ESPN Men's Basketball

PITTSBURGH -- The copiers had just stopped churning out box scores and the fans had barely made it to the exits before Ohio State’s honeymoon officially ended.

There should have been more time. The Buckeyes had just eliminated a Gonzaga team that authoritatively put to bed any notion that West Coast hoops is soft, winning 73-66 on Saturday.

In a kinder world, Ohio State would have been able to savor the moment of the victory.

The Buckeyes do not live in a kind world. They live in the real world and in their reality, they will head to Boston for the East Regional packing their uniforms, sneakers, warm-ups and King Kong.

The gorilla is getting cozy on the Buckeyes’ back now, courtesy of yet another trip to their unhappy place, the Sweet 16. In 2010, No. 2-seeded Ohio State lost to sixth-seeded Tennessee and last year, No. 4 seed Kentucky eliminated the heavily favored and top-seeded Buckeyes in the regional semifinal.

“We gotta get past it, it’s that simple,’’ star big man Jared Sullinger said. “The last two years, we’ve been stopped short. We have to move beyond it. That’s it.’’

As recently as two months ago, Ohio State looked like anything but a smart pick for March success. After they lost to Illinois, the Buckeyes were lost in the black hole of dysfunction. Sullinger publicly questioned his team’s chemistry, saying, "We’ve got to like each other on the basketball court," and guard Aaron Craft echoed the sentiments, arguing, "One of the big things we need to do is find a way to play together."

Bad got worse in February, with Ohio State dropping three games in two weeks, a losing streak that ultimately would allow for a three-way tie for first in the Big Ten regular season.

But before the season slid off into the abyss, the Buckeyes stopped bad from becoming awful. There was no great Kumbaya moment as much as there was a realization that this is a very talented team and the players were in danger of ruining it for themselves.

Ohio State reeled off five consecutive wins to finish the season, losing only in an incredibly well-played Big Ten tournament title game against Michigan State, and entered the NCAA tournament on a mission.

But now that the Buckeyes are here, on the doorstep of their Waterloo, how do they know they can change their fate?

Ironically the Buckeyes say it is because of the earlier turmoil that they now are more equipped than ever before to avoid a premature exit.

“We’re more battle-tested,’’ Sullinger said. “We’ve had our bumps and bruises this year and that’s only made us stronger.’’

Perhaps most importantly the Buckeyes have learned they can no longer be a one-note song. Other players bristled then and still bristle now at the notion that this team revolves solely around Sullinger.

“Is that what they say?” William Buford asked. “That’s probably because that’s the only name they hear in the media.’’

But the fact is, until recently if Sullinger didn’t go, neither did Ohio State. Teams would double Sullinger, begging someone else to score and too often, no one answered the call.

No more.

The Buckeyes’ game against Gonzaga served as a microcosm of what has made Ohio State look more dangerous now than it did a year ago.

The Zags concentrated hard on Sullinger with decent success. The big man played just nine minutes in the first half, thanks to foul trouble, but still had eight points. In the second, Robert Sacre and Elias Harris limited him to only three field goals.

And in response, three other Ohio State players hit double figures, most critically Craft.

The point guard picked apart the Zags’ defense so deftly -- he had 10 assists -- coach Mark Few was forced to go zone.

Craft responded by sinking shot after shot, 7 of 9 in all for 18 points and his first double-double of the season.

“We just decided that he needed to score, and we were going to dedicate some of our attention to some other people,’’ Few said. “That allowed him to get the corner a couple of times because we were worried about [DeShaun] Thomas and Sullinger.’’

Now Ohio State is becoming a scouting nightmare. Whom do you worry about?

Against Loyola (Md.) in the opening round, Sullinger had only 12 points and Craft just eight, six of which came at the free throw line.

Instead Thomas had 31.

“You know I think a lot of people thought we were just Jared Sullinger,’’ Thomas said. “We’re not. People like me, Aaron, all of us -- we can score. People are starting to realize they can’t underestimate us.’’

PITTSBURGH -- Quick thoughts from Ohio State’s 73-66 win over Gonzaga in the third round of the NCAA tournament.

Overview: No one will ever say Gonzaga is soft. No one will ever say Ohio State is just about Jared Sullinger.

Not after this game.

Robert Sacre and Elias Harris gave the Buckeyes’ big man all he could handle down low, pushing and shoving Sullinger and outrebounding Ohio State.

Sullinger proved bigger than the Zags’ bigs in the end, scoring the critical bucket, but it was really the rest of the Buckeyes who won this game. Aaron Craft (17 points), Deshaun Thomas (18) and William Buford (13) proved the difference-makers as Ohio State returns to the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive time.

A team that played like a chemistry experiment gone awry only a month ago is now a picture of basketball harmony.

Ohio State looked like your typical No. 2 seed against Loyola, cruising to the win, and overcame a Gonzaga team screaming for the upset.

Turning point: Sullinger couldn’t find a lot of breathing room in the second half, not with Sacre glued to his hip. Sullinger, limited by foul trouble in the first half, was stymied by defense in the second, connecting on only three field goals.

But when Ohio State needed its big man most, he turned up.

Sullinger scored what would be the game-winner with 57 seconds left.

He connected on a hard-fought shot from underneath around Sacre, giving the Buckeyes the 66-61 lead, all the cushion Ohio State would need to secure the win.

Key player: Craft. Sullinger may have played hero but it was the steady hand of Craft that steered the Buckeyes to the Sweet 16. In a game billed as a matchup of point guards, Craft got the edge over Kevin Pangos, scoring 17 points -- but more critically, he dished out 10 assists. It was Craft’s first career double-double.

Key stat: Sullinger, limited to just nine minutes in the fist half, still had eight points. Despite playing more in the second, he would connect on just two more field goals thanks to the ferocious defense of Sacre. The Zags, led by Sacre and Harris, outrebounded the Buckeyes, 34-30, which is what kept the game close.

Miscellaneous: This was the first meeting between Ohio State and Gonzaga. ... John Stockton was on hand to watch his son, David, play for Gonzaga, his alma mater. ... This is the first time in school history OSU has made the Sweet 16 three straight years since expansion in 1979.

