GoneZaga vs Oklahoma State

This was an entertaining game in the second half, playing basketball the way it should be played!

Hot on the heels of its first ever NCAA championship, the Big 12 has made bold moves towards challenging for the top basketball conference spot. The revitalization of the two Oklahoma schools is a big step in that direction, gone are the angry and vile Suttons and the mega-cheater slug-fester Kelvin Sampson, and in comes perestroika with Jeff Capel and Travis Ford, both former (and successful) basketball players.

It may take Travis Ford a couple of years in order to build a rotation that matches his style, but his impact is already evident in making Oki State a fun team to watch and play for. This will be a growing year, a burn-in year, but don't count them out if the shots are falling!

On the other side, the story is more or less the same at GoneZaga. A five-star offense with questionable defense. Josh Heytvelt is physically gifted, but a bird is looking for its brain ;-) The good news for the Zags is that a new "Pendo" has emerged, Ira Brown. A number of "designer" recruits fill-up the Zags roster, but Ira Brown is the one that can "get it done".

The other good news for the Zags is that with the Arizona "program" dismantled, partly because of two years of interim coaches, Mark Few is not going anywhere!

But where will the Zags go come March? Do they have the onions to survive a brutal defense or a high-powered offense?