Who? The Bulldogs of Gonzaga.
Where? Spokane, WA, pronounced "Spo-CAN", not Spo-CANE.
When? Monday the 8th, in Las Vegas, NV.
How? While upstart Pepperdine gave the Bulldogs a fight in the first half, Gonzaga answered with a 42-point second half to run away 76-48.
Upset? Nope. Gonzaga ran the table in conference play, finishing two games ahead of St. Mary's.
RPI: 27
SOS: 113
The strength of the men's program in Gonzaga is the stuff of busted brackets- but it has overshadowed the successful program that Kelly Graves has built on the women's side. Spokane is where West Coast Conference Players of the Year are churned out on a regular basis, as junior point guard Courtney Vandersloot claimed the honor this year and last, with forward Heather Bowman taking the crown before her.
Vandersloot leads the nation in assists with 9.3 a game, powering an offense that averages over 80 points per game. She also chips in 14.6 points, second to senior forward Heather Bowman's 15.6. Senior forward Vivian Frieson helps with the heavy work inside, averaging 7.3 rebounds to lead the team, and adding 12.2 points. WCC Newcomer of the Year Katelan Redmon is the fourth in double figures in scoring, putting in 10.8 per game.
The knock on the Bulldogs is their schedule; while they've piled up wins, and played major competition, the two don't overlap. Out of conference tests at Stanford and at home against Baylor resulted in substantial losses. Their best win is a 70-58 victory over USC. I still wouldn't want to be a BCS team seeing them across the bracket.