Next game: Ohio State will meet either Cincinnati or Florida State in the Sweet 16 in Boston. This is the Buckeyes' third consecutive regional semifinal appearance. They lost in the Sweet 16 to Kentucky a year ago.

PITTSBURGH -- Here’s a quick rundown of what to look for in Saturday’s third-round games at Consol Energy Center:

No. 1 seed Syracuse (32-2) vs. No. 8 Kansas State (22-10), 12:15 p.m. ET

One looks like The Thinker, pensively holding his chin in his hand as he solves the world’s mysteries from his courtside seat.

The other looks like The Incredible Hulk, his eyes narrowing and his veins popping as he flails at the world’s inadequacies from the bench.

Turns out there’s plenty of fire in Jim Boeheim and plenty of calm in Frank Martin.

We just don’t see it.

“I think it’s more behind closed doors,’’ Syracuse junior James Southerland said of Boeheim. “He’ll get after you if you make a mistake or if you’re not playing hard, but honestly, with him, I think you worry more if he’s not yelling at you.’’

The man who has perfected the art of blasé, passing off even the biggest disturbance with a hand flick or shoulder shrug, has built his outer calm over inner fire in 36 years of coaching. Boeheim is the constant.

The players change. The zone gets tinkered, but the coach stays the same.

Like a strict parent, Boeheim can get his players’ attention sometimes without raising his voice.

“I think the level of both of our intensities is high,’’ Boeheim said. “[Martin] may show his level a little more than I do. You know, I wouldn’t want him to be mad at me.’’

But beneath the withering stare, Martin actually is one of the gentler souls in the game. Affable and easy going, he’ll tell stories and poke fun at himself gladly.

On a recruiting visit to the home of Jordan Henriquez, Martin, a Cuban-American, started speaking in Spanish. Only Henriquez didn’t speak it.

“I started rambling off in Spanish because that’s my natural language,’’ Martin said. “I could tell the way he’s looking at me that something wasn’t right. When I finished that great first three or four sentences, he looked at me and said, ‘Coach, I don’t speak Spanish.’ You can imagine how I felt.’’

As for the on-court act, one that he promised to try to improve this season when he memorably vowed to clean up his own salty language if his student section would do the same, Martin makes no apologies.

“I’ve got my own way of doing things,’’ he said. “It was the way I was raised. I’m a little emotional. I’m not scared to show my emotion in public. Some guys are real emotional in private and they have a public personality. With me, what you see is what you get.’’

Who to watch: Kansas State’s Jamar Samuels. The Wildcats’ second-leading scorer was in the witness protection program against Southern Miss, making just one free throw and worse, taking zero shots from the floor. That can’t happen again. It puts too much pressure on Rodney McGruder and it doesn’t lead to good results for K-State. In six of the Wildcats’ 10 losses, Samuels failed to score in double digits.

But more critically in this particular game, Kansas State has to get some inside play against the Orange and try to establish Samuels against the replacements in the Syracuse lineup.

Syracuse’s Kris Joseph. The Orange senior is the leading scorer and de facto leader, but hasn’t played like that lately. From the Big East tournament to the NCAA tournament first round, Joseph is just 10-of-33.

That’s got to change, a point of emphasis that even Boeheim has stressed, insisting that the Orange will only go as far as Joseph and Scoop Jardine take them.

What to watch: The 3-point line. Kansas State is not a very good 3-point shooting team, hitting only 34 percent from the arc and making just 5.6 per game. Syracuse played its way to this point with its defense, in particular its defense on the arc. Teams hit only 30 percent on average against the Orange.

Of course much of that was with Fab Melo in the lineup, when the big man’s size allowed Syracuse to really stretch that zone. The Orange got back to that late against UNC Asheville, but that was after the Bulldogs already had done enough damage from the arc to make it a game.

K-State is going to have to drain some 3s in order to crack the zone, but the Orange are going to have to stretch wider, making the middle a little more vulnerable with Rakeem Christmas instead of Melo.

No. 2 seed Ohio State (28-7) vs. No. 7 Gonzaga (26-6), 2:45 p.m. ET

Asked how he thinks Ohio State, his third-round foe, views his team, Robert Sacre smiled.

He then rambled on about how the Buckeyes probably think his team is like the “United Nations, a bunch of guys from all over coming together to make it work,’’ before concluding that he’s certain the Buckeyes respected his team.

Which is true. Ohio State does respect Gonzaga.

But what Sacre danced around, what he wouldn’t say is what everyone always thinks and says about the Zags: they’re soft.

Big Ten equals brawn.

West Coast Conference equals finesses (a euphemism for soft).

“We played two Big Ten teams, Illinois and Michigan State, tough and came out of those, I think, showing who we were,’’ Sacre said. “But everybody expected us to lose those games and everyone still expects us to lose now.’’

The perception really is all wrong. The truth is, Ohio State scores more points than the Zags (75.1 to 74) and shoots better from the floor (48.6 percent to 47 percent), while soft Gonzaga actually outrebounds the Buckeyes (37.1 to 36.8)

And this soft team annually traverses the country to play just about anyone anywhere. Along with those two Big Ten games, Gonzaga this season played Notre Dame, Arizona, Butler and Xavier. Not exactly a pansy schedule.

“There’s nothing we can do about it; it’s the nature of the beast,’’ Sacre said. “All we can do is play basketball.’’

Which brings us to Saturday.

Ohio State will try to ground the more uptempo Zags into the ground and most figure Jared Sullinger and DeShaun Thomas will make life miserable for Elias Harris and Sacre.

If they can stand their ground, they might just be able to rewrite their own script.

Who to watch: Gonzaga’s Harris, who could be the Zags’ X factor. He has to keep track of OSU's Thomas, no easy task considering Thomas just went for a career-high 31, but Harris has the size and athleticism to make it interesting. More critical, with Kevin Pangos trying to get away from Aaron Craft and Sacre preoccupied by Sullinger, Harris needs to score.

Ohio State’s William Buford. For the same reasons as Harris, Buford is an X factor for the Buckeyes. The team’s third-leading scorer can be dominant (he dropped 29 on Purdue) and he can disappear (he came up with just four a night later against Michigan State). In this game, the senior needs to take charge and take advantage if he’s left alone.

