HoopsHD continues its simulation of what would have happened in TTTW (The Tournament That Wasn’t). Up next it is time to continue with the First and Second rounds of the NCAA Tournament with a look at the first of four pods in the West Region. Top-seed Gonzaga’s path to a potential Final Four begins in Spokane, Washington with a matchup against 16-seed Boston University and, should they avoid the upset, the winner of LSU vs Rutgers awaits in the second round. Will the Zags make the Sweet 16 or will someone else surprise? It is time to find out!
FIRST ROUND – WEST REGION – SPOKANE, WASHINGTON
(1) Gonzaga vs (16) Boston University
The first pod in the West Region, being played in Spokane, Washington, featured the top-seed in the West, the Gonzaga Bulldogs, taking on Patriot League tournament champion Boston University. Gonzaga had an amazing 2019-20 season, winning 31 regular season games and capturing both the West Coast Conference regular season and conference tournament titles. Mark Few’s team’s path to the Final Four would first have to take them past a Boston University team that had upset Colgate on the road in their conference tournament title game.
The Zags came out ready to play in their first round game, quickly jumping on the Terriers and building out a 16-point lead by the halftime break. The second half was simply more of the same, as BU never made any serious run and Gonzaga was moving on to the second round by a final score of 88-67. Filip Petrusev was the top scorer for the Zags with 16 points while Joel Ayayi was a force defensively, pulling down 14 rebounds.
Final Score: (1) Gonzaga 88, (16) Boston University 67
(8) LSU vs (9) Rutgers
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights had not made the NCAA Tournament since 1991, the longest drought among any power-conference team. That all changed this season when the Scarlet Knights proved to be a force at home, scoring wins over the likes of Seton Hall, Maryland, Penn State, Illinois and Wisconsin. Although Rutgers struggled away from the RAC, their first round NCAA Tournament game, in Sacramento against LSU, was most certainly not a true road game by any means. LSU entered the Big Dance following an up-and-down season that included several head-scratching losses, most notably a loss at Vanderbilt, but still saw the Tigers tie for second in the SEC and win 22 games overall.
It had been almost 30 years since Rutgers last played in the NCAA Tournament. Scarlet Knight fans were very hopeful that it would be nowhere near that long before they returned again, however, they would need to find a way back in again in the future if they wanted to score their first Tourney win since 1983. LSU came ready to play, jumping out to a 37-29 halftime lead and cruising home for an 80-64 victory. Ja’vonte Smart led the way with 19 points for the Bayou Bengals, who were on to the Round of 32 and a date with top-seed Gonzaga.
Final Score: (8) LSU 80, (9) Rutgers 64
SECOND ROUND – WEST REGION – SPOKANE, WASHINGTON
(1) Gonzaga vs (8) LSU
The Gonzaga Bulldogs were playing their first two rounds practically in their backyards in Spokane and were looking to use that advantage to advance to the Sweet 16 in Los Angeles. After already having taken care of business against Boston University, the Zags had only Will Wade’s LSU Tigers between themselves and the second weekend of the Big Dance. LSU had looked about as good as they had all season in their first round win over Rutgers. Defeating a Rutgers team that only won twice away from home all season was certainly not akin, however, to beating Gonzaga in Spokane.
Gonzaga may have had the home advantage, but LSU showed up ready to play, jumping out to an early 6-point lead before fighting tooth-and-nail with the Zags the rest of the first half. A jumper at the buzzer from Skylar Mays gave the Bayou Bengals a surprising 48-41 halftime advantage that had the entire arena on edge. The Zags were able to retake the lead 5 minutes into the second half, but the game remained tight after that until a Killian Tillie 3-pointer put Gonzaga up 77-75 with just over 6 minutes left to play. It was a lead that Gonzaga would not relinquish the rest of the way, as they made their free throws down the stretch and held on for a hard-fought 97-89 win. Six different Zags players scored in double-figures in the win, including a team-high 18 points from Admon Gilder off the bench.
Final Score: (1) Gonzaga 97, (8) LSU 89
