Gonzaga arrived at Ball Arena earlier this week as the most-hyped of the eight teams playing in Denver.
The Zags left the city Sunday with the final spot in this year’s Sweet 16, outlasting TCU 84-81 in a back-and-forth battle in front of a sold-out crowd. It was a proper sendoff for the last NCAA Tournament game in Denver — until 2025 — to book Gonzaga’s 13th Sweet 16, and eighth straight.
Gonzaga star Drew Timme led all scorers with 28 points, just eclipsing the effort by TCU star guard Mike Miles Jr., who finished with 22 points. Both stars dominated the court at times and kept their respective teams in the game, while the Zags owned the pivotal moments of the second half en route to the win.
“I thought we were tentative in the first half,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “We just weren’t being who we were that got us here and we were back on our heels defensively. I really challenged them in the locker room: (I told them), ‘This isn’t how we’ve been playing and this isn’t who we are.’ We just had to get back to our aggressive style of basketball.’”
No. 6 TCU also got 14 points from Emanuel Miller and 15 points from Damion Baugh, while No. 3 Gonzaga got complimentary scoring efforts from Rasir Bolton (17 points) and Malachi Smith (11).
In a see-saw first half, TCU controlled the momentum early. But the Horned Frogs could never pull away too much before Gonzaga got right back into the game, including a run in the waning minutes of the first half.
There were a couple of lead changes and the usual suspects led in scoring (Timme with 11, Miles with 10) as TCU took a 38-33 lead into half. But the Horned Frogs were in foul trouble, as forwards JaKobe Coles and Chuck O’Bannon both already had three fouls. Part of that was due to TCU’s physical gameplan for containing Timme in the paint.
It was the same stalemate for the first few minutes of the second half. TCU controlled the tempo early on, but then Bolton and Anton Watson hit 3s on three straight possessions to give Gonzaga a 46-45 lead at the 15:50 mark, and the Horned Frogs called timeout. The decidedly pro-Gonzaga crowd was raucous.
Miles proceeded to hit a 3-pointer to swing the momentum right back toward TCU, and the drama didn’t relent. Gonzaga, which got the lion’s share of the calls in the second half, used Timme and sharpshooting to re-take the lead again. When Watson stole a pass and dribbled for a breakaway slam, Gonzaga led 63-56 and was in total control. Then, the Zags limited Miles down the stretch.
“We were trying to double (Miles) all game, especially on the ball screens,” Few said. “When we did it right it worked pretty good, but if we were a shade soft or a shade late he was by us. And he hit some tough shots, too… He’s a big-game player.”
TCU, which roared back late in the second half to beat Arizona State in Friday’s first-round game, wouldn’t go away. Emanuel Miller provided a spark with a couple free throws and then a reverse lay-up to cut Gonzaga’s lead to 68-64 with about five minutes left.
But Timme, who was limited earlier in the game, couldn’t be stopped down the stretch as the 6-foot-10 senior asserted himself to ice the game for the Zags and finish with his ninth 20-point tournament game. TCU put on a full-court press in the last few minutes, but it wasn’t enough as Gonzaga stayed composed under pressure.
“I think he’s the best player in college basketball,” Few said. “And I think he’s one of the best college players who’s ever played.”
Gonzaga takes on No. 2 UCLA in the Sweet 16.
“They have a lot of guys back from the Final Four team,” Few said of the Bruins. “There’s definitely some familiarity between our programs.”