What to watch: The frontcourt battle will get a lot of attention, but the game might be won or lost in the backcourt. That’s where Pangos will have to tango with Craft, one of the best defensive point guards in the game. Pangos has been a key offensive component for the Zags this season, averaging 13.8 points per game. They need him to score against the Buckeyes, but more critical, Pangos has to take care of the ball. He’s cut down on his turnovers considerably in recent weeks but has had his share of rough nights against more physical guards -- coughing it up five times against Xavier and Tu Holloway, for example.

No. 10 West Virginia (19-13) vs. No. 7 Gonzaga (25-6), 7:20 p.m. ET

When the bracket came up and Gonzaga players saw they were traveling 2,000 miles across the country to play a team that had a simple bus ride up the highway, they didn’t groan.

Frankly, they didn’t even react.

They’re used to it.

“I feel if you’re at Gonzaga, you come into this tournament, you’re guaranteed to have a backyard team,’’ Robert Sacre said. “You always have to go somewhere else, in someone else’s backyard, no matter if you’re a higher seed.’’

Lest anyone think he’s just a West Coast whiner, consider 2008, when Gonzaga was the No. 7 seed and was slated to play Davidson in North Carolina. The Zags lost. In 2010, Gonzaga was the No. 8 seed and met up with top-seeded Syracuse in Buffalo in Round 2.

And now the Zags, seventh again, are but a stone’s throw away from West Virginia’s Morgantown address.

Conspiracy theory, anyone?

“The one thing we try to impart on our guys is control what you can control,’’ coach Mark Few said. “We don’t have any control of when and where.’’

Few, this season, is at least blessed with a young roster that doesn’t know any better. Gonzaga has five freshmen on the roster, all making their NCAA tournament debut.

They, Few said, were just happy to see their name on the screen.

Not that playing so close to home is easy. Bob Huggins has a season-ticket holder base of 8,000 and 500 tickets to share.

That’s bad math. But the coach has faith in his Mountaineers fans’ craftiness and fully expects they’ll find a way to wrangle some tickets for the game.

Meanwhile, he’s just happy he made it.

“They were talking about flying 2,000 miles,’’ Huggins said. “I said, ‘They’ve never rode with our bus driver. I’m stressed from the time I get in the bus.'’’

Who to watch:

Gonzaga’s Sacre: The Zags’ forward said he was "salivating" for the chance to play some East Coast-style basketball, where power is valued more than finesse. He’ll get his chance against the Mountaineers’ Kevin Jones. Jones can score down low and on a turnaround but he is especially lethal on the boards, where he averages 11 rebounds per game.

West Virginia’s Truck Bryant: The point guard ought to have the edge against the Zags’ younger backcourt, but it’s more than ballhandling Bryant has to take care of. It’s shooting. He’s been this side of terrible much of the season, shooting just 36.2 percent from the floor. That inefficiency puts way too much pressure and responsibility on Jones. Bryant needs to score.

What to watch: The inside game. Sacre wants a challenge? He and teammate Elias Harris are going to get one from Jones and Deniz Kilicli. Rebounding will be critical for both teams, but especially for the Mountaineers, who don’t exactly throw it in with any frequency from outside.

No. 15 Loyola (24-8) vs. No. 2 Ohio State (27-7), 9:50 p.m. ET

Jimmy Patsos won the news conference.

Can he win the game?

The affable Loyola coach, as expected, had the gathered media in stitches, cracking jokes and telling stories. He’s enjoying a mini reunion here, what with so many of Gary Williams' old staff assembled in Pittsburgh -- Patsos, Billy Hahn, an assistant at West Virginia, and Dave Dickerson, now on the Ohio State staff -- and he played it all up perfectly.

That left Buckeyes coach Thad Matta to play the straight man, explaining where Ohio State, still viewed by many as a football school, fits on the national consciousness and how difficult it is to continue success in the age of one-and-done.

It was earnest and honest and not nearly as entertaining as Patsos, who at one time joked his biggest failure was sticking so hard to Williams’ coaching philosophies.

“Gary Williams has had assistants like Rick Barnes, Fran Fraschilla, all these guys,’’ he said. “I shouldn’t say this, but they’re probably more successful because they didn’t run all his stuff so much.’’

But in between the jokes, Patsos admitted to a little secret: He isn’t afraid to dream. His team will be wild underdogs against the Buckeyes, but that doesn’t mean he’s about to cede victory.

“When you have a [16-seed] against a 1, there are no numbers,’’ Patsos said. “A 15 and 2, it happens once every two or three years. I don’t see it as a long shot. It’s 40 minutes, 10 four-minute segments. We have to win six of them. We stole that from Thad, by the way. He used to do that at Xavier.’’

Patsos invoked other 15-2 upsets for his Greyhounds, reminding them that in the old Igloo, the downtown Pittsburgh arena currently being torn down across the street from the Consol Energy Center, Coppin State took down South Carolina in 1997.

That, of course, is ancient history to the Greyhounds, mere toddlers back then.

“I remember George Mason went on a run and beat a lot of good teams,’’ Dylon Cormier said.

Who to watch:

Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger: This is simple. Loyola doesn’t have a player with Sullinger's size or ability. If the Buckeyes can get the ball to him consistently, they will easily win.

Loyola’s Erik Etherly: The MAAC tournament's most outstanding player, Etherly led his team in scoring and rebounding for the title. The junior has been good all season, averaging 13.5 points and 7.5 rebounds but he has never faced anyone quite like Sullinger. Etherly may not win the war, but he’s got to be able to hold his ground.

What to watch: The pace. Loyola wants to go; Ohio State wants to grind. If the Greyhounds can make like their namesake, they could potentially wear down the thin Ohio State bench. If not, this could be a long game for the MAAC champions. “If we can get the game going fast, we have a chance,’’ Patsos said. “If they put us in the meat grinder and go slow, Sullinger goes to work, you can call me at the 410 [area code]. I’ll be in Baltimore Friday by noon.’’

