Gonzaga Dominates Utah in Second Round, 82-59
Eric McClellan scored 22 points to lead four Bulldogs in double figures, as Gonzaga cruised to an 82-59 victory over Utah Saturday night in Denver.
The Bulldogs make their seventh NCAA Sweet 16 appearance and second straight.
Head coach Mark Few was impressed with his squads’ effort coming off such short prep time for the Utes.
“They’re really, really difficult to get ready for because they’re so thorough on both sides of the ball… We played as good as probably we’ve played all year on the biggest stage.”
Domantas Sabonis scored 19 points and hauled down ten rebounds. Kyle Wiltjer added 17 points and Josh Perkins ten. Wiltjer scored 11 of the Zags first 24 points.
Gonzaga (28-7) shot nearly 56 percent from the field. They opened up a 15-point lead by halftime thanks to 8-of-12 shooting, 67 percent, from beyond the arc in the first half. That was followed by 61.5 percent from the floor in the second half.
The Bulldogs led 24-22 midway through the first half. Less than three minutes later, they crafted a 10-0 run for a 39-25 lead. That extended to 44-29 edge at the break. Utah failed to get any closer. The Gonzaga lead eventually hit 30 points with just under four minutes left.
Utah (27-9) shot only 42 percent from the field. They committed 13 turnovers that led to 20 points for the Bulldogs. Kyle Kuzma led the Utes with 15 points.
As for their defense on the Utah perimeter players, coach Few said they were really worried about Jordan Loveridge, who failed to score.
“He’s the one guy we didn’t want to get going from three. Myself, I was really concerned with (Brandon) Taylor. I thought he loves to take big shots… Again, this group deserves all the credit in the world under a short prep… They picked it up and executed it really well.”
The Bulldogs will head to Chicago for a Regional Semifinal next Friday versus either Syracuse or Middle Tennessee State.