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These two teams in the west won't have much traveling to do compared to some other schools, as the No. 14 seed Grand Canyon (GCU) Lopes (25-11, 14-18-0 ATS) and No. 3 seed Gonzaga Bulldogs (28-5, 13-18-1 ATS) are meeting in Denver's Ball Arena. Since they're in the West Region, surviving this weekend will earn them a trip to Vegas next weekend. Before they think about the Sweet 16, these conference champions need to get past this game on Friday night. At 7:35 p.m., their March Madness journeys will begin.
Rattling off six straight wins between the regular season and WAC Tournament earned GCU a ticket to the Big Dance. It was a brilliant run, and the Lopes' longest winning streak of the season couldn't have come at a better time. Their path wasn't easy either, as three of the wins came over teams ahead of them in the WAC standings.
GCU ran away with the WAC title game, leading for the whole second half in the 84-66 win. The Lopes finished +11 on the boards along with shooting nearly 20% better from the floor. Rayshon Harrison could do no wrong, with a 31/8/8 slash line to lead Grand Canyon to victory.
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— Grand Canyon Men's Basketball (@GCU_MBB) March 12, 2023
Offensive performances like that are how the Lopes punched their ticket, as they finished 53rd in adjusted offensive efficiency, according to KenPom. Their three-point shooting was particularly lethal, as their 38.3% rate from downtown was 14th in the nation. They hit 13/20 in the WAC Championship game.
On defense, they were only 198th in adjusted efficiency this season. They play at a slow pace, but forcing turnovers was still an issue as they only forced 10.7 per game. Their shooting percentages against were pretty, but most people would point to their competition as a major factor in that.
Overall, GCU is 108th in KenPom's ratings.
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