Zags March Through Portland

You know what I worry about most in a mismatch like Gonzaga versus the Pilots in Portland tonight? (No disrespect to the local team at the Chiles Center but #5 Gonzaga had a fairly relaxed time of it.)
I worry about someone on the less talented team doing something klutzy and really injuring one of the better players - someone with a good chance to contribute in the NCAA tournament. This was brought home to me when Duke was here against Portland State and Jayson Williams wound up getting a nasty bump on his head that bled quite a bit on the floor. He returned after stitches, but it was ugly and a little scary. Sometimes the slower reaction times can lead to damaging the quicker player. By the way, If only someone could go back to that night and tell Jayson to avoid motorcycles. What a shame.
Adam Morrison was wide open from the perimeter most of the game, and tough to handle when he wanted to get rough on the way to the rack. He hit the deck at a bad angle once in the first half but got right back up. I think he finished with 33 points including some long-range bombers that dropped through the net with Larry Bird-like loft and accuracy. The game was suitably low key and they played it out well enough. J.P. Batista was unstoppable inside with 32. Gonzaga over Portland: 97-83. The best thing was nobody got hurt. March approaches and Gonzaga deserves to be at full strength. There aren’t going to be many easy nights like this ahead.