Shocker! No. 1 Gonzaga eliminated
Wichita State’s barrage of three-pointers seals upset win over Bulldogs
SALT LAKE CITY— Gonzaga’s gone.
Cleanthony Early and Ron Baker scored 16 points apiece and Wichita State hit seven straight three-pointers late to knock the top-ranked and No.1-seeded Bulldogs out of the NCAA tournament 76-70 on Saturday.
The Shockers (28-8) advanced to the Round of 16 for the first time since 2006, while Gonzaga became the first top seed to be eliminated, giving all the Zags doubters an I- told-you-so moment.
The Zags survived a scare in the second round against Southern but couldn’t hold up against a fellow mid-major from Kansas whose motto is “play angry.”
The Shockers face the winner of Sunday’s game between La Salle and Ole Miss.
Wichita State had the Zags down 13 early. Though Gonzaga (32-3) fought back, the barrage of threes was too much for the small school from Spokane, Wash.
Kelly Olynyk of Kamloops, B.C., scored 26 points to lead Gonzaga, and Kevin Pangos of Newmarket, Ont., had 19.
While Gonzaga held the top spot in the AP Top 25 over the final weeks of the season, skeptics thought of the Bulldogs as a soft No. 1 seed that benefited from a relatively easy schedule in the West Coast Conference while other leading contenders were getting banged around in the power conferences.
One thing is certain: Wichita State was not intimidated.
“They never quit,” Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said. “You know we got the big lead, Gonzaga makes a great run as a No. 1 team in the country would, and these guys dig down.” Shockers, for sure. They showed their grit after Gonzaga’s 12-0 run gave the Bulldogs a 49-41 lead with 11:53 left. Back-toback three-pointers by Pangos and Michael Hart started it, Olynyk hit a jumper then a pair of free throws, and Pangos capped it with a steal and fast-break layup.
But Wichita State outscored the Zags 35-21 from there.
Tekele Cotton, Early and Baker hit three straight three-pointers to get the Shockers within 61-60.
Baker’s free throws gave Wichita State the lead for good at 64-63 with 3:10 left. He then hit a three and freshman Fred VanVleet helped seal it with a final three with 1:28 remaining.
The Shockers, who made just two of 20 three-pointers in their 18point win over Pitt on Thursday, shot 50 per cent from beyond the arc and 50 per cent overall.
“They deserve ton of credit,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “It’s the first time in a while someone made 50 per cent on us, and to bang in 14 threes (overall) is pretty amazing.” It was another sudden end to an amazing ride for Gonzaga. The Bulldogs were playing in their 15th straight NCAA tournament but have not advanced past the Round of 16 since 1999. “I think we just . . . let our guard
“We play together, we stick to our goals, we’re good teammates.”
RON BAKER
WICHITA STATE GUARD
down a little bit,” said Gonzaga’s Mike Hart. “That was key. We defended so well at start of the second half, then we just lost some guys. You can’t do that when guys get it going. You’ve got to get a hand up and stay close to your assignments. We kind of lost it there a few possessions and that really hurt us.” While the Zags left disappointed, the Shockers stayed fairly low key in victory. At one point, Early and teammate Chadrack Lufile body-slammed each other and the Shockers huddled at midcourt for a team hug. But largely, Wichita State acted like a team that’s been there before.
“We play together, we stick to our goals, we’re good teammates,” Baker said. He hardly looked fazed.
The game was physical as expected, with Olynyk getting a forearm across his neck in the first half but continuing to go hard at the basket.
Gonzaga’s 39-30 rebounding edge couldn’t make up for 36 per cent shooting.
Six different Wichita State players hit threes in the opening 20 minutes as the Shockers made 7 of 15 from beyond the arc in the first half. They finished 14 of 28 overall. “Man it means a lot,” the Shockers’ Carl Hall said. “It means a lot to this program and our fans deserve this.”