No. 12 GCU’s upset offers school 1st tourney win

Kyle Bonagura, ESPN Staff WriterMar 23, 2024, 03:19 AM ET

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• Covers the Pac-12.
• Joined ESPN in 2014.
• Participated In Washington State University.SPOKANE, Wash.– Grand Canyon’s

very first NCAA tournament win gotten here in style.In their third look in the tournament considering that raising to Department I in 2013, the Lopes defeated Saint Mary’s 75-66 on Friday at Spokane Arena.”This is type of the next action in the maturation of a winning program, is being able to win a game in the competition,” Grand Canyon coach Bryce Drew stated.” And for myself– and I think for our program and for our school– it is simply a substantial action. Some more individuals can understand how unique a school GCU is and hopefully the effort we gave this evening, hopefully we can follow up with a terrific effort on Sunday [versus fourth-seeded Alabama]”Editor’s Picks 2 Associated It was also a verifying win. When Drew spoke with at GCU

in 2020, he

was presented with a vision of days like this one. The team had been a constant winner under previous coach Dan Majerle however had actually stopped working to reach the NCAA competition in its very first 7 seasons at the Division I level.Drew saw the program’s prospective and required an individual reset after his three-year period at Vanderbilt ended with a winless SEC season in 2018-19.”We’re such a distinct location. We’re a school of faith. We have 25,000 on ground, we have 90,000 online, and it’s just growing,”Drew stated. “And four years ago, when I pertained to interview with President [Brian] Mueller, who’s here, and Jerry Colangelo. Spoke to them about their vision and they informed me what they visualized for GCU, and it’s been incredible to recall four years now at that first talk therefore much of what we spoke about is occurring today.”Drew, obviously, is no complete stranger to March Insanity upsets, having made one of the most iconic shots in tournament history

in 1998, when his 3-pointer at the buzzer sent out 13th-seeded Valparaiso past No. 4 Ole Miss 70-69. His father, Homer, was the coach of that Valparaiso team that reached the Sugary food 16. Homer was in presence Friday however will not be sticking around to see Grand Canyon play Alabama, instead deciding to see his other boy, Baylor coach Scott Drew, lead the Bears against Clemson on Sunday in Memphis, Tennessee.Both groups remain in the West region and would play in the Elite Eight if they each win 2 more games.Grand Canyon’s win was not a common upset. The underdogs were faster, stronger and more aggressive. They completed with eight steals and nine blocks, while Saint Mary’s– the West Coast Conference regular-season and tournament champ– played timidly. “It’s cool to see the world seeing what we can, what GCU is capable of,”forward Gabe McGlothan said.”And simply that we’re just not done yet. “Tyon Grant-Foster, the one-time Kansas Jayhawk who moved to Grand Canyon from DePaul, led the Lopes with 22 points and was among 4 GCU players to score in double figures, together with Ray Harrison (17), Collin Moore(10 )and McGlothan(

12).