Gonzaga

Gonzaga down sixth-seeded St. John's, 86-71 - This rack "11" is just a number. The name that comes with it - "Gonzaga" - means much more.

The Bulldogs have become too good to be considered a stranger on the other hand, even when the seedlings can be said.

Marquise Carter scored a career-high 24 points, lifting Gonzaga to a victory 86-71 over sixth-seeded St. John's on Thursday night to end a spectacular day for a double-digit seed at the Pepsi Center in the NCAA tournament.

Interactive NCAA Tournament Bracket 2011 men

The Bulldogs (25-9) was the third lowest seed to spring an upset in the Mile High City, joining No. 12 and No. 13 Richmond Morehead State.

Gonzaga used to all the favorites from mid-major, but the Bulldogs have grown accustomed in the tournament, a perennial Top 25 team. They looked the part of St. John's of the Big East and continue to face third-seeded BYU, the only team that survived a scare this floor. Jimmer Fredette led the Cougars defeated Wofford, 74-66.

Gonzaga used his size and muscle strength around the Red Storm (21-12), they were back in the tournament for the first time since 2002. Gonzaga outrebounded San Juan by a margin of 43-20.

It 'was a rare loss of the initial round of Steve Lavin, who is in his first season in the program over the course of decades ago, Lou Carnesecca. Lavin is now 10-2 and the first and second round of the NCAA tournament, a trademark, for the most part collected during his days at UCLA.

The Red Storm is not the same team without rebounds and team leader DJ Kennedy, who tore his ACL in the right Big East tournament. He sat on the bench in his warm, while lacing his shoes, hoping he might somehow the will of his way in the game.

Instead, Kennedy jumped on the bank, from time to time - as best he could, anyway - to try to turn his teammates.

Fans who have traveled from the Big Apple have shown their support to the eaves height, dressed in red "Do it for DJ" T-shirts.

Dwight Hardy led the St. John's scoring with 26 points, while Justin Brownlee added 14 Sean Evans, who met with Kennedy and had four points and six rebounds.

Basketball activities was booming again in San Juan as part of Lavin. The team was seeking its first victory at this stage since 2000 when they beat Northern Arizona in the first round.

Then, as now, St. John's was bounced from the tournament, Gonzaga, when the Bulldogs were still relatively unknown.

The Bulldogs are almost unknown to the tournament are now emerging, 13 straight.

They use their vast experience in the lead in the first 3-pointer Elias Harris 15:14 mark of the first half and never looked back.

Seven feet of Robert Sacre is a force down low Gonzaga, scoring nine points and nine rebounds. Steven Gray added 16 and Harris finished with 15.

Zag jumped out to a lead of 15 points in the first half to beat the ball inside and take advantage of its large size. The Bulldogs had a lot 'more to the court at all, not really a surprise, because they have nine players 6-foot-5 or higher.

St. John's began to cut into the lead late in the first half, which Brownlee was shot hit the buzzer to make the game 43-32 interval.

Gonzaga hit the winner at the end of the season, winning 10 straight games, including the West Coast Conference tournament title game against Saint Mary's to ensure the automatic bid.

Cougars will play the Bulldogs on Saturday, giving a quick overview of the WCC showdown between two schools in the years to come. BYU soon bolt Mountain West Conference in basketball in the WCC.

BYU and Gonzaga have never met in the field.