Round 2 rings in GCU's fight for Sweet 16 spot vs. Alabama

Sunday, March 24 \| 4:10 p.m. \| NCAA West Region second round \| Spokane Arena \| Spokane, Wash.

	(12) GRAND CANYON LOPES (30-4)	vs.	(4) ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (22-11)

WATCH: TBS \| LISTEN: 1580 The Fanatic \| STREAM/STATS: View

SPOKANE, Wash. – The NCAA tournament is famous for "One Shining Moment," but Grand Canyon does not want to be limited to one.

Grand Canyon is walking, running and leaping history after 12th-seeded GCU knocked off fifth-seeded Saint Mary's 75-66 for the first NCAA Division I tournament victory in program history.Photo: David Kadlubowski/GCU

Grand Canyon is walking, running and leaping history after 12th-seeded GCU knocked off fifth-seeded Saint Mary's 75-66 for the first NCAA Division I tournament victory in program history.Photo: David Kadlubowski/GCU

The Lopes' light shined bright Friday night to take down the West Region's No. 5 seed, Saint Mary's. They do not want their March Madness star to dim any Sunday, when GCU tries to follow up its historic NCAA tournament breakthrough with a Sweet 16 spot against North Carolina if it can beat the West's No. 4 seed, Alabama. The 4:10 p.m. game will broadcast on TBS.

Well after the 12th-seeded Lopes' 75-66 upset of Saint Mary's late Friday, GCU head coach Bryce Drew was leaving an empty Spokane Arena court when he stopped, turned back and looked around to savor the moment.

That peaceful moment of bliss and blessing went away with the short bus ride back to the hotel, where the Lopes coaching staff began forming an about-face in preparation. GCU is going from playing one of the nation's 10 slowest-playing teams to one of the fastest in Alabama (22-11), the Lopes' second consecutive top-20 opponent.

"The main thing is they've got to deal with us as well," Lopes graduate power forward Gabe McGlothan said.

The Crimson Tide average a nation-leading 90.8 points per game with a pace that uses less than half of the shot clock on average.

A year ago, Alabama entered the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 team in the nation with All-American Brandon Miller. This year, they were going through a 3-4 stretch but still feature an All-American in guard Mark Sears.

Spokane, WA March 23, 2024 : Grand Canyon takes part in media interviews and practice during the NCAA Division I tournament in Spokane, WA. David Kadlubowski/GCU

Spokane, WA March 23, 2024 : Grand Canyon takes part in media interviews and practice during the NCAA Division I tournament in Spokane, WA. David Kadlubowski/GCU

"We have a veteran group," Drew said. "They've seen a lot of different systems. Some of the Texas schools we play in our conference play really fast. Hopefully, we can adjust very quickly from (Friday's) game to (Sunday's) game and get back on defense and defend a little bit differently than when we did."

That defense has improved to No. 18 nationally in opponent field goal percentage (40.4%) and is the nation's 10th-best shot-blocking team, as exemplified by swatting nine Saint Mary's shots on Friday night.

Alabama head coach Nate Oats took note of the roster makeup, comparing GCU players to SEC players and saying the Lopes have moire athleticism than "a lot of high-major teams."

"They're one of the best rim-protecting teams in the country," Oats said. "They turn people over a lot. They play hard. They like to get up and down. Hopefully, they still like to get up and down.

"I don't know if this will be first to 100 (points) or not, but it should be an entertaining game because they've got athletes. They've got some bigtime scorers."

Grand Canyon is walking, running and leaping history after 12th-seeded GCU knocked off fifth-seeded Saint Mary's 75-66 for the first NCAA Division I tournament victory in program history.Photo: David Kadlubowski/GCU

The game features a pair of top-40 scorers in Sears, who ranks 11th with 21.4 points per game, and GCU senior guard Tyon Grant-Foster, who ranks 36th nationally at 19.8 points per game.

Grant-Foster gets much of that by earning the eighth-most free throws in the nation. There could be more to come with an Alabama team that fouls 16.6 times per game, the nation's 16th-highest rate.

"I'm not sure how deep Grand Canyon is," Oats said. "They play about seven guys a majority of the minutes, so I would hope playing a second game in two days, we can get out and run on them a little bit. Our frontcourt is pretty deep.

"I don't think they're a team that's going to try to bridle their thoroughbreds and rein them in."

GCU impressed with its physicality against a notably tough Saint Mary's team on Friday. The Lopes battled and pursued balls relentlessly, starting with a tone-setting play by sophomore center Duke Brennan in the first minute when he dived at midcourt for a loose ball to cause a backcourt violation.

Brennan paid for it with six stitches, putting his season stitch total in the dozens, along with chipped teeth and a bloody nose.

"I'm the dude who's able to make those plays," Brennan said. "Those guys carried the tone through the whole game."

And it also set the tone for the crowd, which had a section of GCU fans and students who traveled from Phoenix and won over the local Gonzaga fans who root against Saint Mary's. The fans have bonded with a team that shows togetherness in its play.

Spokane, WA March 23, 2024 : Grand Canyon takes part in media interviews and practice during the NCAA Division I tournament in Spokane, WA. David Kadlubowski/GCU

The team remained loose Saturday, when they took over television station microphones for interviews with teammates and carried themselves with the same joy as the team that grabbed notice in November.

"They've really bonded together," Drew said. "It's been really fun to see their growth and togetherness that they play with on the court.

"All week, they've been loose and confident," Drew said. "It just goes back to their preparation. Last year, at this time, we lost to Gonzaga. Those guys have been so motivated since then. This is what they've been waiting for since the summer."

Lope tracks

During GCU's Friday night win, Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun posted on X that the "best player in the tourney is on truTV right now" with Grant-Foster tagged. They were childhood friends in Kansas and played one season together for the Jayhawks. "He's one of my best friends to this day," Grant-Foster said of Braun, who attended games at GCU this season.
Lopes graduate power forward Lok Wur has been a late-season sensation, averaging 10.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks off the bench over the past 13 games. The 6-foot-10 Nebraskan has made at least one 3-pointer in 12 of those games with 43.8% accuracy. Previously, he averaged 2.8 points and made 17.6% of 3s. "I don't think he's done," Drew said. "I still think he can continue to get better as a player."
The NCAA transfer portal does not wait for tournament teams. It opened Monday, and the Lopes staff was ready amid tournament game preparations. "We feel like we're off to a really strong start," Drew said.
Baylor head coach Scott Drew said he will not track his brother Bryce's GCU game that starts an hour after the Baylor-Clemson game Sunday. "It's too emotional," Scott said. "The last thing I would want to know is how they're doing because if they're up, I'm worried. If they're down, I'm upset." Their Hall of Fame father, Homer, flew from Spokane to Memphis to watch Scott's game Sunday after watching Bryce's win Friday in Spokane.
GCU has its highest win total (30) since the 1988 NAIA national championship team went 34-7.
An Alabama win would give consecutive Sweet 16 appearances to the Crimson Tide for the first time since 1991 under Wimp Sanderson.