Submitted by Fox First at Ten on March 18th
It's been a week since Gonzaga has played a game, but the Bulldogs finally know when, where and who they will play in the NCAA tournament.
Gonzaga will face a semi-familiar school in Southern University when it tips off on Thursday in Salt Lake City. When Southern visited Spokane on Nov. 12, 2010, the Bulldogs easily took care of business in a 117-72 win. But that Southern team had a different coaching staff and a different system.
Here's some information that will get you better acquainted with Southern as you prepare to watch Thursday's NCAA tournament game.
University Background
Southern's official title is "Southern University and A&M College." Southern is a historically black college in Baton Rouge, La., that was founded in 1880. Enrollment in 2010 was reported as 7,313.
Basketball program
Southern has been to the NCAA tournament seven times and holds a 1-7 record in tournament play. It's lone win came in 1993 against Georgia Tech. The last time Southern reached the tournament was in 2006, when it lost to Duke in the first round. The sports programs use the Jaguars as their nickname.
Style of play
Southern likes to play at a slow tempo, keeping the score as low as possible. Giving up just 57.1 points per game, Southern is 13th in the NCAA in scoring defense.
Leading scorers
Derick Beltran leads the Jaguars with an average of 15.9 points per game, while Malcolm Miller scores 15.8 points per game. Miller is effective from the field, shooting 51.4 percent, including 46.0 percent from 3-point land. Beltran shoots just 39.9 percent from the field, but has gotten to the free-throw line a team-high 128 times, where he shoots 79.7 percent.
Signature win
Southern's biggest win of the season came at Texas A&M on Dec. 22. The 53-51 win was the only time the Jaguars defeated a team from a major conference.
Performance of the year
Beltran poured in a career-high 35 points and hit a career-best eight 3-pointers on Feb. 4 against Jackson State.
Comments