Zags stay unbeaten
Drew Timme scored 22 points and top-seeded Gonzaga did against Creighton what it’s done throughout this unblemished season, rolling past the fifth-seeded Bluejays with versatile offense and efficient defense to win 83-65 on Sunday in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
NCAA TOURNAMENT
Andrew Nembhard added 17 points for the Bulldogs (29-0), who have won a school-record 33 consecutive games and extended their Division I record to 26 straight double-digit wins.
Gonzaga did it this time on a quiet day for star Jalen Suggs, who finished with nine points. The Bulldogs methodically built a 10point halftime lead and pushed ahead by 20 on Suggs’ layup with 11:22 left. The Zags will face sixthseeded Southern California or seventh-seeded Oregon on Tuesday in the West regional final.
Marcus Zegarowski scored 19 points to lead the Bluejays (22-9), who were trying to reach their first Elite Eight since 1941, when only eight teams played in the NCAA Tournament.
Michigan 76, Florida St. 58 — Hunter Dickinson scored 14 points and top-seeded Michigan took the inside route to the Elite Eight, pounding away in the paint to take down surprisingly helpless Florida State.
Franz Wagner had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolverines, who scored their first 30 points of the second half from close range to lead coach Juwan Howard and Co. to a victory in the only “chalk” meeting between a 1 and 4 seed of the second weekend.
Michigan (23-4) moved to a regional final for the first time since 2018. The Wolverines will play UCLA for a spot in the Final Four.
Malik Osborne led the Seminoles (18-7) with 12 points.
UCLA 88, Alabama 78 — Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 17 points, hitting two big jumpers early in overtime, and No. 11 seed UCLA held on after Alabama’s Alex Reese drained a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of regulation to beat the secondseeded Crimson Tide.
After beating Michigan State in overtime just to escape the First Four, the unheralded Bruins (21-9) are headed to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2008.
UCLA thought it had the game won in regulation when Cody Riley’s lay-in made it 63-62 with 14 seconds left, and Herbert Jones — a 75% foul shooter for Alabama — missed both of his attempts with 6 seconds left.
David Singleton was fouled and made two free throws for UCLA, pushing the lead to 65-62 with 4 seconds to go. But that still gave the Crimson Tide enough time to find Reese, whose tying 3-pointer splashed just before the buzzer.
Jules Bernard also scored 17 points, Singleton had 15 and Johnny Juzang and Tyger Campbell added 13 apiece as the Bruins gave coach Mick Cronin his first trip to a regional semifinal in 18 years as a college head coach.
Jahvon Quinerly scored 20 points and John Petty Jr. had 16 for the Crimson Tide (26-7), who have lost eight of their nine games in the Sweet 16.
Women
Stanford 89, Missouri St. 62 — Hannah Jump scored 17 points to lead top seed Stanford to an 89-62 romp over No. 5 Missouri State on Sunday, sending the Cardinal to the Elite Eight of the women’s NCAA Tournament for the 21st time.
This Sweet 16 rematch from Stanford’s win in 2019 quickly turned into a blowout. The Cardinal led by 23 at halftime and by as much as 38 in the fourth quarter. Stanford kept up its postseason barrage of 3-pointers by making 15 against the Lady Bears.
Stanford (28-2) has averaged 14 made 3s over its three tournament victories. The overall No. 1 seed advanced to Tuesday’s Alamo Region final against No. 2 Louisville.
Elle Ruffridge scored 18 points to lead Missouri State (23-3).
Louisville 60, Oregon 42 — Dana Evans scored 29 points and No. 2 seed Louisville beat sixth-seeded Oregon to advance to the Elite Eight.
Louisville (26-3) continued its stellar defensive play, holding Oregon (15-9) to 14 points in the first half.
Nyara Sabally led the Ducks with 14 points, but left the game late in the third quarter with a left ankle injury.
South Carolina 76, Georgia Tech 65 — Zia Cooke scored 17 points to lead top-seed South Carolina past fifthseeded Georgia Tech and reach the Elite Eight.
It’s the third time in the past four women’s NCAA Tournaments that the Gamecocks have at least reached the regional finals. South Carolina won the national championship in 2017.
After going scoreless in the first half, Aliyah Boston had the first seven points in the third quarter as South Carolina (25-4) went on a 14-6 run to start the period. That lengthened a fourpoint halftime lead to double digits. The All-America sophomore forward finished with nine points.
Lotta-Maj Lahtinen scored 20 points to lead Georgia Tech.
The Gamecocks await either Maryland or Texas in the Hemisfair Region final Tuesday night.