The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Non-call, technical go Gonzaga’s way in win
Top-seeded Gonzaga fought off a wild Northwestern comeback for a 79-73 victory Saturday night in Salt Lake City with help from an untimely technical foul on Wildcats coach Chris Collins.
Northwestern trimmed a 22-point deficit to five and had the ball when Gonzaga’s Zach Collins reached up through the basket to reject Dererk Pardon’s shot with 4:54 left.
There was no call, and Collins, jawing with the officials all day, ran onto the court and was slapped with a technical foul.
Nigel Williams-Goss made both free throws, and eighth-seeded Northwestern (24-12) — in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history — never got closer.
A few minutes after the game, the NCAA released a statement saying goaltending should have been called, and that Collins had violated “bench decorum” rules by running onto the court to argue the call while the ball was in play.
Williams-Goss led the Zags (34-1) with 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists, while Collins and Jordan Mathews had 14 points each.
Bryant McIntosh, who hit the go-ahead free throws in Northwestern’s opening-round win, had 20 for the Wildcats and Vic Law had 18.
West Virginia 83, Notre Dame 71: Don’t be fooled by the Mountaineers referring to themselves as “Press” Virginia as a result of their relentless defensive pressure. This team can score. Led by Jevon Carter’s 24 points, the Mountaineers (28-8) outshot the Fighting Irish (26-10) in Buffalo, N.Y., to clinch their third Sweet 16 berth since 2010.
“They thought of us as defensive players,” guard Tarik Phillip said. “But the coaching staff instilled a lot of confidence in us, helped us develop our offensive game, and we became pretty good offensive players.”
West Virginia entered the tournament leading the nation in forcing 20.4 turnovers, while also ranking 15th in averaging 82 points. The Mountaineers topped 80 points for the 18th time, while also breaking the single-season school scoring record set by the Jerry West-led 1958-59 squad.
Daxter Miles scored 18 points, and Esa Ahmad had nine rebounds.
Xavier 91, Florida State 66: Trevon Bluiett scored 29 points, and reserve Kaiser Gates had 14 as the 11th-seeded Musketeers (23-13) pulled off their second straight upset by defeating the Seminoles (26-9) in Orlando.
Xavier shot nearly 65 percent from 3-point range, converting 11 of 17, while the Seminoles made just four of 21 3-point attempts for the game. The Seminoles were outscored in the paint 36-26.
Xavier, which defeated No. 6 Maryland in the first round, shot 55.6 from the field.
Dwayne Bacon led the Seminoles with 20 points.
Arizona 69, Saint Mary’s 60: Lauri Markkanen and Allonzo Trier combined for 30 points as the No. 2-seeded Wildcats (32-4) rallied past the No. 7 Gaels (295) in Salt Lake City.
The Wildcats pulled away in the second half after trailing by 10 points midway through the first half.
The teams went back and forth in the second half until Arizona went on an 11-2 run sparked by Trier. He scored nine of those 11 points during the stretch. The run gave the Wildcats a 55-48 lead, and Saint Mary’s never led again.
Markkanen finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds while Trier scored 14.