Coaching Career of B. Youngblood (CH2K8)

[Deuce2223]

My wife is going out of town this weekend, so pretty much all day Saturday and Sunday after church will be spent with the 360. Oh wait that's pretty much all I do during the week as well.

My 1 month away from having a Fulltime job is coming to a close soon, I am suppose to meet with the owner of the company I am possibly going to work for next week.

So expect lots of updates coming soon. I still havn't decided if I cam going to play every WCC game or not. The plan is always to try but then by the time I get through non-conference play, I am excited to see how my team would play in the tourney.

I like the fact that so far in this legacy, Gonzaga hasn't just dominated WCC play. It might be fun to see some other teams win the WCC need to win the WCC tourney to make a trip to the "Big Dance". However I do want to see if I can guide the Zags into the Top-25, but maybe behind a solid game plan by Coach Youngblood they can do it without me running the sticks.

[Deuce2223]

ZAG'S WIN WCC CROWN

Gonzaga will go to Las Vegas to the WCC tourney as the #1 Seed after finishing conference play with a 11-3 record and a Overall record of 22-7.

The Bulldogs opened WCC with a loss to Portland (84-74) but then won 10 straight working their way into the Top-25 Polls at #23 (new attribute point) but back to back loses to Santa Clara (Senior Night) and San Diego, left the Zag's needing a win over LMU to clinch the WCC and with a (64-55) win they did it.

Gonzaga will now take on Portland in the Opening Round of the 8 team tournament. The Pilots finished WCC play just 4-10 and 11-17 Overall, however as one of the 3 teams to beat Gonzaga, one has to wonder if they can pull the upset.

In other 1st Round Action (San Diego (20-11/10-4) will take on Pepperdine (15-16/4-10), San Francisco (18-13/9-5) will take on Saint Mary's (10-19/5-9) and Santa Clara (16-14/7-7) will take on LMU (18-12/6-8).

The Regular Season Conference Title is Gonzaga's 3rd in a 5 year period and is their 2nd in a row after winning it last year. The Zag's go into the Conference tourney having won it the previous 3 seasons.

[Deuce2223]

MAKE THAT 4 IN A ROW!!

Gonzaga is head to the Big Dance.. With a 77-70 win over Portland in the opening round. 5 players scored in double digits, led by D. Amerson 15 among the starters and S. Blackgrove's 10 of the bench.

In Round 2, the Zags took on Santa Clara (another team who had already beaten the Zags). Leading 41-33 at the half, Gonzaga survives a 2nd half comeback by the Broncos to hold on to the (79-75) win.

Amerson led the way with 15 pts again well Blackgrove and King both had 10 pts off the bench.

In the Championship Game, it was GU vs San Diego. The Toreros like the Pilots and Broncos also had a previous win over the Zags, and would actually lead at the half (38-35), but a huge 2nd half by Amerson and Blackgrove in the post would lead to the Bulldogs comeback and (80-69) win.

Amerson would finish with a team high 20 pts to finish the tourney as the MVP with a Avg 17.5 PPG. Blackgrove had 10 off the bench making it 3 games in a row with 10 pts.

What's most impressive is Amerson has been playing the past month with a broken finger.


NCAA SELECTION SUNDAY IS NEXT

[Deuce2223]

SELECTION SUNDAY

29 of the Field of 64 are automatically in Tennessee State and UMKC will play for the chance to get in. For UMKC it would be a huge shock. The Kangaroos made national news after winning the Summit League tourney after going 6-12 in conference play in the regular season and finishing 11-22 Overall.

Tennessee State however wasn't much better. 8-12 in conference play, the Tigers also played upset in the Ohio Valley winning the tourney to finish 12-17.

Their reward will be #1 Overall UNLV. The Running Reb's get the #1 Overall seed in the West after finishing the year 33-2 Overall and #1 in both the Media and Coaches Poll. UNLV went 15-1 in MWC play losing only to Colorado State and come into the tourney having won 10 straight games.

Well the other #1's are a given, (27-4) UNC who is #2 in the Polls, (29-4) Indiana who is #3, and (27-7) Syracuse who is #4, the question remains what teams are on the Bubble and will be by their TV's watching to see if they make it in.


Here is some of those teams (18-11) Kansas has the #33 RPI, but a 3-7 finish leaves them on the Bubble. (17-14) Minneasota has the #43 RPI but 14 loss's.

