March Madness – (15) North Dakota State vs. (2) Gonzaga

(15) North Dakota State Bison vs. (2) Gonzaga Bulldogs (-18, 126.5 o/u)

The No. 15 North Dakota State Bison (23-9, 12-4 Summit League) will aim for a second consecutive Round of 64 upset tonight when they face the No. 2 Gonzaga Bulldogs (32-2, 17-1 WCC) at Key Arena in Seattle (9:50 PM Eastern).

The Bison upset Oklahoma as a No. 12 seed in last season’s tourney behind the stellar play of 6’7″ guard Taylor Braun. The tournament win was the first in the school’s history.

Despite losing Braun to the pros, the Bison finished tied for first in the Summit League with South Dakota State this year. They went on to meet the Jackrabbits in the Summit tournament title game and held on for a 57-56 win.

North Dakota State was up by eight with just four minutes to go, but scored just two points in the final five minutes, nearly letting their tourney berth slip away.

Senior guard Lawrence Alexander has been the Bison’s go-to guy all year, averaging 18.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, and he didn’t disappoint in the title game, scoring 25 points on 8/15 shooting.

Bison coach David Richman went just seven players deep against South Dakota State. Fatigue could be a huge factor if they do so again against the Zags; Gonzaga coach Mark Few can spread minutes between nine players without losing too much firepower.

“Obviously, we’ve got our hands completely full,” said Richman of facing Gonzaga. “They’ve got size, skill, multiple kids that can shoot it, depth, and they’ve got Mark Few. … To have a field-goal percentage difference of 14 [52.4 for versus 38.4-percent against], that’s a huge difference.”

Gonzaga’s unique combination of size, skill, and experience led the team to a 32-2 record on the year. The Bulldogs’ first loss of the season came at Arizona (in OT) early in December; their second was arguably their worst game of the year, when they fell to BYU in Spokane in their regular season finale.

Kentucky transfer Kyle Wiltjer has been sensational for the Bulldogs all year, leading the team with 16.7 PPG, and chipping in with six boards per night. But it’s the back court combination of Kevin Pangos and Gary Bell Jr – both four-year starters – that is the real backbone of the team.

Despite having unprecedented success in the regular season in Spokane, Pangos and Bell have yet to make a deep tournament run; now, heading into their final March Madness, that’s the only thing on their mind, as neither wants their Bulldog career to come to an end.

“It goes into winning and winning at the most important part of the year but that’s not my biggest concern. The legacy, that’s great, and I love that stuff, but I just want to keep playing as long as I can”, said Pangos.

The Bulldogs are 18-point favorites at the moment and the game total is at 126.5. The Bison play very tough D, meaning it could be tough for the Zags to stretch the lead. Consider taking the Bison and the points.

(Photo credit: SD Dirk (flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode]. Photo has been cropped.)