#25 Texas A&M vs. #10 Gonzaga Preview/GameThread

That was fun.

It was more stressful than it needed to be, and it contained far too many fouls, but the Aggies took care of businessagainst the Texas Longhorns on Thanksgiving week. All was right with the world.

The reward is a semi-final date with #10 Gonzaga... the betting favorite to win this tournament, and quite possibly the toughest non-Kentucky squad we'll face all season. With very little rest.

It's a big ask, but who knows... maybe we packed a slingshot in the overhead bin.

Let's break it down.

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The Bulldogs also enjoy trucking fools for fun

Gonzaga went to the Texas A&M school of ruthlessly dispatching early opponents, notching a couple of early blowouts by a combined 84 points.

They then handled Washington with ease yesterday, building a 17-point advantage by halftime and cruising home. That same Washington squad defeated Texas in the opening game of the season, so apply the transitive property at your peril.

On a side note, they had a game against Pitt called at halftime due to unsafe court conditions.

They might have the best frontline in the country

Wiltjer, Sabonis and Karnowski appear better than any frontcourt the nation -- and all three were named preseason All-West Coast Conference. But it's worth noting that the talent drop of is pretty significant beyond the Zags' top seven guys. If we can get someone in foul trouble, the scales could even out a bit.

A fantastic write-up on the Zags squad is available here.

We have nothing to lose

This tournament is already a success. We built a ton of program momentum with that win over the horns, and we got ourselves in the RPI-vaulting winner's bracket.

Let's go out there and let it fly. We're objective underdogs, sure, but we shouldn't have a care in the world.

We might as well win the damn thing.

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TV: ESPN; WatchESPN

Tip-off: Noon

Location: Nassau, Bahamas

BTHO Gonzaga