SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) a Second-ranked Gonzaga's game at BYU on Thursday suddenly has national significance. Without Any. 1 Indiana losing to Minnesota on Tuesday, the Zags may reach the most truly effective of the AP basketball study Monday when they could overcome BYU then defeat Portland on Saturday. "It is definitely an fantastic feeling to be part of such a group that's accomplished therefore much up to this point," ahead Elias Harris said earlier this week. "It makes me proud." The accomplishment will be unprecedented for the mid-major program from the tiny Jesuit college in Spokane. While Gonzaga has been running with the elite clubs in the nation for greater than a decade, several in Spokane dreamed that coach Mark Few's company could actually be No. 1. "It is special... that people see you in that light towards the top of the nation," guard Mike Hart said. Gonzaga (27-2, 14-0 WCC) beat BYU 83-63 last month in Spokane. Where more than 20,000 fans make for a hardcore environment, nevertheless the Bulldogs dropped last year in Provo "This one's going to be described as a big challenge," Hart said. "The crowd and their setting down there is really incredible. ... They are going to be rowdy and into it." Gonzaga has performed before lots of big crowds this year, including games at Oklahoma State, Washington State and Butler. "We function perfectly because kind of environment," Few said. A success at BYU would give Gonzaga the WCC regular season title downright. The Cougars (20-9, 9-5) desire a signature win to produce a case for an invitation to the NCAA tournament. Their final regular-season game is at home Saturday against Portland (11-19, 4-10), an adversary they beat by 22 points traveling earlier this year, if the Zags beat BYU. This Gonzaga group was called as special from the preseason, largely as a result of Harris and returning guards Kevin Pangos and Gary Bell Jr. The surprise has been the emergence of last season was redshirted by junior center Kelly Olynyk, who after two undistinguished years on the team. The 7-foot Olynyk is averaging more than 17 details and 6 rebounds per game, firing 66 percent from the subject and thrilling crowds with acrobatic dunks. Defensive energy is brought by hart, and strong bench is got by the Zags play from forward Sam Dower and guard David Stockton, the son of Gonzaga good John Stockton. The team has a strong international flavor. Harris is from Germany, while Pangos and Olynyk are Canadians. The season was opened by the Bulldogs with seven straight victories, lost in the home to Illinois, then reeled off nine more victories. They'd a defeat at Butler and ever since then have ripped off 10 wins in a line, never giving up over 63 points in virtually any of the games. With groups above them in the ballot losing left and right, the Zags moved slowly to the Top 10, then your Top 5 and finally the other day reached No. 2. Their past high rank of No. 3 came the final fourteen days of the 2003-04 period for a team that featured future NBA players Ronny Turiaf and Adam Morrison. "It is nice to go up and make use by winning," Stockton said. "Otherwise we cannot control that stuff." The Zags have now been fixtures on the AP Top 25 for greater than a decade, but this year's group looks different, at the very least to North Park coach Bill Grier. Grier spent 16 years being an assistant at Gonzaga, helping create this program, before leaving five years before. He thinks that newer Gonzaga clubs had such talented people that coaches just let them play, in the place of driving challenging bad schemes. "But this group can play quickly, and they can slow it down and grind," Grier said. "They are patient when they must be, and they get the ball right where they want it. "More than any of their current clubs... this one really executes," Grier said. Because its conference routine is recognized as less than excruciating Gonzaga is frequently ignored. But, as usual, the Bulldogs replace it with a raw non-conference slate. Gonzaga in 2010 owns victories over Kansas State (currently ranked No. 13), Oklahoma State (now No. 15), Baylor, Oklahoma, Clemson, West Virginia, Washington State and Davidson. "We are 29 activities to the year and we only have two losses, and they are quality losses," Hart said. "That addresses for itself." Being No. 1 could provide its own issues. The top-ranked team in the study has lost eight times in 2010. Three of the failures were by Indiana, which fell 77-73 to Minnesota on Tuesday. The Hoosiers (24-4, 12-3) have used the No. 1 standing for 10 of the 17 forms this season, including the past four. Following this week's activities, the Zags happen to be the WCC tournament in Nevada, where archrival Saint Mary's likely awaits them. "Every next game may be the most critical game for all of us this year," Hart said. Therefore do the Zags deserve their high ranking? "You tell me, you are the press guys," Harris said. "Our job would be to get in here and work and exercise with the coaching staff to have better. "That is all we're anxious about," Harris said. "Whatever happens, happens."
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