No. 7 Gonzaga Embarrassed 77-70 at the Hands of "Mighty" Portland State

HD Handshoe -  Block-O-Nation by Analyst Written on December 24, 2008
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No, this is not a typo.

The headline is correct, and no, you're not dreaming Zag fans.

You may be wondering, how in the world did the Bulldogs lose to Portland State?

At home, nonetheless?

Many college fans not living in the Great Northwest may be asking themselves this morning, "Who the 'bleep' is Portland State?"

Well, they are the defending Big Sky Conference Champions from last season, if that helps, but still...

They didn't even have a men's basketball team before it was reinstated during the 1996-1997 season. Since then, these teams had met 10 times and Gonzaga had won all 10 meetings.

Portland State is now 1-11 all-time vs. nationally ranked opponents.

Not to overstate it, but this is the basketball equivalent of 40-point underdog Stanford upsetting No. 2 USC or FCS/D-IAA Appalachian State beating No. 5 Michigan in college football recently.

I was one of the few voters to vote Gonzaga outside of the top 10 in the latest B/R basketball poll, which you can find by clicking here.

 

Like Xavier, who lost to unranked (albeit possibly not for long) Butler, the Zags were suffering from the lingering effects of losing just three days earlier in overtime to No. 2 UConn.

The difference is Xavier had been absolutely crushed and dominated by Duke. Their confidence was smashed into millions of tiny little pieces.

Additionally, Butler is not Portland State.

Butler is a very good team that has beaten numerous top-ranked opponents over the past several years, including Maryland, Mississippi State, Wake Forest, Louisville, and a 19-point win just last year over postseason NIT Champion Ohio State.

After this poor performance, there's nearly a 100 percent chance Gonzaga won't even make my top 25 in this coming weekend's poll.

And to think—the game was nearly postponed due to extreme inclement weather that had closed highways and force airport delays all throughout the Northwest.

Too bad for Gonzaga, it wasn't.


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Vote Now! - Author Poll

Who's more likely to get back on track and finish the season in the top 10?

  • Xavier
  • Gonzaga
  • Butler
  • Portland State
  • None of the Above
vote to see results
Results - Author Poll

Who's more likely to get back on track and finish the season in the top 10?

  • Xavier

    0.0%
  • Gonzaga

    68.4%
  • Butler

    15.8%
  • Portland State

    7.9%
  • None of the Above

    7.9%
  • Total votes: 38
(0)
...
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written on December 24, 2008 Opinion

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