No. 7 Gonzaga Vs. No. 10 Davidson

The most intriguing matchup of the first round of the 2008 NCAA men's basketball tournament is between #7 Gonzaga and #10 Davidson. Anyone who follows college basketball knows about Gonzaga, a team which has made the tournament 10 straight times. Meanwhile, Davidson is quietly assembling a powerful program of its own. The Wildcats are making their third straight tournament appearance and have the longest winning streak in Division I with 22 straight wins.

Gonzaga won the regular-season title in the West Coast Conference but fell in the championship game of the WCC Tournament, 70-66, to San Diego. They finished the season with a 25-7 record, with wins over Saint Joseph's, Connecticut and Utah.

The strength of the Bulldogs is their backcourt, which features WCC Player of the Year Jeremy Pargo. The junior point guard averages 11.9 points and 6.03 assists per game. Matt Bouldin joins Pargo in the backcourt and he leads the team with 12.7 points per game. Guards Micah Downs, Steven Gray and David Pendergraft each average over 20 minutes a game.

The key for Gonzaga is what will it get from it frontcourt. Size and depth are not problems for the Bulldogs, who regularly go nine players deep and have five players on the roster 6'9 or taller. The question is what kind of production they get from the interior. The X factor for Gonzaga is Josh Heytvelt, a 6'11 forward who is still working his way back into form after missing the first half of the season with an injured foot. If Heytvelt can provide minutes and points, Gonzaga is a team that can match up with any squad in the country.

Meanwhile, Davidson played a brutal non-conference schedule which included matchups against top 10 teams North Carolina, UCLA and Duke. That early schedule helped pave the way for a 26-6 record and its third straight Southern Conference title. The Wildcats have won 36 straight conference games and 46 of their last 47 Southern Conference tilts.

Like the Bulldogs, the Wildcats have an outstanding backcourt. Shooting guard Stephen (pronounced Steffin) Curry was fifth in the nation with 25.1 points per game. A threat to shoot from anywhere on the court, Curry has a lightning-quick release and has made great progress during the year on his moves to the basket. If the name sounds familiar, perhaps it is because his father, Dell, was a 16-year NBA veteran.

While Curry gets all of the attention, Davidson has a terrific point guard in Jason Richards. With 8.0 assists per game, Richards led the nation. He's also an extraordinary ball handler and breaks pressure with ease. In the game against Duke, the Blue Devils were forced to call off their trademark full-court pressure because Richards was beating it and leading his teams to easy baskets.

The Wildcats do not have a star in the frontcourt, but have four players in the 6'8-6'9 range who can run the floor and score. Seniors Boris Meno and Thomas Sander are joined up front by junior Andrew Lovedale and sophomore Stephen Rossiter. This quartet has held its own against notable big men Tyler Hansbrough and Kevin Love.

Gonzaga coach Mark Few has earned a ton of respect in the basketball community for his year-in year-out excellence. He is constantly mentioned in regards to coaching vacancies at big-name schools, most recently Oregon. Davidson's Bob McKillop is not as well-known among fans, but he holds the respect of everyone in the coaching profession. Duke's Mike Krzyzewski called McKillop one of the top coaches in the country after the Blue Devils played the Wildcats earlier this season.

This game figures to come down to two key points. Can Gonzaga get production inside from Heytvelt and others to ease the strain on its guards? And can anyone on the Bulldogs stop Stephen Curry?

Prediction The cross-country flight to Raleigh, North Carolina to play Davidson in its home state is too much for Gonzaga, which falls in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. The Wildcats prevail, 81-76.

Sources

Gonzaga Men's Basketball Statistics

Davidson Men's Basketball Roster