Back in the 2001 Sweet Sixteen, we lost to Michigan State (a team with J Rich and Zach Randolph.) That Gonzaga team had a decent average rebounding margin, but we got absolutely worked by the Spartans on the boards that game. (Here's the box score.) I once read an article (that I can't find now!) in which Mark Few cited that loss as a major motivation to placing a bigger priority on rebounding from that point forward.

For this and various other reasons, I've always had a lot of respect for Michigan State. I would love to face them in the tournament this year, not because I think they'd necessarily be a good matchup for our team and not because I want revenge. Rather, I want a chance to go toe to toe with them because Tom Izzo's teams have been a model of consistency over the years (not unlike another team we all know...), and to beat them in the Big Dance would be awesome.

As Selection Sunday draws nearer, which teams are you hoping to meet in the tournament and why? What non-basketball reasons make you want to meet or aviod certain teams- revenge, respect, another alma mater? Which teams do you think would be tough or easy matchups for the Zags?