Front runner Arizona relieves by Gonzaga 84-61
Arms swing and legs churning, Arizona is competing back into the Dessert 16.
The remainder of the brace need to take notice of this one. If they play similar to this, the Wildcats are going to be extremely difficult to defeat.
Difficult Gonzaga with its contest-everything protection, Arizona looked quite like the front runner in the West, blowing out the Bulldogs 84-61 on Sunday to reach the Dessert 16 for the 3rd time in 4 years.
" That Arizona group we viewed tonight was as great a team as we have actually faced, that I can keep in mind," Gonzaga coach Mark Few stated." It was just way too much for us today.".
Coming off an unsteady NCAA event opener, Arizona (32-4) ended an untamed first weekend break of upsets and buzzer beaters with a display of domination.
This was not the impressive double-overtime game these interplay in the 2003 NCAA tournament. This was an eye-popping display of just what one of the nation's finest teams can do when it acquires rolling.
The Wildcats overran Gonzaga (29-7) with their dimension, athleticism and fast hands to blow the eighth-seeded Bulldogs out of the bracket.
Transforming among college basketball's most reliable teams on its head, Arizona scored 31 factors of Gonzaga's 21 turn overs - 15 on swipes - and never gave the Zags an opportunity after competing bent on a 21-point lead in the initial one-half.
Aaron Gordon had 18 points, 6 rebounds and six helps for Arizona. Fellow freshman Rondae Hollis-Jefferson additionally had 18 points and Nick Johnson doned with 17.
Successive for Arizona is fourth-seeded San Diego State - a team it defeated in this exact same field early in the period - in the Sweet 16 just up the shore in Anaheim.
" Tonight was just one of our season's ideal efficiencies," Arizona coach Sean Miller mentioned." Clearly, you wish to play well in the NCAA competition which's exactly what our team did tonight.".
Gonzaga has relied upon its capacity to manage the video game and look after the round throughout a run of 16 straight NCAA tournament looks.
Arizona's pressure ran the Zags rough, leaving them trailing the Wildcats as they competed off to one layup after another.
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Przemek Karnowski scored 14 points and Kevin Pangos added 12 for Gonzaga, which hasn't already reached the Dessert 16 given that 2009.
" We didn't do ourselves any kind of favors," shared Pangos, who kept playing after transforming his ankle joint early in the video game." We let them feel pretty good about themselves. Yet they are a great group and they did speed it up a little bit.".
Arizona was skittish in its opener versus Weber State, starting slow and permitting the Wildcats from Utah to claw their back from a 21-point deficit in the 2nd half to make it close.
The first-game anxiety out of their system, the Wildcats had fun with confidence and lots of power against Gonzaga, sprinting up the flooring after swipes and defensive rebounds to establish simple chances in change.
Arizona made it look simple at times, dropping off passes for layups, flying in for alley-oops and finding up for 3-pointers on the break.
It was so good even Gordon, whose outside shot has been questioned, came by a 3-pointer. Completely step, he adopted what seems to become his trademark go on the break, soaring up for a reverse dunk on an alley-oop from Johnson to put Arizona up 38-20.
Gonzaga shot well versus one of the nation's finest defenses - when it can acquire chances off.
The Bulldogs had problem with Arizona's they're-all over defense, playing catch-up on the break as the Wildcats snared passes and stripped dribblers for 8 steals in the very first one-half. Gonzaga had 11 turnovers that Arizona became 19 points for a 47-34 halftime lead that would certainly have been much more if the Bulldogs really did not make a late run.
Arizona had one turnover and 13 helps on its 17 basket - 34 efforts - with Gordon and Hollis-Jefferson combining to attack 8 of 9 gos while scoring 12 factors each.
" Just what we did today was push the pace," Gordon said." We noticed they weren't coming back along with they need to and we just remained that going throughout the video game.".
The 2nd one-half began such as this: two possessions by Gonzaga, couple of turn overs.
Arizona remained the program going from there.
Johnson had the defensive highlight of the fifty percent, locating David Stockton to obstruct what seemed a breakaway layup and the round went off a Gonzaga player, to boot. The offensive reel was highlighted by Gordon, that skyrocketed in for a rebound slam over couple of Gonzaga players.
No chance for the Bulldogs and, if Arizona remains playing similar to this, not much of one for anybody else.
