Second Half (0:00) Thank you for following the game with VAVEL USA. Join us for continuing coverage of the NCAA Tournament.
Second Half (0:00) Gonzaga defeats North Dakota State 84-76. They will face Iowa on Sunday
Second Half (:16.3) NDSU is trying to make a late comeback, but a rally at this point seems unlikely
Second Half (1:34) The Bison are trying to stay in the game, but it may be too little too late
Second Half (2:15) Gonzaga heads to the free throw line wth a 13 point lead
Second Half (3:10) Gonzaga is starting to pull away late
Second Half (4:41) Whenever NDSU gets close, Pangos hits a three to put it out of reach
Second Half (5:44) Pangos makes the three and draws the foul
Second Half (6:30) Werner puts the Bison to within 8 points
Second Half (7:41) 66-56 Gonzaga leads
Second Half (8:39) Werner is the reason NDSU is still in this game
Second Half (9:47) Gonzaga has extended their lead to 12 points
Second Half (11:13) Werner makes a tough bucket and somehow draws the foul! This game is far from over
Second Half (11:53) The Bison have suddenly caught fire as the lead is now single digits. Can they finally take the lead?
Second Half (12:20) All of a sudden, it is only a 12 point lead
Second Half (13:07) Lawrence Alexander picks up the loose ball and makes a layup while drawing the foul
Second Half (13:40) The Bison need to find a way to shut down Karnowski
Second Half (14:54) Gonzaga has extended their lead to 53-37
Second Half (15:35) Gonzaga leads 48-35 at the first media timeout
Second Half (17:23) Lawrence Alexander shoots an airball
Second Half (18:16) Gonzaga picks up the offensive foul
Second Half (20:00) The second half is underway
First Half (0:00) At halftime, Gonzaga leads 43-30
First Half (1:12) Another foul on the Bison, this time a blocking foul
First Half (2:09) Lawrence Alexander with the deep three makes it 39-30 Gonzaga
First Half (2:51) Werner gets the offensive rebound and puts it back. 37-27 Gonzaga leads
First Half (4:25) Gonzaga is already in the double bonus
First Half (5:02) The Bison have trimmed the lead to single digits
First Half (6:16) Dexter Werner makes a bucket and picks up the foul
First Half (6:32) Karnowski is a force to be reckoned with inside
First Half (7:22) Gonzaga is cleaning up the offensive boards
First Half (8:48) Gonzaga leads 26-15
First Half (9:44) Timeout Bison as Gonzaga has sccored 12 straight points
First Half (10:40) Gonzaga is dominating inside as the Bison have gotten cold from outside the arc. 22-13 Bulldogs lead
First Half (11:34) Gonzaga leads 19-13 at the second media timeout thanks to Kyle Witjers
First Half (12:28) The momentum has turned to Gonzaga very quickly. 19-13 they lead
First Half (13:38) Another foul by the Bison puts Gonzaga at the free throw line
First Half (14:33) A bad turnover by the Bison gives Gonzaga the ball
First Half (15:12) 11-9 North Dakota State leads at the first media timeout
First Half (16:02) This game will be decided behind the arc
First Half (18:23) The Bison start the game 3-3 from three point range. 9-4 Bison lead
First Half (19:25) AJ Jacobson makes the three to make it a 3-2 Bison lead
First Half (19:41) The Bison commit the foul
First Half (20:00) And we are underway from Seattle!
Iowa beats Davidson, they will face the winner of this game on Sunday. Tip off will be at 9:10 CT/10:10 ET
The NCAA has just announced that the estimated tip off for this game has been pushed back to 10:10 ET/9:10 CT
The game will tip off after the Iowa - Davidson game, which starts at 7:20 ET on TNT.
NDSU coach David Richman is in his first season at NDSU. Former coach Saul Phillips is now the head coach at Ohio University.
The winner of this game will face either 7 Iowa or 10 Davidson in their next game. That is the game right before this one.
Gonzaga forward Kyle Wiltjer averages a team-high 16.7 points per game as well as 6.0 rebounds per game. He also shoots 46.6 percent from 3-point range.
NDSU guard Lawrence Alexander was named the Summit League player of the year after averaging 18.9 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game.
The last time Gonzaga was a 2 seed was 2004, when they lost to Nevada in the round of 32. The only injury affecting this game is Gonzaga guard Josh Perkins, who is out with a jaw injury.
If the game is being predicted solely based off of records, then Gonzaga will win as their record in 32-2 this season, while the Bison were 23-9 during the regular season.
The Bulldogs, meanwhile beat Oklahoma State in the second round last season before losing to the region number one seed Arizona. Both the teams were in the same region, and were placed within two matchups of each other.
The Bison made shockwaves last year in the tournament when they beat the 5 seed Oklahoma in the second round of the tournament. They subsequently fell to San Diego State in the next round. The win was the first ever NCAA Tournament win for a team from North Dakota.
The NCAA Tournament technically got started on Tuesday night with the first four, but the real games got underway yesterday. There have already been a lot of upsets, as yesterday, both 3 seeds playing lost their first games.
The statistics department at North Dakota State University has experimented with models to predict the outcome of tournament games based solely on data and probability, in their simulation, Gonzaga defeated NDSU. They had Kentucky as the national champions, just like the rest of America.
Gonzaga head coach Mark Few is 16-15 in the NCAA Tournament.
This is the second time in Gonzaga history that they have won more than 30 games in a season. Earlier this season, the Bulldogs had a 22 game winning streak, which set a new school record for longest winning streak.
There have been 7 upsets where the 15 seed defeats the 2 seed with the most recent one coming in 2013 when Florida Gulf Coast upset Georgetown.
This is the first matchup between the teams since 1956, overall, NDSU is 2-1 against West Coast Conference schools in the last 10 years.
Meanwhile, NDSU is making their third NCAA Tournament appearance all time. Their other appearances occurred in 2009 and 2014. The Bison had more than 20 wins for the third straight season, it is the second time in school history that they have won 20 or more games in three straight seasons. The last time was 1993-1997.
Gonzaga is making their 17th straight NCAA Tournament appearance, and their 18th overall. They are 19-17 overall in the NCAA Tournament, and 3-1 in Tournament games played in Seattle. The Bulldogs won their 14th West Coast Conference regular season title, then went on to win the WCC Tournament to clinch a spot in the tournament.
Scheduled tip off is scheduled for 9:50 ET. The game will be broadcast on TNT with Spero Dedes, Mike Gminski, and Jaime Maggio on the call.
Welcome to VAVEL USA's coverage of the 2015 NCAA Tournament. Tonight's game pits the 2 seed Gonzaga Bulldogs against the 15 seed North Dakota State Bison from KeyArena in Seattle, Washington.