(24-6) Fresno State won the WAC regular season title but lost the tourney to Boise State. They will have to hope their #45 RPI is good enough.

(18-13) Rutgers (#40)

(18-12) Arkansas (#48)

(25-6) Manhattan (#46)

(21-12) Auburn (#49)

(19-110 Baylor (#50)

(23-9) San Diego State (#51)

(20-12) Colorado (#52)

(19-12) Michigan (#54)

(22-9) Fairfield (#62)

(24-9) Arkansas State (#63)

(23-7) Binghamton (#74)

All make the list as well. When it's all said and done, the Pac-10 gets 7 teams in. The Big East and SEC gets 6 teams in, the ACC gets 5 and The Big 10 and Big 12 each get 4 teams.

Arkansas, Auburn Kansas, Colorado, Minnesota,Michigan and Rutgers are all headed to the NIT

The Mid-American makes huge noise as 3 teams (#7 24-8 Akron and #5 24-4 Bowling Green) are head to the Dance with conference tourney winner Buffalo (#15 seed finished 15-17). The Buff's are making their first ever NCAA Field of 64.

Manhattan makes it in off the Bubble giving the Metro Atlantic 2 teams along with the A-10 and CUSA. . The Northeast also gets 2 as regular season champ F. Dickinson (18-0/25-5 Overall) get's a #9 seed to go with #14 Monmouth who won the conference tourney. The SunBelt also gets 2 teams in but Arkansas State's 24 wins isn't enough as they will join North Texas and Western Kentucky in the NIT.

The WAC gets 2 teams as Fresno State gets a #9 seed joining #13 Boise State.


The Mountain West get's just 1 team as SDSU is left off the bubble and is head to the NIT.

OTHER NOTEABLE SELECTIONS AND BIDS

(14-17) Portland State win the Big Sky Tourney and will be making their first ever trip to the Big Dance as a #16 seed.

(12-15) High Point (Big South Tourney winner) is also making their first ever trip to the Field of 64 and will be another #16 seed.

Cal Poly won the Big West Tourney finishing (13-16) and will also be making their 1st ever NCAA appearance as a #15 seed. (UC Davis finished the season tied for the Big West Regular season crown at 11-5 with UC Irvine, but finished just 15-13 Overall)

(16-15) Norfolk State also is making the Dance for the first time after winning the Mid-Eastern. They will be a #15 seed

(22-10) Army is making just their 2nd trip to the Big Dance after wining the Patriot league tourney. They will be a #13 seed.

(16-12) Penn won the Ivy Regular Season Title to get a #14 seed.

It's crazy to see 4 teams make the tourney for the first time and so many upsets on conference tourney's. Portland State was on the list of schools I was considering going to because they had never won the tourney but now they are off.

[Deuce2223]

IT'S DANCING TIME

Here is a look at the 32 First Round Matchup's.

EAST REGIONAL

#1 UNLV vs #16 Tennessee State
#8 Providence vs #9 Manhattan
#5 Bowling Green vs #12 Sam Houston State
#4 West Virginia vs #13 UTEP
#6 Gonzaga vs #11 Ohio State
#3 USC vs #14 Penn State
#7 SMU vs #10 Mississippi State
#2 UConn vs #15 Buffalo

WEST REGIONAL

#1 UNC vs #16 High Point
#8 Ole Miss vs #9 F. Dickinson
#5 George Washington vs #12 UL Lafayette
#4 Texas vs #13 Army
#6 Charlotte vs #11 South Carolina
#3 Virginia Tech vs #14 Vermont
#7 Akron vs #10 Baylor
#2 Syracuse vs #15 UW-Milwaukee

MIDWEST REGIONAL

#1 Indiana vs #16 Portland State
#8 Arizona vs #9 Fresno State
#5 Oklahoma State vs #12 Saint Peter's
#4 Marquette vs #13 Boise State
#6 Middle Tennessee State vs #11 Illinois
#3 Kentucky vs #14 Monmouth
#7 Washington vs #10 Stanford
#2 Alabama vs #15 Norfolk State

