SPOKANE, Wash –
Gonzaga Fever is hitting another high, as the men's basketball team moved up to
#2 in the AP top 25 writer's poll – the highest ever rankings for the
Bulldogs.
On campus in the heart
of Spokane, students told KHQ they're not just celebrating the #2 ranking in
town, they're following the team to Las Vegas for the WCC
Tournament.
"It's exciting," said
Nancy Carl. "I'm a senior so we've been
waiting for this for a really long time, and the fact that we're so high is
exciting. You just walk around campus and everyone starts screaming
Zags!"
She said she's only
missed one game this year, and the spirit surrounding the team is one of the
reasons she chose to attend Gonzaga.
Junior Mitchell Beck
agrees.
"I'm looking for a
tournament victory," he told KHQ. "I'm
going undefeated in conference play, get the automatic bid, potential 1seed for
March Madness, it's going to be crazy."
He said he hasn't
missed a game all year, and both Carl and Beck are among the load of students
who are making the trip to Vegas, hoping to see the Bulldogs clinch more
victories.
With the new ranking
also comes a spike in sales of GU gear, as fans get ready to hit the
road.
"As you get into late
February and early March it gets pretty exciting around here with people looking
for Gonzaga gear - but it's always more so when they're up there in the top 5,"
said Keith Wigen, a sales clerk at Sport Town in downtown
Spokane.
So the message from
the fans:
"Let's go Zags! Let's go #1, Indiana you're going to lose,"
Beck cheered.
Sport
Town is also counting on future wins – the WCC Tournament Champions shirts for
Gonzaga have already been ordered.
