Gonzaga Will Play Davidson As Seven Seed
The Gonzaga Bulldogs will be playing the Davidson Wildcats Friday at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Zags have been seeded #7 in the Midwest Region. Davidson (26-6 overall, 20-0 conference), the champions of the Southern Conference, will be a #10 seed. This will be first ever meeting between the two teams.
The winner of the Gonzaga-Davidson game will likely play Georgetown, barring a major upset by Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) Sunday in Raleigh.
Davidson, located in central North Carolina, made the NCAA Tournament in 2007, losing to Maryland 82-70 in the first round in Buffalo, N.Y. This is the third straight year they have made the NCAA Tournament as the Southern Conference champion. They also lost in the first round in 2006 to Ohio State.
The Wildcats played a tough non-conference schedule. Their losses include a four-point loss to #1 North Carolina, a six-point loss to #7 Duke and a 12-point loss to #8 UCLA. They currently are on a 22-game winning streak, one of the longest in the country. However, their only win over a team in the NCAA Tournament was a 60-47 win over Winthrop on February 22. Winthrop will play Washington State in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.
Davidson’s biggest weapon is Stephen Curry, a 6-3 sophomore guard from Charlotte, N.C. He averaged over 25 points per game for the Wildcats, easily their leading scorer. Jason Richards, a 6-2 senior guard from Barrington, Ill., is the only other Davidson player who averages in double-digits, getting over 12 points per game. He also averages eight assists a game. Boris Meno, a 6-8 senior from Paris, France, is Davidson’s leading rebounder, getting almost six boards a game.
Gonzaga lost in the first round of the 2007 NCAA Torunament to Indiana in Sacramento, Calif. This will be the tenth straight year in the NCAA Tournament, but their first at-large bid since 2003.
Two other teams from the West Coast Conference made the NCAA Tournament. WCC champion San Diego was seeded 13th in the West Region and will play the Connecticut Huskies Friday in Tampa, Fla. St. Mary’s was seeded 10th in the South Region and will play the Miami Hurricanes Friday in Little Rock.
The Zags tip off at 9:25 a.m. against Davidson on Friday. A printable NCAA Tournament bracket can be accessed here
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