Saddle Up is our semi-daily preview of the night's best basketball action. It does not know how hard being Snoop D-O-double-G really is. Still relatively dramatic, it seems.

No. 17 Virginia at No. 6 Duke, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN: The ESPN Stats and Information crew makes my job easier on a daily basis, but rarely more so than today. I don't need to analyze the statistical tendencies of either Virginia or Duke in this space. The stats crew already pretty much nailed it.

Instead, let's briefly reflect on the stakes, which go a little deeper than who will or won't end the season with the second- or third-best record in the ACC. More interesting to me here is the less tangible: Will being at home help Duke solidify its subpar defense? Can Virginia forward Mike Scott -- the subject of a 600-comment thread on Jason King's first Wooden Award projection yesterday, and to date perhaps the most important player to any one team in the country (and also one of the most efficient) -- have his national coming-out party? These are the two storylines heading into this game, and watching them (and others) unfold under the bright lights of Cameron Indoor should be a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

No. 23 Gonzaga at Saint Mary's, 11 p.m. ET, ESPN2: If you're looking for non-NBA reasons to stay up and watch basketball all night, and you feel like the Pac-12 might not do it for you this season (gee, I wonder why), you've got a couple of options. You've got the Mountain West. You've got the West Coast Conference.

Both come highly recommended, particularly at the top, but the WCC has its own brand of charm. Maybe it's the small gyms, maybe it's the occasionally remote Pacific Northwest locales, maybe it's the still-a-mid-major feel of almost all of the league. Whatever it is, these days it's more than charm. The WCC title race -- which for so long was less a "race" than Gonzaga's casual jog around the block, with occasional stops to gossip with neighbors -- has gone from a Zags-dominated affair to one shared nearly equally by Gonzaga and arch-rival St. Mary's. And now, thanks to conference realignment (your friend and mine), BYU, too.

All of which is why tonight's game is one of the better reasons you'll get this season to stay up way past your bedtime watching college hoops. Gonzaga is still this league's favorite, easily the most impressive team we've seen, one that has played its typically brutal nonconference schedule and shined through most of it. The addition of Kevin Pangos has made this team much more balanced than last season's edition; a slimmed-down Elias Harris is playing productive basketball again; and the addition of silky lefty Sam Dower to the Bulldogs' frontcourt has made them multi-dimensional and very difficult to guard.

But make no mistake: St. Mary's isn't just trying to knock off Gonzaga anymore. It isn't just trying to upset the balance of power. It isn't playing rivalry spoiler. The Gaels have their own designs on a league title and NCAA tournament berth, and given how well they've played on the offensive side of the ball this season -- they're scoring 1.14 points per possession on offense, 11th-best in the country (per Pomeroy) -- this position is fully reasonable.

With the exception of various potential upsets along the way, this game is one of four or five -- played between St. Mary's, BYU and Gonzaga (the Gaels already impressively beat BYU, 98-82, on Dec. 29) -- that will determine the result of one of the most quietly entertaining conference title chases in the country. It has the bad blood of a rivalry mixed with major postseason implications. What else could your hoops-loving heart possibly desire?

Everywhere else: Minnesota will travel to No. 8 Indiana, where the Hoosiers have been very tough but (as Michigan proved last week) hardly impervious to close games. ... No. 20 Mississippi State will try to avoid a loss to the upset-minded Tennessee Volunteers, who downed Florida (albeit at home) last weekend. ... Wisconsin is at Purdue; let's see if either of these jump-shooting teams can catch fire in time for the heart of Big Ten play. ... And, in Pac-12 play, Colorado has a chance to prove its 3-0 start and status as the lone undefeated team in Pac-12 play is real with a road date against putative favorite Cal. Who knows? It's the Pac-12. Something weird will probably happen.

1. The A-10 race was initially going to be Xavier and everyone else. Now it’s everyone else. Xavier’s free fall is hard to comprehend. The Musketeers lost to La Salle by 10 points in the A-10 opener Wednesday. In a nonconference game Temple took out Duke in Philadelphia. Meanwhile, Dayton upset Saint Louis in overtime and Saint Joe’s did the same against Duquesne. The race is officially wide open for the title, let alone second, third, fourth and fifth. La Salle coach John Giannini said at A-10 media day in October that he really thought his team could be one of his best, even though he was starting over. At 11-4, he may be right.

2. Gonzaga coach Mark Few has been pleasantly surprised by the progression of Sam Dower. The 6-9 sophomore can be a difference maker for the Zags if he continues his recent play. Dower scored 20 points in 22 minutes (how about that efficiency) in the road win at Xavier on Dec. 31, and prior to that opened up the WCC with a 15-point outing against Portland. The preseason hype for the Zags was focused more on Elias Harris, Robert Sacre and guards Kevin Pangos and Gary Bell Jr. But Dower could be the difference for the Zags in their quest to be a deep NCAA team.

3. Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin made the smart move by not starting Yancy Gates when he returned from a six-game suspension. Cronin may not have done that if the Bearcats were struggling. But he had leverage to do what he pleased since the Bearcats had won six straight without Gates. The Cincinnati turnaround from the brawl may be one of the most significant in-season turnarounds for a potentially dysfunctional team (see: losing to Presbyterian) in recent memory. The Bearcats are going to be competing for a top-5 finish in the Big East for the next two months.

Saturday’s slate of games featured some surprising finishes. Teams were exposed. Others were discovered.

It was a tutorial on the unpredictable ebb and flow of the college basketball scene this time of year. Here are a few things I learned:

No. 1 Syracuse 88, North Carolina State 72

What we learned: The Orange aren’t just deep -- they're really good

Syracuse has been praised as one of the deepest teams in the country. The Big East power possesses a talented backup at every position. Sometimes, however, the “depth” tag suggests a team lacks individual talent. That’s not the case with the Orange. North Carolina State started strong but Syracuse didn’t panic. It just turned to its stars. Dion Waiters (career-high 22 points), Scoop Jardine (16 points) and Kris Joseph (21 points) led an SU squad that hit 56.5 percent of its shots. North Carolina State was up early and then -- Bam! -- the Orange snatched the game back. Even with a target on their backs as America’s new No. 1 team and a highly publicized investigation of a former assistant coach, they continue to operate like a team without any distractions. Cuse has survived every Bernie Fine development and overcome the obstacles on the floor. Can’t get overly excited quite yet about a team that just played its first road game, but the Orange seem to have it all right now.

