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Gonzaga Fans Nervous After Rocky Opening Game

Jessica Robinson
/
Northwest News Network

SPOKANE, Wash. - Gonzaga University basketball fans are jittery after a near-loss for the small Catholic school with high hopes for March Madness. Gonzaga's men's basketball team narrowly won its first game in the national tournament on Thursday when it played Louisiana's Southern University.

The Zags next play Wichita State on Saturday.

“I'm so nervous! It was very frustrating to watch us just throw bricks in the air," says Gonzaga University senior Andrew Opila. "But, the thing is, Gonzaga never plays two bad games in a row, like it's just not our style. And so Southern was a bit of a wake up call. We have the chance to go pretty far this year.”

Gonzaga earned its first No. 1 ranking by the AP earlier this month and entered the national tournament as the No. 1 seed in the West.

Meanwhile, the University of Oregon men's basketball team dealt their own upset this week to No. 5 seed Oklahoma State. The 12th-seeded Ducks play Saint Louis University on Saturday.

On the Web:

NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Bracket - NCAA