Zags roll on: Eleventh-seeded Gonzaga pounds No. 3 Utah in Denver to reach the Sweet 16.
Leave the buzzer-beaters and heart-stoppers to the other guys.
For Gonzaga, these are the March Mismatches.
The Bulldogs, looking like something much different than an 11th seed, rolled over No. 3 Utah 82-59 in Denver on Saturday behind 22 points from Eric McClellan and a 19point, 10-rebound effort from Domantas Sabonis.
The wire-to-wire effort was even more impressive than their 16-point win over Seton Hall in the first round.
“We played as good as probably we’ve played all year, on what is the biggest stage,” coach Mark Few said.
Next up for the Zags (28-7) is a game against Syracuse or Middle Tennessee State in the Midwest Regional.
Kyle Wiltjer had 17 for Gonzaga. He went 3-for-4 from three-point range, all in the first half, to help the Bulldogs jump to a quick double-digit lead.
This game was billed as a battle of big guys, between the 6-foot-11 Sabonis and Utah’s 7-footer, Jakob Poeltl. That fizzled. Poeltl finished with five points and four rebounds for the Utes (27-9). He got in foul trouble early — drawing his first when Sabonis spun to the baseline and left Poeltl grabbing to prevent the dunk.
“He’s an incredible player,” Poeltl said. “He made some really good plays today. It’s his versatility that makes him so tough to guard.”
Utah’s exit added to the Pac-12’s woeful performance so far in the tournament. The conference is 2-6, leaving only West Region top seed Oregon still standing. All six losses have come against lower-seeded opponents.
In other Midwest Region games:
Virginia 77, Butler 69: In Raleigh, N.C., Malcolm Brogdon scored 22 points and the topseeded Cavaliers (28-7) used some hot second-half shooting to beat the ninth-seeded Bulldogs (22-11). Anthony Gill added 17 points and Marial Shayok finished with 12 as Virginia shot 73 percent after halftime, hitting 14 of its first 16 shots of the second half, and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second time in three years. Virginia will face Iowa State on Friday in the Midwest Regional semifinals. Andrew Chrabascz scored a season-high 25 points for ninth-seeded Butler.
Iowa State 78, Little Rock 61: At Denver, Georges Niang scored 28 points and the Cyclones (23-11) advanced to their second Sweet 16 in three years. Niang, the winningest player (97) in Cyclones history and Iowa State’s only two-time All-American, was simply too much for the 12th-seeded Trojans (30-5) of the Sun Belt.
EAST REGION
North Carolina 85, Providence 66: Brice Johnson had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and the top-seeded Tar Heels (30-6) pulled away from the foulplagued Friars (24-11) in Raleigh, N.C. North Carolina shot 61 percent after halftime and 53 percent for the game, and made 19 of 21 free throws — 15 of 16 after halftime.
Indiana 73, Kentucky 67: Freshman Thomas Bryant scored 15 of his 19 points in the final eight minutes, Yogi Ferrell had 18 and the fifth-seeded Hoosiers (27-7) prevailed in Des Moines, Iowa. Indiana is in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2013 despite losing starting guard Robert Johnson to an apparent left ankle injury late in the first half. The Hoosiers used a 17-4 run to go up 10 with four minutes left before the fourthseeded Wildcats (27-9) got as close as two points.
WEST REGION
Duke 71, Yale 64: Grayson Allen had 29 points, including five three-pointers, to help the fourth-seeded Blue Devils (25-10) fend off a furious rally by the 12th-seeded Bulldogs (23-7) at Providence, R.I. Duke led by as many as 27 points before seeing that dwindle to just three with less than a minute to play. But steely free throws by freshman Brandon Ingram and Allen secured the defending champions a place in the tournament’s second weekend. Brandon Ingram added 25 points and five rebounds for the Blue Devils, who will play the winner of top-seeded Oregon and St. Joseph’s. Brandon Sherrod led Yale with 22 points.
SOUTH REGION
Kansas 73, UConn 61: Wayne Selden Jr. and Perry Ellis combined for 43 points as the top-seeded Jayhawks (32-4) handed Kevin Ollie his first NCAA Tournament loss as head coach of the ninth-seeded Huskies (25-11). Selden had 22 points and seven rebounds, Ellis scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds and the No. 1 overall seed advanced to the South Region semifinals to play the winner of Sunday’s Hawaii-Maryland game.
Miami 65, Wichita State 57: At Providence, R.I., Angel Rodriguez took over after Miami blew a 21-point lead midway through the second half, hitting a big three-pointer with 72 seconds remaining and scoring 28 points to lead the third-seeded Hurricanes (27-7) to advance to the Sweet 16. Fred VanVleet and Shaquille Morris had 12 points and Ron Baker 11 for the Shockers (26-9), who put on a furious rally in the second half of a bruising game, taking a 43-42 lead with 10:24 to go. The Hurricanes will play either Iowa or Villanova next weekend in Louisville in the South Region semifinals.