Kevin Pangos and Kyle Wiltjer leading the way for Gonzaga: Canadian basketball notebook
Things are pretty groovy at Gonzaga right now. The Bulldogs are 17-1, third in both the AP Top 25 and the USA Today Coaches Poll, and their leaders, Kevin Pangos and Kyle Wiltjer, are intent on keeping the good times going until the first weekend of April.
The two Canadian kids are playing great ball and their strong play has been noticed. Pangos and Wiltjer were both named to the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 list last week.
In his senior year, Pangos is making sure to leave his mark on the Bulldogs program. Orchestrating college basketball's No. 2 offence by points per possesion (120.7 per 100 possessions) Pangos is putting up 12.5 points and 5.0 assists per game while converting 47.2% of his three-point attempts.
This is Wiltjer's first year playing for Gonzaga after transfering from Kentucky after the 2012-13 season and sitting out last season. A redshirt junior, it didn't take long at all for him to mesh with Pangos and he leads the team with 16.6 points per game on 53.7% shooting.
''I really like to play with him,'' Wiltjer told the Associated Press of his relationship with Pangos.
On top of the big time contributions from Pangos and Wiltjer there's a third Canadian on the roster. Dustin Triano, Jay's kid, has gotten a few minutes off the bench.
So far this season Gonzaga's only loss was in overtime at No. 7 Arizona but as has been the case so often over the last decade, the doubters continue to point to the Zags' lack of a deep run in the NCAA tournament. They haven't been to the Sweet Sixteen since 2009. With their deepest squad in years, here's their opportunity to change that.
'We have so many weapons, we knew we were going to be a special team,'' said Wiltjer. "We've got to get past that first weekend."
The way they're playing, getting past the first weekend and still being around for that final weekend is a definite possibility.
CANADIAN BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK:
— Saturday was a career night for Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins scored 31 points, hit four three-pointers, and had three blocks, all career-highs, in Minnesota's 113-105 win over Denver. He's now averaging 15.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists per game while shooting 43.4% from the field and 41.4% from beyond the arc.
— The Raptors are trying to work their way out of their recent funk. They beat Milwaukee 92-89 on Monday, just their third win in their last ten games and Dustin Pollack writes for Eh Game that Toronto has a lot of work to do if they want to compete with the NBA's elite.
— Undefeated watch: Trey Lyles and No. 1 Kentucky smashed Missouri 86-37 on Tuesday and Alabama 70-48 on Saturday to improve to 17-0 on the season.
— NCAA perfomers of the week: Naz Long led No. 11 Iowa State with 20 points and five rebounds as the Cyclones knocked off No. 9 Kansas 86-81 while in Portland's 80-61 win over Pepperdine, Cassandra Brown went for 30 points, hitting four three-pointers.
— The Ottawa took over the No. 1 spot in the CIS men's Top 10 after they beat Carleton last week. In the women's rankings the No. 1 Windsor Lancers lost their first game of the season, falling to Laurier 60-53 on Saturday and are now 9-1. The Golden Hawks have won ten in a row, which gives them a 10-1 record.
— This one should be fun: a basketball game at a casino. The NBL Canada's Windsor Express are hosting the Halifax Rainmen in the "Clash at the Colosseum II" at Caesars Windsor on Wednesday.
— "The loss of young potential seldom makes sense and is always sad," writes Neate Sager for Eh Game on the tragic death of Toronto college basketball player Shanice Clark.
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Israel Fehr is a writer for Yahoo Canada Sports. Email him at israelfehr@yahoo.ca or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr
