NCAA Tournament Round of 32
#1 Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. #9 Wichita State Shockers
Saturday, March 23rd, 2013. 5:40 PM PDT.
EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Wichita State hails from the Missouri Valley Conference, is 27-8 on the season and 12-6 in MVC regular season play. The Shockers are on a one game winning streak and are 12-6 away from home.
Gonzaga is 33-2 on the season and 16-0 in WCC regular season play. The Zags are on a 15 game winning streak and are 17-1 away from home.
TV: TNT.
Radio: KGA 1510 AM and KEYF 101.1 FM in Spokane, KTEL 1490 AM in Walla Walla, KALE 960 AM in the Tri-Cities, KKRT 900 AM in Wenatchee, KWIQ 1020 AM in Moses Lake and KMAS 1030 AM in the Puget Sound region.
Satellite Radio: Sirius 93.
Online: Live video from the NCAA.
Wichita State defeated #8 Pittsburgh 73-55 on Thursday to advance to the Round of 32. Gonzaga defeated #16 Southern 64-58 on Thursday to advance to the Round of 32.
The Shockers are a fantastic rebounding team. They grab 57.4% of available rebounds which is the fourth best in the nation and gives them an average of 34.7 rebounds per game. They do a great job on the defensive glass especially, holding their opponents to the sixth lowest offensive rebounding rate in the nation.
Enter Mike Hart, ball hawk. Offensive rebounds are more valuable than defensive rebounds, they're harder to get. Of Mike Hart's 123 rebounds this season 63 have been on the offensive side of the ball. He is the 32nd best offensive rebounder in college basketball and, by 31 places, the best in this game.
The Shockers pride themselves on their toughness, exemplified by battling for rebounds. Head Coach Gregg Marshall tells his team to "play angry". It has worked, they've outrebounded their opponents pretty easily. However, the Missouri Valley Conference ranks 30th out of 32 conferences in offensive rebounding rate.
Gonzaga presents Wichita State with an interesting challenge. A team that does not rebound as well as them but that can sub in guy after guy who either have a knack for chasing down rebounds, Hart, Barham and Olynyk, or are tall enough to just pluck them out of the air, Dower, Olynyk and Karnowski.
The Zags don't just match up with the Shockers well because they can rebound nearly as well as them. They match up well because they don't generate many chances for opponents to pull down defensive rebounds. The Zags are fifth in two point percentage (and they shoot a lot of two pointers), fourth in offensive efficiency and third in field goal percentage.
The other thing going for the Zags that isn't visible when looking at stats? They just got embarrassed by Southern. Wichita State cruised past Pittsburgh. Gonzaga has a lot more to prove than the Shockers do.
The other thing going for the Zags that isn't visible when looking at stats? They just got embarrassed by Southern. Wichita State cruised past Pittsburgh. Gonzaga has a lot more to prove than the Shockers do.
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