No. 13 Florida 84, No. 22 Texas A&M 64

What we learned: Florida’s backcourt is a matchup nightmare for opposing teams

Well, the Aggies don’t belong anywhere near the top 25, judging by Saturday’s lopsided loss to the Gators. They can’t score. The Big 12’s worst scoring offense and worst free throw-shooting team couldn’t find the buckets to compete with Florida. Give UF credit for attacking early (opened the game on an 18-2 run), putting its potent offense to work and getting to the free throw line (30 attempts). The Gators are going to have trouble against bigger teams given their size disparity, but as Saturday’s game proved, opposing teams continue to have problems matching up against a team with their backcourt depth (three guards scored 16 or more, led by Kenny Boynton’s 22 points and his six 3-pointers). One question remains, though. Patric Young took two shots. You have to wonder whether he’ll become a more consistent part of Florida’s offense in SEC play. One thing is clear: When this team gets going, it’s a hard one to stop. There are still defensive concerns, but the Gators are going to compete in the SEC if they continue to produce this level of offense.

No. 7 Baylor 86, BYU 83

What we learned: Perry Jones can lead Baylor to a national championship

Baylor’s NCAA title hopes will be directly linked to its identity outside of Waco. The Bears were 1-3 away from their home floor during the nonconference portion of last season’s schedule. Those road woes followed the Bears into the Big 12 season. In a gritty game Saturday against a BYU squad that’s always tough on its home floor, Perry Jones III scored a career-high 28 points and played with the heart that’s expected of a star. After suffering a late knee injury, Jones checked back into the game and scored on a putback with 20 seconds to play that capped the win. Pierre Jackson blocked Brandon Davies’ 3-point attempt at the buzzer. BYU held a 13-point lead in the first half, but Jones kept the Bears alive in a hostile environment. He’s NBA-lottery good. We knew that before Saturday’s game, but since his return from an NCAA-mandated suspension at the start of the season, he’s looked like an NCAA championship-caliber leader, too.

Gonzaga 71, Arizona 60

What we learned: Gonzaga is not discouraged by early struggles, but Arizona might be

This was a significant game for a pair of teams that had dropped from the rankings in recent weeks as they failed to meet preseason projections. Both needed this game in Seattle. Gonzaga played like it understood the stakes. Arizona did not. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 14-0 lead to start the game, and Zona spent the rest of the contest trying to close the gap. But that early onslaught from Gonzaga set the tone for the rest of the afternoon. The Zags held off Arizona’s late charge that cut the deficit to 62-56 with 2:03 to play. The Wildcats’ leading scorer, Solomon Hill, went 1-for-7 and finished with six points, his second single-digit effort in three games. The fall continues for Arizona, an Elite Eight team last season but one that has lost four of its past seven games. Give Gonzaga credit, though. The Zags seemed motivated and focused, despite suffering their recent ups and downs. Saturday’s version of Elias Harris (25 points) should help Gonzaga in what should be an excellent WCC race with BYU and Saint Mary's. Hopefully, the 2-for-11 player who showed up for last weekend’s loss to Michigan State never returns.

UNLV 64, No. 19 Illinois 48

What we learned: UNLV is legit

With about 41 seconds to play in this game, Illinois' D.J. Richardson drove right in and went up for a dunk that wouldn’t have affected the outcome. But Quintrell Thomas swatted the shot like it mattered. Thomas and Mike Moser gave UNLV a combined 30 points with leading scorer Chace Stanback (2 points) struggling, as UNLV strolled into Chicago and locked up an Illinois team that came in at 10-0. The Runnin’ Rebels now have dropped a pair of undefeated, nationally ranked squads (North Carolina, Illinois), and their only two losses came against quality opponents on the road (Wichita State, Wisconsin). This Mountain West standout is legit. The Rebels can clamp down defensively. Illinois went 16-of-63 from the field (7-of-25 from the 3-point line). Surprisingly, Illinois didn’t feed big man Meyers Leonard (3-of-8) enough in the second half. During some stretches, Leonard’s teammates just missed him and settled for bad shots. Other times, however, Leonard couldn’t breathe with UNLV defenders swarming him.

No. 4 Louisville 95, Memphis 87

What we learned: Josh Pastner is still trying to figure out this team

Let’s start with giving Louisville credit. The Cardinals held off Memphis’ relentless pursuit, after watching their 13-point second-half lead become a 58-55 deficit. Behind Russ Smith’s career highs of 24 points and seven steals, Louisville pulled off a solid home win. But it also was another game in which Memphis baffled observers with its inefficient use of its immense talent. Will Barton is special (28 points, 16 boards), and he’s surrounded by a variety of highly skilled athletes. But that hasn’t been enough for the Tigers. Their four losses have come against quality opponents, but at what point will this group get over the hump? When will it stop playing in spurts and begin improving shot selection in tight stretches? Those are all key questions for Pastner going forward. He has some talented players on his roster. But getting all that talent to work together is still a challenge.

More observations from Saturday:

* No. 2 Ohio State stayed strong when Jared Sullinger left Saturday’s 74-66 victory over South Carolina with a foot injury, but you have to wonder whether the sophomore’s ailments will hamper him and the program the rest of the way.

* With Cody Zeller, who scored 21 points in Saturday’s 69-58 win over Notre Dame in Indianapolis, the No. 20 Hoosiers can compete for the Big Ten title.

* Both Mississippi State and Detroit proved they’re legitimate conference contenders during the Bulldogs’ 80-75 victory over the Titans. MSU is 11-1 now, while the return of center Eli Holman (12 points, 9 rebounds) increases Detroit’s potential of winning a Horizon League title.

* The Missouri Valley race will be the most competitive in the country. Indiana State’s 61-55 win at No. 25 Vanderbilt was just a reminder of the conference’s parity and talent. The Sycamores will compete with Creighton, Northern Iowa, Wichita State and Missouri State in what should be a heck of a two months in the Valley.

