Gonzaga stays unbeaten, powers into Final Four
West Region final Gonzaga 85, Southern Cal 66
INDIANAPOLIS — Can anybody stop these guys?
For the 30th straight time this season, Gonzaga answered that question with a resounding “No.”
The Bulldogs got on a roll and put on a show, cruising into the Final Four with a beatdown of a Southern California team that was nowhere near ready for what it ran into Tuesday night.
Drew Timme had 23 points and five rebounds and, after one dunk, pretended to slick down his handlebar mustache for the few thousand fans in the stands.
“This is a really, really big deal,” coach Mark Few said of the program’s return to the Final Four after a four-year hiatus. “And Zags know how to celebrate, OK?”
The top-seeded and top-ranked Bulldogs (30-0) will be the third team to bring an undefeated record into the Final Four since the bracket expanded to 64 teams in 1985. The last team to go undefeated was Indiana in 1976.
On Saturday in the semifinals the Zags will face 11th-seeded UCLA, which beat Michigan 51-49 in a later Elite Eight game.
In the early contest, Timme did whatever he wanted against the nation’s fourth-ranked defense — a team that won its first three tournament games by an average of 21 points — as did pretty much everyone else in a white uniform.
Jalen Suggs finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. All-American Corey Kispert had 18 points and eight boards on an “off ” night — only 6-for-19 from the floor. Gonzaga shot 44% in the second half and “only” 50% for the game. That was five under its nation-leading average, but it didn’t matter much.
Women
Hemisfair Region final South Carolina 62, Texas 34
SAN ANTONIO — One by one, South Carolina players walked through the confetti and climbed the ladder to cut down the net in the Alamodome.
It was only fitting that the Gamecocks got to keep the nylon. They used it way more than Texas did.
Zia Cooke scored 16 points and South Carolina used its stifling defense to advance to the Final Four for the third time, shutting down Texas for a victory.
Top-seeded South Carolina blocked 14 shots, nine by Laeticia Amihere, and held No. 6 Texas to 23% shooting. The Longhorns were outscored 10-0 in the fourth quarter.
The Gamecocks have been on a mission ever since they felt they were denied a real chance at the national title last season when the NCAA Tournament was canceled because of the pandemic. It showed all night long, but especially during the first scoreless quarter in the tourney since the women’s game went to quarters in 2016.
South Carolina (26-4) won the Hemisfair Region to advance to Friday’s national semifinal against Stanford, the tournament’s overall No. 1 seed. UConn and Arizona will meet in the other national semifinal.