Viewer Discretion Advised for Underdog Gonzaga

PHOENIX —  So, Gonzaga, if you make it to the Final Four, do you think you’ll have fun on Leno or Letterman?

“I think we’ll do better on Jerry Springer,” guard Matt Santangelo said.

And about being the underdog for a third consecutive tournament game today in the West Regional final against Connecticut?

“It gives us an edge,” guard Richie Frahm said. “We can come out fast and loose.”

If the Bulldogs were any faster, or any looser, they’d be plastered with oil decals.

It is this attitude that gives them their best hope today in a “put up or shut up” kind of game at America West Arena.

That’s what Gonzaga center Jeremy Eaton called their battle with Connecticut for the right to advance to next week’s Final Four in St. Petersburg, Fla.

For Gonzaga, obviously, it’s one more chance to open eyes.

“Just because you guys can’t pronounce our name doesn’t mean we can’t play basketball,” Santangelo said.

For the last time, that name is “Gone-zag (as in bag)-uh.”

Also for the last time, it may be playing the best team basketball in the tournament, and has a legitimate chance to end Connecticut’s seemingly predestined championship date with Duke.

And doesn’t Huskie Coach Jim Calhoun know it.

As a former coach at tiny Northeastern University in Boston--a school that, like Gonzaga, struggles for respect--Calhoun has warned his team of the Bulldog mind-set.

“I know what it’s like when people don’t know how good you are, when you just want a stage to show them, when you want to be able to say, ‘Here I am, this is what I can do,’ ” Calhoun said. “That’s where [Gonzaga] is right now.”

And Connecticut? It is only on the verge of finally ridding Calhoun of his reputation as best coach--14 NCAA tournament appearances--never to reach the Final Four.

“I’ve coached 800-some games, and I’ve only been remembered for about five,” he said, shaking his head while referring to notable tournament losses. “Whether it’s fair or not, I guess that’s the rules, and you’ve got to live with them.”

Connecticut will try to stay alive in the tournament with guard Khalid El-Amin and forward Richard Hamilton.

El-Amin--averaging 16 points, five assists and four rebounds in the tournament--will be facing Gonzaga’s swarming guards, Santangelo and Quentin Hall.

Hamilton--averaging 24 points and four rebounds--has no Gonzaga counterpart.

The Bulldogs’ best hope is to continue their eerie three-point shooting in the tournament--they are 51% on attempts from behind the arc and 44% on all shots--while getting contributions at both ends of the court from all 10 of the players they generally use.

“This will be perceived as a David-versus-Goliath situation,” Calhoun said. “But it’s not.”

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How They Compare

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Conn. Gon. Record 31-2 28-6 Avg. Pts. 78.0 78.9 Opp. Avg. Pts. 61.0 65.1 Margin 17.0 13.8 Field Goal % .468 .478 Opp. FG%. .388 .405 3-Pt. FG% .352 .403 Opp. 3-Pt. FG% .289 .316 3-Pt. FG-Game 5.2 8.4 Opp. 3-Pt. FG-Game 4.5 5.1 Free throw % .736 .724 Rebound Margin 7.0 5.1 Turnover Diff. 2.1 0.9 Avg Steals 8.2 8.3 Avg Blocks 4.2 3.8

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