* J'Covan Brown continues to keep 9-2 Texas afloat in the Big 12’s fringe contender conversations. He scored 23 points in a nice 77-65 victory over Temple.

* A game-winning tip-in with a second to play by Butler’s Andrew Smith helped the Bulldogs snap a three-game losing skid with a 67-65 win over Purdue. The Big Ten is really big this season, and Purdue lacks a consistent interior presence. That will create a variety of issues for the Boilermakers in conference play.

Gonzaga forward Elias Harris went through a sophomore slump and knew he had to get in better shape heading into this season. Now the German national is no longer eating hot dogs.

Telling The Spokesman-Review he eliminated his "American eating habits" by cutting out hamburgers, hot dogs and sugary sodas from his diet, Harris lost weight and is gaining confidence.

The Bulldogs’ junior forward dropped 11 pounds over the summer. He enters this season at 234 pounds, down from the 245 he carried as a sophomore. It’s one of several measures Harris has taken to try to bounce back from a difficult sophomore season.

"This might sound stupid to some people but I was on a diet," Harris said. "I was just too chubby, too heavy. I lost a bunch of body fat, some weight. I was running a lot so I’m in way better shape."

...

"Being lighter contributes to my game because I’m a player that uses quickness and speed and balance," he said. "I feel bouncier and quicker with my moves. I didn’t lose my strength.

"For me, that’s a perfect combination."

Harris is a WCC player of the year candidate and is an NBA prospect even at 6-foot-7 because of his athleticism. Harris' dedication to getting in shape is great news for coach Mark Few, who at WCC media day last month raved about the offseason Harris had.

Harris decided to remain at Gonzaga rather than train with the German national team in part because he was still recovering from shoulder and Achilles injuries. But even in a substandard year, he averaged 12.4 points and 6 rebounds as a sophomore and came on strong later in the season.

1. Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said senior forward Nasir Robinson should be back at practice sometime next week after missing the past few weeks following a torn meniscus in his right knee. Robinson is one of two key seniors for the Panthers. The other is lead guard Ashton Gibbs. Dixon said Gibbs has been playing at a high level, making shots, and proving to be the necessary leader for the Panthers. “He’ll play in the NBA some day,’’ Dixon said of Gibbs.

2. BYU coach Dave Rose said that so far the two players on the Cougars who appear to be ready to take over for Jimmer Fredette’s production are wing Charles Abouo and big man Stephen Rogers. Rose said both have been highly productive so far in practice. But the one player who has the most NBA potential and is starting to be even more assertive is forward Brandon Davies. Davies was reinstated to the team in the fall after being dismissed for an honor code violation last February. The Cougars will need the inside-out combination to have a chance to catch Gonzaga in the WCC.

3. Gonzaga coach Mark Few said he might have his best set of big men in his tenure with Robert Sacre, Elias Harris, Kelly Olynyk, Sam Dower and Ryan Spangler. If Gary Bell and Kevin Pangos can have as much of an impact as projected and David Stockton proves to be a calming presence at the point then the Zags have a shot to be a deep March team. Gonzaga needed to be deeper inside and with more options. It appears they have that this season.

Gonzaga is out to win its 12th consecutive West Coast Conference title and has a loaded roster highlighted by Robert Sacre, a fifth-year senior who'll be the latest in a long line of players in the program to be relied upon for leadership.

The 7-footer has experience going all the way back to the 2007-08 season when as a freshman he started in the NCAA tournament. The Zags now hope he can help carry them to the postseason again, and coach Mark Few holds the veteran big man in very high regard.

"There's probably no bigger, stronger, tougher center in all of college basketball," Few told 710 ESPN Seattle. "He's just got the biggest heart in the whole world and is just an amazing teammate. He probably could have came out been and been drafted in the late first or early second in the last draft."

Few continued with his praise in announcing today that Gonzaga has scheduled the BC Basketball Classic in Vancouver, Canada on Nov. 19 against Hawaii in order to give Sacre an opportunity to play in front of a hometown crowd.

"It will be exciting to get Rob back home to play," Few said in a statement. "He's one of the all-time great Zags."

Sacre last season averaged 12.5 points and a team-leading 6.3 rebounds, with the 260-pounder serving as a force in the middle with tattoos that cover his arms featured prominently. He's also a gentle giant in many ways and one of the bright personalities in college basketball.

From North Pole Hoops:

"Sometimes if we are going through a hard stretch I'll try and cheer people up -- like wear a teammate's shorts to practice, and they'll be too small for me, but I'll wear them anyway. Just to crack guys up and keep things loose. Then when everything's alright, you go right back to staying on each other and working hard."

Another example of Sacre's humour is the greeting left on his voicemail, imploring you to "stay thirsty my friends", after the famous Dos Equis beer commercial.

Sacre, who suffered through a medical redshirt season in 2009 the last time Gonzaga went to the Sweet 16, has to hunger for big-time NCAA tournament success of his own. It couldn't have been easiest offseason to go through following news that his father, Greg LaFleur, had been fired as Southern's athletic director after an arrest.

But this year the Zags could go far. They return a frontcourt that also includes experienced players in Elias Harris, Sam Dower and Kelly Olynyk.

And it's Sacre who will be asked to lead them.

Butler and Gonzaga are the two kings of college basketball's mid-majors (if you can still call them that), and they'll be starting a home-and-home series in December for the next two seasons, according to the Indianapolis Star.

Butler is to travel to Spokane, Wash., to meet the Zags on Dec. 20. The Bulldogs are to play at Stanford two or three days later. Gonzaga is to visit Hinkle Fieldhouse in December 2012.

“It’s an exciting series, and it’s going to benefit both teams and help them prepare,” Butler associate head coach Matthew Graves said today.

It's a buzz-worthy match-up that brings together two programs that didn't need power conference affiliations to rise up as basketball powerhouses. Gonzaga has won 11 straight regular-season titles in the West Coast Conference, making annual trips to the NCAA tournament during that span. Butler is coming off consecutive national championship game appearances and has seen its profile boosted as well by Brad Stevens and his celebrity status.

