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Everything began right...then everything went wrong. The Bulldogs were looking to prove to the nation that last season’s painful loss to Wyoming in the opening round is not what should be expected from the Zags. The obstacle in the way was a large and dangerous opponent, the University of Cincinnati Bearcats. More athletic than the Bulldogs and known for its tenacious defense and determination, Gonzaga would have little room for error. In a game featuring two runs as different as night and day, the Zags clawed their way through the adversity and came out with the win, 74-69.

Gonzaga had a roster free of injuries, a rarity it seems for this season, and hoped to get solid contributions from all. The Zags began hot; Tony Skinner opened the contest with a three, followed by one from Winston Brooks, and Ronny Turiaf capped the run with an exclamation point, break-away dunk. That gave the Bulldogs an early 8-0 lead, but no lead, however great, would stop the Bearcats. Cincinnati responded with two buckets to cut the lead to four. Gonzaga would maintain its lead with several fast break capitalizations, sticky defense, and the play of Winston Brooks. Not known for his ability to score, Winston sank a career-high 11 points in the half; three from long range. Despite Winston’s sniping, the Bearcats’ shots began to drop and they claimed the lead for the first time. However, it wouldn’t last long. The Bulldogs stormed back, thanks in part to Brooks’ lob. His lob, intended for Turiaf, somehow found the net instead of Ronny’s hands, and Brooks was credited for one of his treys. His “shot” gave the Bulldogs a 5 point lead. After a defensive stop by the Zags, Tony Skinner would hit a long-range bomb as the buzzer sounded. It was the perfect way to end the half; Gonzaga was full of energy and was leading the Bearcats 40-32.

The second half featured two different Gonzaga teams. The first, played well and continued to maintain their lead. With 16 minutes remaining and the Zags still leading, Jason Maxiell was whistled on a questionable traveling call. Bob Huggins, Cincinnati’s head coach, was infuriated. He jumped up and down and received a technical for his display of disgust. Perhaps he was only attempting to motivate his stagnant team, but the idea was thrown out the window when Coach Huggins continued complaining and walked out onto the court. He was given another technical and consequently ejected from the game. Blake Stepp hit all four free-throws to give Gonzaga an eleven point advantage and the ball. The Zags capitalized and hit a bucket to make it a 13 point game.

From there, the other Zag team took over. In an attempt to waste the clock and make a Cincinnati run harmless, the Zags put away their offense and played catch. The Bulldogs didn’t look for their shot until the shot-clock had only ticks remaining. Gonzaga went on a drought and scored only one basket in the final 12 minutes. Meanwhile, Cincinnati began chipping away at the Zags’ lead, thanks in part to Gonzaga’s inability to rebound. The Bearcats cut the lead to five with a minute remaining. That’s when all went wrong for the Zags. Someone, it is yet top be determined who, put a lid over the Zags’ basket and never took it off until the final 5 seconds. Gonzaga missed three genuine opportunities to seal their victory. The first came on a missed lay-in by Turiaf, followed by a missed put-back slam by Cory Violette. The final miss came on a critical out-of –bounds play. A miracle trey by Cincinnati, which bounced all over the rim and finally dropped, cut the Zags lead to three, only seconds after Skinner had increased it to six by hitting one of two free-throws. With fewer than 30 ticks left, the Zags hit a streaking Skinner, who had cleverly snuck away from his defender and was making his way to Gonzaga’s basket. A perfect pass by Blake had Tony in an ideal position to seal the game. Tony went for the flashy finish by attempting a one-handed slam, but the slam snaked its way out of the rim and landed in the hands of Cincinnati. The Bearcats immediately called a time-out with 22 seconds on the clock. Tony had two options after his missed high-light reel: either he’d hang his head and quit or he’d make up for his mistake. Skinner chose the latter. Cincinnati’s Tony Bobbit shook off Skinner, but hadn’t lost him completely. Bobbit launched a three for the tie, but Tony blocked Bobbit’s attempt without any contact. The block landed in the Stepp’s hands and the ball eventually ended up in Ronny’s. He was fouled and went to the free-throw line for his 21st and 22nd attempts. With fewer than 5 ticks remaining, Ronny’s free-throws were critical. And like he had done so much in this contest, Ronny came through. He sank both with ease and gave Gonzaga the play they couldn’t find. Cincinnati’s desperation three hit rim just as the buzzer sounded. Gonzaga had accomplished what they set out to do. The players hugged each other, yelled, and jumped around in delight.

Gonzaga received solid contributions from several players. Blake Stepp, despite being hounded by defenders, scored 12 points and dished out 7 assists. Cory Violette, who missed the Zags’ championship game versus San Diego due to a sprained ankle, played with apparently no pain since he scored 14 points and grabbed 5 boards. Zach Gourde, despite not showing up much on the score board, played extremely well and contributed with superb defense and hustle. Tony Skinner tallied 9 points and Ronny Turiaf poured in 22 points, tying a school record with 16 made free-throws, and grabbed 10 rebounds for the double-double. Finally, in the biggest pleasant surprise of the game, Winston Brook scored a career-high 11 points, dished 3 assists, and, despite measuring only 6’1”, gathered 7 boards.

Gonzaga’s next NCAA opponent will be the #1 seeded Arizona Wildcats, one of the favorites to win it all. All of Gonzaga’s players feel confident and are saying “bring it on.” The game will begin at 2:40 on Saturday afternoon.

The Wildcats will bring an onslaught of talent and depth, a perfect mix of senior leadership (Luke Walton, Jason Gardner, Rick Anderson) and incredible athleticism in its underclassmen (Salim Stoudamire, Channing Frye, Andre Igoudala, Hassan Adams). Everybody knows about the 'Cats from Tucson, their head coach is a household name in college basketball.