The West regional kicked off with a heavyweight matchup between the Gonzaga Bulldogs and the Florida State Seminoles.
Before the tournament, the Bulldogs were a sexy Final Four pick and for good reason. Mark Few’s ball club is loaded with potential pro prospects led by Junior Rui Hachimura. In most mock drafts, Hachimura is projected to top 10.
However, you’ll see some that have him going as high as number four overall.
In this contest against the Noles, Hachimura finished with 16 points, four rebounds, and two dimes. Nonetheless, he wasn’t the main story in this one.
The two major factors were Noles’ center Christ Koumadje playing less than 10 minutes due to foul trouble and the clutch three-point shooting of Zach Norvell Jr. He finished the game with 14 points, but 12 of those were from beyond the arc.
Following the game, the sophomore talked about his timely shooting and how he watches a lot of James Harden.
In the nightcap, the thought was that Michigan and Texas Tech would be a tight one, but it was anything but that. The Red Raiders are led by potential lottery pick Jarrett Culver, however, he didn’t even have to do much.
Naturally, Culver led the Red Raiders in scoring with 22, but it was their suffocating defense that was the difference in this one. They held Michigan to 32 percent shooting from the field and 1-of-19 shooting from beyond the arc.
No team is going to win many ballgames shooting like that.
Something tells me Saturday’s night Elite Eight matchup between Gonzaga and Texas Tech will be a thriller.
