NCAA tournament surprise: West Region with a western accent

SAN JOSE - The West Region of the NCAA tournament has a decidedly Western feel for a change.

Led by West Coast Conference champion Gonzaga and Pac-12 tournament winner Arizona, the top two teams in the West Region are actually from the western part of the United States for the first time in 26 years.

The selection committee didn’t have to look far to find the top two seeds for the region that will be decided in San Jose in two weeks. The Bulldogs (32-1) spent much of the year near the top of the polls, led by WCC player of the year Nigel Williams-Goss. The Wildcats (30-4) rolled to the Pac-12 title after the return of star Allonzo Trier from a 19-game suspension.

This marks the first time since 1991 when UNLV and Arizona got the honors that the top two seeds in the West Region came from the West.

Gonzaga will open against South Dakota State (18-16) and Arizona will play its first-round game against North Dakota (22-9), both in Salt Lake City.

Northwestern (23-11) got its first bid in school history. The eighth-seeded Wildcats will open play against ninth-seeded Vanderbilt (19-15) in Salt Lake City with the winner facing the Gonzaga-South Dakota State winner.

Here are some other things to watch from the West Region:

WEST COAST DROUGHT

The placement of Gonzaga and Arizona as the top two teams in the region increases the chances that the long Final Four drought for western teams could also come to an end this season. The last team from the West to make it to the national semifinals was UCLA, which made three consecutive trips from 2006-08. No western team has won it since Arizona beat Kentucky for the title 20 years ago.

FIRST TIME DANCERS

After not getting picked for the first 77 NCAA tournaments, Northwestern had to wait until the final region was revealed on the selection show to get its first bid. Coach Chris Collins pumped his fists as his players celebrated and a roar came from the crowd of about 2,000 people at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

“When I came here four years ago, it was a belief in a day like today,” Collins said.

BAD KARMA

Gonzaga got rewarded with its second No. 1 seed ever and will start in the same place the Bulldogs did the other time they got it in 2013. Gonzaga now hopes not to have a repeat and end its tournament on the opening weekend. The Bulldogs lost that year in the round of 32 by eventual Final Four team Wichita State. Gonzaga has never been to the Final Four, losing in the Elite Eight in 1999 and 2015.

BIGGEST LOSER

Vanderbilt made a bit of history with its bid. The Commodores have the most losses for an at-large team and got in with some margin for error as a ninth seed. Three wins against Florida and a non-conference schedule that included six losses to eventual tournament teams proved to be enough for the Commodores.

REST OF THE MATCHUPS

An all-Florida first-round matchup highlights the rest of the region with third-seeded Florida State (25-8) taking on No. 14 seed Florida Gulf Coast (26-7) in Orlando, Florida. The winner of that game will take on the winner of the matchup between sixth-seeded Maryland (24-8) and No. 11 Xavier (21-13).

The other matchups are No. 7 Saint Mary’s (28-4) against 10th-seeded Virginia Commonwealth (26-8) with the winner facing the winner of Arizona’s first-round game. The Gaels lost three times to Gonzaga, including in the WCC title game.

In Buffalo, New York, No. 4 West Virginia (26-8) takes on No. 13 Bucknell (26-8) and No. 5 Notre Dame (25-9) facing No. 12 Princeton (23-6) with the winners playing in the second round.