Monday, March 16, 1998
NCAA snub drives
Gonzaga in NIT
The Bulldogs are all business
By Cindy Luis
when it comes to tonight's second-
round game vs. Hawaii
Star-BulletinThey've been snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, outrigger paddling off Waikiki.
The Gonzaga men's basketball team hasn't been averse to mixing business with pleasure during its visit here.
Tonight, it's all business. But the Bulldogs hope the end result will be all pleasure as they face host Hawaii in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament.
"It's a fine line between a business trip and chance of a lifetime for some of our kids to come to Hawaii," Gonzaga coach Dan Monson said after yesterday's practice at the Stan Sheriff Arena. "You don't want to take away from either. But it's too big a game not to stay focused. It's the biggest game of the season for these kids and they've done a good job of recognizing that.
"It's been a very 'up' year for us. Our only disappointment was in not reaching our goal of going to the NCAA Tournament. All we can do about that is play good basketball in the NIT and hopefully show people that it was a mistake we weren't in it. If we don't play good in this, we'll have proved everyone right."
Like the Rainbows, the Bulldogs felt they deserved to go to The Big Dance and not the NIT Sock Hop. Gonzaga won the West Coast Conference's regular-season title with a 10-4 record, then lost to San Francisco, 80-67, in the WCC Tournament championship game.
Gonzaga, a small Catholic school (2,825 undergraduates) in Spokane, Wash., is coming off a first-round win at Wyoming. Leading the Bulldogs over the Cowboys was senior forward Bakari Hendrix, who just missed his fourth consecutive double-double when he finished with 19 points and nine rebounds.
Of concern for the Rainbows are Bulldog guards Matt Santangelo and Richie Frahm, who each have hit 73 3-pointers. Their combined total of 146 is more than the entire Hawaii team (138).
The key matchups will be on defense. The questions are whether Hawaii can contain Hendrix and get out on Gonzaga's 3-point shooters, and whether the Bulldogs can slow Rainbow guards Alika Smith and Anthony Carter while preventing an inside player like Mike Robinson from getting off.
Carter had a season-high 28 points in Wednesday's first-round win over Arizona State. Smith added 22 points, hitting five 3-pointers, and Robinson added 15 points.
"They've got two guards in Carter and Smith and we've got to contain those two if we hope to win in here," said Hendrix, the WCC Player of the Year. "We also know that they're pretty athletic down low, but that their main focal point is not to pound it inside.
"We've got some of the best shooting guards in the country and Hawaii has two very versatile guards. The transition game will be a key. We've got to make them play at our pace. We can't come in here, expect to run up and down with them and win.
"It's going to be a battle, and I see a real close game, hard-fought all the way."
"We both like to push the ball, something that's easier to do when you're at home," Monson said. "We've got to be careful that we don't get into a street game with them.
"We're a team predicated on shooting the ball. We revolved around Bakari. He's our only true inside player. We've had success when we've gotten the ball into him and he's either kicked it out or shot the ball. When people have not let us get the ball into him, we've struggled."
Hawaii has the advantage of being at home for a second straight game. Gonzaga flew back from Laramie on Thursday, arriving home that night; the Bulldogs were on a plane to Hawaii 16 hours later.
Should Gonzaga win tonight, the Bulldogs are hoping to host a third-round game in the 12,000-seat Spokane Arena later this week. The NIT traditionally does not put a team on the road for three straight games.
The NIT also doesn't usually give a school three home games. Hawaii has put in a bid to host a third-round contest, but unless Memphis beats host Fresno State tonight, the Rainbows likely will be on the road against another Bulldog team later this week.
NIT men's basketball
Tonight: Gonzaga (24-9) at Hawaii (20-8), 7:30 p.m.
1997-98 Rainbow Men's Basketball Schedule
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
