Portland, OR (My Sportsbook) - Second-round action in the South Regional of the 2009 NCAA Tournament is on tap in Portland this evening, as the fourth- seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs take on the 12th-seeded Western Kentucky Hilltoppers at the Rose Garden.
Mark Few's Bulldogs are making their 11th straight appearance in the "Big Dance" and got off to a great start with a 77-64 win over Akron in the first round on Thursday. With the win, the West Coast Conference champions moved to 27-5 overall, while pushing their current win streak to 10 games.
Known as the Cinderella team in this event a few year's ago, Gonzaga is in danger of falling victim to what could be this year's version in Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers advanced to the second round with a 76-72 upset of fifth-seeded Illinois on Thursday. WKU got into the tournament by capturing the Sun Belt Conference Tournament crown and has now won eight straight games entering the weekend.
This is the first-ever meeting between these two teams. The winner will move into the Sweet 16 and take on either top-seed North Carolina or eight-seeded LSU.
The Hilltoppers's Cinderella story almost ended before it could ever get started, as the team nearly turned into a pumpkin, allowing a 15-point lead with under four minutes to go almost completely vanish, before staving off defeat and beating Illinois by four points on Thursday. WKU played well at the offensive end, as five players notched double figures in rolling up 76 points against the usually defensive-minded Illini. Steffphon Pettigrew led the way with 17 points. He was followed by Sergio Kerusch and A.J. Slaughter, who tallied 14 points apiece. Orlando Mendez-Valdez had a strong all-around game with 11 points, seven boards and six assists, while Jeremy Evans finished things off with 10 points. The versatility shown by Mendez-Valdez is nothing new, as he was named the Sunbelt Conference Player of the Year, after averaging 14.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and amassing a team-best 127 assists prior to this event. Slaughter was the team's top offensive threat coming in (15.8 ppg), while Pettigrew (12.7 ppg) and Kerusch (11.2 ppg) provided plenty of offensive support.
The Bulldogs are a strong offensive team that makes the most of its opportunities, shooting a solid .488 from the floor this year and rolling up almost 80 points per game (78.9). The starting five is very good, highlighted by a trio of top scorers in center Josh Heytvelt (15.1 ppg, 6.8 rpg) and forward Austin Daye (12.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg) in the frontcourt and the underrated Matt Bouldin (13.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.4 apg) in the backcourt. The remainder of the starting five consists of guards Jeremy Pargo (9.8 ppg, 5.1 apg) and Micah Downs (9.4 ppg). After a sluggish start in the first round game against Akron, the Zags turned up the heat in the second half and pulled away late for the 13-point win. Heytvelt was instrumental in the victory, posting 22 points and grabbing eight rebounds to pace the team. Downs poured in 15 points, while Bouldin and Daye tallied 12 and 10 points, respectively. Gonzaga shot a sizzling .523 from the floor in the game and outscored Akron 26-12 at the free-throw line.
