Gonzaga steamrolls USC, makes Final Four
SAN ANTONIO — 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 an 8566 beatdown of a USC 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 fouryear hiatus. “And Zags know how to celebrate, OK?”
On Saturday in the national semifinals, the topseeded and topranked Bulldogs will bring their perfect record into a matchup against UCLA. The last team to go undefeated was Indiana in 1976.
Timme did seemingly whatever he wanted against the nation’s fourthranked defense — USC (258) had won its first three tournament games by an average of 21 points — as did pretty much everyone else in a white uniform.
Jared Suggs finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. AllAmerican Corey Kispert had 18 points and eight boards.
Blowouts are supposed to be boring, but this had the feel of a Globetrotters game at times, filled with fancy bounce passes through traffic, reverse layups, a swooping power dunk from Joel Ayayi (nine points) and the occasional postbasket flex from the 6foot10 Timme.
“It was a little surprising,” USC coach Andy Enfield said, “because we’d been playing great basketball.”
UCLA 51, Michigan 49: Johnny Juzang poured in 28 points despite playing most of the second half on a hurt ankle, and the Bruins (229) survived a series of nailbiting misses by the topseeded Wolverines (235) in the closing seconds to become the fifth No. 11 seed ever to reach the Final Four.
UCLA was clinging to a 5049 lead when Michigan called a timeout with 19 seconds to go. Juwan Howard set up an open 3point look for Franz Wagner, who missed most of everything, and Eli Brooks missed a putback before the Bruins grabbed the rebound.
The Wolverines quickly fouled and sent Juzang to the line, where he missed the second of his two free throws with 6.3 seconds left, and Michigan grabbed the rebound. After another timeout, Mike Smith raced up court and unloaded a good look from the wing that was halfway down before bouncing back out.
The buzzer sounded but the officials halted the Bruins’ celebration, putting a halfsecond back on the clock. That was enough time for Michigan to inbound to Wagner, who again let fly a 3pointer that clanked off the iron — and finally gave the Bruins freedom to spring from their benches in a wild celebration.