The Bulldogs versus Bulldogs games should bring plenty of intrigue, especially this coming season in Spokane. While Butler will be in the process of finding out which players will step up after the departures of Shelvin Mack and Matt Howard, Gonzaga returns a team of veterans that include Elias Harris and Robert Sacre.

It will be a big early-season test for both Cinderella programs and will reunite Stevens and Gonzaga coach Mark Few, who helped each other through rough starts last season, as Andy Katz reported in March.

"We talked through it," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "I kept telling him that it would be OK. We were going through something similar [back-to-back losses to Santa Clara and San Francisco]. I kept following them through January and February and compared how we both took care of business."

Like Butler, Gonzaga rallied to win a share of its league title and then won its conference tournament.

"I'm sure the people around the Butler program were lamenting coming off a national championship game with the expectations of all those guys coming back and all that noise," Few said. "But you have to believe in the system. And his guys did."

DENVER -- BYU fans were chanting long after the team had left the court at the Pepsi Center. Their cries could be heard inside the Cougars locker room, where a player asked Jimmer Fredette if he could understand the chants.

“3:16?” he asked Fredette, a reference to the famed verse of Biblical scripture.

The BYU faithful were actually chanting “Sweet 16!“ The team's hearing problem was one of the few struggles the Cougars experienced as they trounced 11th-seeded Gonzaga 89-67 on Saturday. Behind Fredette’s 34, BYU advanced to the regional semifinal round for the first time in 30 years.

“It’s been a long time for our fans, and I’m happy, really happy for them,” said BYU coach Dave Rose, pausing as his voice cracked with emotion. “I’m happy for our players, happy for our coaches, our administration. I mean, everybody is in this. We’re in this together. This is a special team.”

Fredette, the nation’s leading scorer, delivered one of his most memorable performances, hitting seven 3-pointers and burying the Zags.

The Cougars faced many uncertainties heading into the tournament.

Leading rebounder Brandon Davies had been suspended for the rest of the season in early March after violating the school’s honor code. He was relegated to the bench wearing a sweater rather than a jersey. In its first game following Davies' suspension, BYU lost to New Mexico at home. Rose told the team it needed to adjust or this magical season would soon end.

He also implemented associate head coach Dave Rice’s new game plan -- a strategy that called for spreading the floor and creating chances based on driving and kicking the ball out to the perimeter.

Against an imposing Gonzaga frontline that included 7-foot center Robert Sacre and ultra-athletic 6-foot-7 forward Elias Harris, BYU did just that. Fredette scored his first five field goals on 3-pointers. He ran off screens and pulled up in transition to get looks at the basket. While Fredette was 2-for-9 from beyond the arc two days earlier against Wofford, he was 7-for-12 facing a mixture of man-to-man and zone defenses from the Zags.

“You have off nights, then you come back and have good nights,” Fredette said. “Kind of the law of percentages throughout the year.”

Said guard Jackson Emery: “Jimmer’s Jimmer. He’s going to score from outside, inside, you never know.”

The Cougars made half of their 3-point attempts, with Emery and Noah Hartsock each notching three. Emery scored 11 of his 16 points in the first half while Hartsock scored 13 on 5-for-5 shooting.

Hartsock got in early foul trouble, but Stephen Rogers came off the bench to score 10 first-half points and James Anderson blocked two shots to further show that BYU isn’t just about Fredette.

The Bulldogs (25-10) saw their 10-game winning streak snapped despite 17 points from Sacre and 18 points apiece from Harris and senior Steven Gray. Harris grabbed eight rebounds, and Sacre had seven to help outrebound the Cougars 36-27.

But after a Gray 3-pointer cut the lead to eight with 12:19 left, BYU responded with a 12-0 run capped off by back-to-back 3-pointers from Fredette and Hartsock, and eventually extended the lead to 24. Rose called this the best game BYU has played all season.

“They got points, they were physical, but we tried to be physical back with them even though we don‘t have the size,” Hartsock said.

Not since Danny Ainge led BYU to a run to the Elite Eight in 1981 has the program experienced this level of success. The Fredette worship has become a national phenomenon. In each corner of the Pepsi Center, fans held up homemade posters and marked Fredette’s points as he scored them. They left plenty of space available just in case the star senior exploded for more.

The Cougars hope to make more history during a dream season in which Emery has already broken Ainge’s all-time steals record and Fredette has broken the school record for points. They’ll now face Florida in New Orleans for a chance to go to the Elite Eight.

“It’s stuff you’ve always dreamed of,” Emery said. “We know we’re not done yet.”

DENVER -- BYU beat Gonzaga 89-64 to earn a spot in the Sweet 16 -- the first time the Cougars have gotten this far since 1981. They did it behind Jimmer Fredette's 34 points and six assists. Jackson Emery scored 16 points, and Noah Hartsock added 13. The Zags were led by Steven Gray and Elias Harris, who scored 18 points apiece. But with BYU making 14 of their 28 3-point attempts, there was no stopping the Cougars.

Turning point: Gonzaga briefly got the lead down to single digits, but Fredette’s seventh 3-pointer made it 72-55. Hartsock then hit another to push the lead to 20 with 8:17 left, leaving Fredette emotional headed into the timeout.

Key player: Fredette was held without a field goal for nearly the first nine minutes of the game, but he soon began to heat up. He finished 11-for-23 from the field, was perfect at the line and finished with seven 3-pointers.

Key stat: Fredette was 7-of-12 from beyond the arc, taking advantage of whatever defense the Zags were throwing at him, man-to-man or zone. The Zags ran different defenders at Fredette, and it was no use.

Miscellaneous: The Cougars were out-rebounded 36-27 by a bigger Zags team, but still managed to do enough to slow Gonzaga's frontline. Kyle Collinsworth played well and had six points and seven rebounds, and Hartsock was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field.

What’s next: BYU moves on to the Sweet 16 in New Orleans to face Florida, a team the Cougars beat last season in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

No. 13 seed Morehead State (25-9) vs. No. 12 seed Richmond (28-7), 5:15 p.m. ET

How they got here: Both 12th-seeded Richmond and 13th-seeded Morehead State staged comebacks against power-conference teams on Thursday. The Spiders beat Vanderbilt 69-66, with guard Kevin Anderson making big shot after big shot and finishing with 25 points. The Eagles defeated Louisville 62-61, with Demonte Harper making the game-winning 3-pointer and Terrance Hill getting hot from beyond the arc as well, scoring 23 points.

