise for the Bulldogs. Last year they were ranked No. 6 in the nation, but received a shockingly low sixth seed and lost to Wyoming in the first round.

After that low seed, Few deliberately set out to play a tougher schedule this year. They added games against Georgia, Stanford and North Carolina State to what already was a tough slate.

"That's maybe the message the committee was trying to send," Few said.

Gonzaga is led by West Coast Conference player of the year Blake Stepp, who replaced Dan Dickau at point guard. The Bulldogs also feature All-WCC players Cory Violette and Ronny Turiaf.

Gonzaga lost to Cincinnati four years ago, and Few said Bearcats coach Bob Huggins is known for the tough, physical play of his team. Few watched one half of Cincinnati's win over Oregon this season.

If the Bulldogs beat Cincinnati, they will play the winner of the top-seeded Arizona versus Vermont game on Saturday.

Helping the Bulldogs in the eyes of the selection committee was a 43rd ranking in the Ratings Percentage Index, which measures schedule strength. The West Coast Conference was ranked 11th toughest in the nation, and the Bulldogs won the regular season title by two games.

"The schedule made it possible for us to get an at-large bid," Gourde said.

West Coast Conference tournament champion San Diego received a 13th seed and will play fourth-seeded Stanford in the Spokane Arena.

Gonzaga beat tournament teams Utah, North Carolina State and Tulsa this season. They also played well in narrow losses to Kentucky, Georgia, Indiana, Stanford and St. Joseph's. The selection committee forgave them for losing to weak Loyola Marymount and Portland.

Gonzaga athletic director Mike Roth said the team's limited number of tickets will be distributed to players and staff, students and between 10 and 15 percent of members of the booster club.

No other Division I team from Washington reached the NCAA tournament. Eastern Washington (18-12), which lost in the Big Sky tournament championship game to Weber State, received an NIT bid Sunday night.

Washington went 10-17 under first-year coach Lorenzo Romar while Washington State fired coach Paul Graham following a 7-20 season. Neither the Huskies nor Cougars made it to last weekend's eight-team Pac-10 tournament.

 

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