SOUTH REGIONAL

#1 Oregon vs #16 Alcorn State
#8 NC State vs #9 Wichita State
#5 UCLA vs #12 Delware
#4 LSU vs #13 Davidson
#6 Oklahoma vs #11 Purdue
#3 Louisville vs #14 Mercer
#7 Duke vs #10 Arizona State
#2 Maryland vs #15 Cal Poly

[Deuce2223]

COACH YOUNGBLOOD HELPS GONZAGA MAKE SCHOOL HISTORY

The deepest run in the Big Dance that Gonzaga has ever gone is the Elite 8 and that was back in 1999 before Coach Few when the Zag's lost to #1 UConn. Since then the Gonzaga has made the Sweet 16 4 times but the last was in 2009 when they entered as a #4 Seed beating #13 Akron in Round 1, and then #13 Western Kentucky in Round 2 before losing to #1 UNC.

Now with Coach Few gone, and Coach YB taking over hopes were at a all-time High in Spokane as the Zag's took the court as the #6 seed taking on #11 Ohio State in the Round of 64.

GAME RECAP

Behind solid defense, Gonzaga would build a (37-28) lead at the half, and build on that lead as OSU shoots just 4/28 from 3pt. Forced to foul late in the game GU would make the Buckeyes pay hitting 8/8 FT's down the stretch to hold on to the win FINAL SCORE GU-70 OSU-54

SG S. Moody led the team with 15 pts hitting 7/9 FG but just 1/3 from 3pt.

PG T. Burke added 12 pts with 6 of them coming form the FT line.

#6th man R. King led the bench with 8 pts hitting 2/3 from 3pt.


Gonzaga would then watch #3 USC demolish Ivy League winner Penn (107-56) as they set up a matchup in the Round of 32 against the Zag's.

GAME RECAP

Tied (38-38) at the half, Coach Youngblood knew his team would need a huge 2nd half if they were going to advance to the Sweet 16. Behind solid team play in which 3 players score in double digits and the bench adds 26, the Zag's over come USC's PF H. Long to outscore the Trojans by 9 as they win the game. FINAL SCORE GU-75 USC-66

Long finished with 32 pts (season high) and grabbed 11 rebs in the loss.

Gonzaga SF M. Haynes joined Long in the double double cat as he ties Amerson for the team high in points with 13 and also has a season/career high 15 rebs. Haynes also hit 3/7 from 3pt.

Amerson added 5 rebs to go with his 13 pts, and SG S. Moody had 12 pts 5 reb 5 asst well hitting 2/6 from 3pt.

FR PG R. Angounou came up big off the bench hitting 2/2 from 3pt to tie King with 8 pts as the biggest bench supporter.


With the win the Zag's were headed to the Sweet 16 for just the first time since 2009, but this time they would be going in as the favorite, as #7 SMU upsets #2 UConn in the Round of 32 (79-70) to become the Bulldogs next opponent.

GAME RECAP


Most Gonzaga fans were already looking ahead. A win here and GU would either face #1 UNLV or #4 West Virginia in the Elite 8. Either school would be a huge challenge for the team, but for Coach YB he was focused on this game first.

A T. Burke 3pt shot was the only different between these 2 teams in the 1st half as Gonzaga goes in up (33-30). Gonzaga would build the lead to as many as 14, but then a injury to SF M. Haynes changed everything. SMU would make a huge run as they close the gap down to just 2 points with less then 2 minutes to play. With Haynes out of the game and Moody struggling with his shot (0/4 from 3pt), Gonzaga would go into stall mode, using as much of the clock as possible before taking the shot. Finally with a 6 pt lead and just 38 seconds to play, SMU was forced to foul. But Moody would find his stroke hitting 3/4 from the line as the Zags win the game and advance to the Elite 8.
Final Score GU-72 SMU-64

S. Blackgrove led the team with 13 pts and 4 reb coming off the bench well playing 17 mins.

S. Moody scored 11 pts to lead the starters.

After the game, Coach Youngblood found out that the bad news of Haynes injury was worse then first expected. His Hand was broken and his season/career was over..

UP NEXT ELITE 8 MATCHUPS AND GAME RESULT

[Deuce2223]

Plan on getting the rest of the tourney posted today. Not getting alot of feedback but I am getting a view, so thank you. Also seem to get alot of views, so I guess some shy people must like Coach YB.

[baccVols]

Man thats a good looking tourney selection post you made....wish i was this detailed....good luck he rest of thr way