Storyline: One of these two double-digit seeds will get to go to the Sweet 16. Richmond, which has a history of big upsets, now takes on the role of the favorite. The Spiders lost to Saint Mary’s in that position last season and now have a chance to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1988. For Morehead State, it‘s a chance to make history again with its first trip to a regional semifinal. “This game is really important because Coach [Donnie Tyndall] told us we have a chance to make it to the Sweet 16 before the season even started,” Harper said.

Players to watch: Think Tyndall likes his chances with Harper and star forward Kenneth Faried? He called Faried his Gordon Hayward and compared Harper, who has shown his ability to take the last shot, to Shelvin Mack of Butler. For Richmond, Anderson proved himself to be a shot-maker against Vanderbilt. Leading scorer Justin Harper struggled with his shot, and the Spiders could use a big day from their senior.

What to look for: Faried is one of the stars of the tournament so far, and he didn’t even have a great offensive game against Louisville. But Faried is so dominant a rebounder and such an athletic presence in the middle that he impacts the game in so many ways.

“We know he doesn’t give a lot of second shots on the offensive end,” Anderson said of the nation's leading rebounder. “It’s going to be tough to stop him."

Richmond could try containing Faried with the 6-foot-10 Harper, relying on his ability to shoot from long range. But lest we forget: Anderson will be a tough matchup for Morehead State, as well.

No. 11 seed Gonzaga (25-9) vs. No. 3 seed BYU (31-4), approx. 7:45 p.m. ET

How they got here: BYU was the only favorite in Denver that did not get upset in the first day of action, as the Cougars dispatched of Wofford with a 74-66 win. Jimmer Fredette scored 32 points, and he also got help with Charles Abouo, Noah Hartsock and Logan Magnusson scoring 10 points apiece. Gonzaga dominated St. John’s with an 86-71 win in which Marquise Carter scored a career-high 24 points and Steven Gray and Elias Harris also had big nights.

Storyline: Not since Danny Ainge was leading Brigham Young have the Cougars been in the Sweet 16, and now it’s Fredette who will try to take them there 30 years later. BYU has won its first tourney game in each of the past two years, but now wants to make a deeper run. For Gonzaga, the perennial dangerous underdog, the Zags want to continue proving themselves as a team and program to be reckoned with. A win against BYU and the national scoring leader Fredette would be yet another milestone victory.

Players to watch: Again, look for Fredette to carry the scoring load despite the opponent’s best efforts to contain him. And in a game with huge ramifications, expect a big dose of him. But Gonzaga does have the advantage of having 7-foot center Robert Sacre to try to exploit a BYU frontcourt missing the post presence of Brandon Davies. Sacre, after helping the Zags dominate St. John’s on the glass, indicated he was looking forward to the matchup against BYU. “A little bit, but they still have Jimmer,” he said.

What to look for: While limiting the damage Fredette does is a must, this game could come down to how well Gonzaga can exploit its height advantage with Sacre, along with the 6-5 guard Gray and 6-7 forward Harris, who are both dynamic players.

“They’re a very big team,” Fredette said. “They got to the offensive glass very well. They get a lot of second-chance opportunities, which gives them a lot of energy.”

Gonzaga will have to continue to get good guard play as well from Carter and point guard Demetri Goodson in order to slow down Fredette and Jackson Emery.

DENVER -- Steve Lavin momentarily put on his analyst’s cap and gave a glowing review of Gonzaga’s chances in the NCAA tournament after the Zags dominated his St. John’s team throughout an 86-71 second-round win.

“They’re definitely a Final Four-capable team, national championship-potential team,” Lavin said.

Those were the words the former ESPN analyst used to describe a No. 11 seed, one that began the season 4-5 and slogged through the tough part of its difficult nonconference schedule. Gonzaga was even three games out of first place in the WCC at one point.

But expectations are high again now for the Zags, who have won 10 games in a row and are feeling good enough about themselves to say that in their minds, taking down the 6th-seeded Red Storm wasn’t much of an upset.

“If you look at the bracket, yes,” forward Elias Harris said. “If you know us, this was a fair fight. For them, it was not cool to play us.”

Said center Robert Sacre: “I don’t see why it was an upset. I don’t think we get enough credit.”

Yes, the Zags have heard all the talk about them not having played anyone in the one-bid WCC. They simply don’t believe it and try to make their case on the court.

So rather than look at St. John’s as a favorite that needed to be slayed, Gonzaga just went out and thrashed its Big East opponent. With leading rebounder D.J. Kennedy lost for the season, the Red Storm saw the Zags out-rebound them 43-20. In fact, after going up by 11 with 18:59 left, Gonzaga never saw its lead slip under double-digits again.

Marquise Carter was fantastic in his first NCAA tournament game, as the junior college transfer had 24 points, six rebounds and six assists.

Point guard Demetri Goodson played what coach Mark Few called his best game, handling St. John’s press, traps and zone defense. Steven Gray scored 16 points, and Harris added 15.

“I’m tickled pink for these guys,” Few said. “They took the game plan and executed it. “

The Zags might consider itself a young team, but Gray, Harris and Sacre make up a big lineup that is battle-tested from its previous tournament experience, and Few said it helped the Bulldogs against a senior-laden St. John’s team dancing for the first time in nine years.

Dwight Hardy scored 26 points, and Justin Brownlee had 14 for St. John's, but Gonzaga’s rebounding edge was difficult to overcome. The Zags also shot 9-for-15 from beyond the arc, with Gray and Carter doing the most damage. For the game, they shot 53.8 percent from the field.

So while Harris has heard the criticism that the Zags don’t play anyone in the WCC, he said that the team doesn’t really listen to it. Playing with blinders is how Sacre described it.

The Bulldogs have fingers in their ears while the rest of the nation either continues to doubt them or adores their underdog status.

After convincingly beating St. John’s, does the slipper actually still fit for Gonzaga?