- The Field of 68 Daily
- Posts
- March is here!
March is here!
Let's start off the best month of year with some Gonzaga coverage (one streak ends, another still in play), South Dakota State's continued Summit reign, plenty of bubble analysis and a look to a big weekend.
Tristan Freeman
March 01, 2024
It’s March! The best month of the year is finally here. Not fully into it yet? Here’s John Fanta to get you hyped. And now? Onto to Thursday’s games.
AI won’t take your job, but a person using AI might. That’s why 500,000+ professionals read The Rundown – the free newsletter that keeps you updated on the latest AI news and teaches you how to apply it in just 5 minutes a day.
1. One Gonzaga streak ends, another still alive
Gonzaga’s reign atop the West Coast Conference officially is over. But by winning at San Francisco on Thursday night, the Zags took another big step toward extending an even bigger streak — its run of 24 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
No. 23 Gonzaga ran away from the Dons, 86-68, thanks to a massive 28-6 run to start the second half. Graham Ike was unstoppable in this game, scoring a game-high 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting. San Fran had no answer for him all night and it eventually opened things up for the rest of the team, including Nolan Hickman. The junior guard scored 19 of his 22 points in the second half.
The win clinched a bye in the WCC Tournament, which means the Zags (23-6, 13-2 in WCC) need to only win two games for the automatic bid. San Francisco (18-12, 9-6) will be the 3 seed, which means they’ll likely see Gonzaga again in Las Vegas.
“It’s big for us to get that double bye,” Ike said. “But we still got to take care of business on Saturday. That’s what we’re looking forward to. Glad we got it done tonight. Enjoy it for a couple hours and then get on to tomorrow and get ready for Saint Mary’s.”
Ah, Saint Mary’s.
The No. 17 Gaels (24-6, 15-0) dismantled Pepperdine, 83-57, on Thursday, claiming the outright WCC title ahead of a Saturday clash against Gonzaga. The Gaels own the nation’s longest winning streak (16) and the WCC title is their first since 2012. They’re the only team other than Gonzaga to win the regular-season title this century.
“It’s hard to do. They’ve come a long way from the start of the season to now,” Saint Mary’s coach Randy Bennett said. “That was the goal going into this and they got it done. Hard to do with Gonzaga in the league. I think it’s happened two times in the last 22 years, that’s how hard it is.”
Augustas Marciulionus, who led Saint Mary’s with 17 points and 11 assists, was a little more succinct.
“It’s a really good feeling to have that title and not share it with anyone,” said .
One more victory would give the Gaels a perfect conference record. But Saturday also represents an important Quad 1 for the Zags, who only have one this season. They’ll certainly be playing for bigger things than just one victory.
2. Nebraska’s NCAA Tournament case is …
Nebraska hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2014, but with 20 wins and a 41 NET ranking, it’s positioned itself nicely for an at-large bid. It’s in the 9-10 seed range, per Bracket Matrix.