Dance Card: Gonzaga, WCC

Who? The Bulldogs of Gonzaga. Sometimes also known as Zags.

What? Named for tenacity. Spike's been in commercials.

Where? Spokane, Washington, the Lilac City.

When? March 11th, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Why? They won the West Coast conference tournament.

How? Keani Albanez dropped 20 points in a game that Gonzaga controlled the majority of, and the Zags came out with a 71-57 win over second-seed BYU.

Surprise? Predicted to finish first in the conference, they finished first, two games ahead of BYU.

RPI: 15

SOS: 91

Record: 29-4 (16-2 West Coast)

Good wins: Either at Washington State or at Ohio State.

Bad losses: They've avenged road losses to both St. Mary's and BYU with wins in the WCC tournament.

Who's running this show? Kelly Graves, since 2001, a Lobo by pedigree (hey, my father-in-law has ties to New Mexico, so my ears perk up).

Extra, Extra! The Spokesman-Journal; you might also find some good stuff from Jayda Evans, though she's less well-traveled than she used to be.

This time around for Gonzaga, it's senior guard Haiden Palmer leading the way with 15.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, along with over three steals. Junior forward Sunny Greinacher and sophomore center Shelly Cheslek are a big inside tandem, combining for 15.7 points, 10.6 rebounds, and just over two blocks a game. Solid defensively and as tournament-tested as any major team, Gonzaga is not to be taken lightly.

For more on their path through the tournament, stay tuned to our 2014 WCC Tournament storystream.