The Gonzaga Bulldogs were named No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row, but it certainly did not feel like the rest of the Western Region was revealed on Selection Sunday. If the Zags were to reach the Final Four for the third time in five years, they would have to navigate a rotten path with a capable opponent in each round. The West certainly felt like the dreaded region of death.
Gonzaga’s run through the brackets faced his first serious challenge in the second round against the Memphis Tigers. Memphis was no ordinary number 8 seed. It has been evident since the preseason that the Tigers have one of the most talented rosters in the country, but injuries and linebackers threaten to derail their season in mid-January. Finally, the Tigers recovered and adjusted the rotation enough to beat the season with 12 wins in their last 14 games in the tournament. They were legitimately one of the best teams in America according to the numbers since January 20th.
Gonzaga needed this victory to continue on his quest to win their first national championship. Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway wanted a program-defining win of his own by beating the top team in the country and appearing on the Sweet 16 in his first NCAA tournament appearance.
Gonzaga-Memphis had more hype than any game in the round of 32. It not only met the hype – it exceeded it.
Gonzaga’s thrilling 82-78 victory put the Bulldogs in the second weekend for the seventh straight tournament. The game had the intensity and talent of a Final Four matchup with potential top-five NBA draft picks on both sides and a charged atmosphere at Portland’s Moda Center. We do not get a better game every tournament long. Here’s what Gonzaga Memphis did so well.
Gonzaga vs. Memphis was incredibly physical from the start
Memphis came out and tried to go after Gonzaga’s all-world defender Chet Holmgren. Holmgren is extremely thin with 7 feet, 195 pounds, but if you have ever watched him play, you know he is one of the toughest rim protectors in America.
The Tigers tried to challenge him inside on some owners within the first five minutes, and Holmgren usually put a rim on the lid.
Gonzaga fed the ball to Timme at the other end, but he could not position deep enough to score in the first half. Regardless, Gonzaga’s greatness put Memphis’ best front-line defenders in early foul trouble. Both Jalen Duren and DeAndre Williams sat long stretches of the game because Hardaway wanted them available for crunch time.
It was the same situation for Gonzaga: Holmgren sat out the last six minutes of the first half after recording his second half. Memphis promptly went on a run to take a 10-point lead at the break. Holmgren did not have a super offensive game, which is a credit to Duren and the rest of the Tigers. The big boys inside to see how this was such a pleasure. We just wish they were not mostly in foul trouble.
Drew Timme broke out in the second half
Timme was one of the best players in the country last season when Gonzaga started 31-0 before losing to Baylor in the national title. While Gonzaga lost three key starters to that team, they kept the lead, and that was one of the biggest reasons they were so good again this year.
After a quiet first half, Timme came out of the break aggressively and scored 11 points straight to open the scoring for Gonzaga. That included a game where he only hit his eighth three-pointer of the season, then continued to attack the Memphis Bigs with rib and post moves that kept the pressure on the Tigers bigs. Check out his full score display in the second half below:
Timme is a character with a great personality, a fact he reminded us of after the finale during a funny postgame interview. College basketball is more fun with players than he is.
Memphis did everything possible to push Gonzaga to the edge
All credit to Hardaway and Memphis for an incredible performance. The Tigers completely reversed their season just as it began to speculate that maybe Penny was not the right man for the job. He found a way to maximize his team as Williams recovered from an injury and the point guard situation resolved, and he played his best against arguably the biggest bully in the sport.
Memphis did not go down all night. They’re just out of the gas.
When I criticize Memphis, it’s this: why not Williams and Duren try to play through foul problems instead of sitting on the bench for so long? Regardless, Memphis almost stole the game in the end. This game should prove that Hardaway is a great college coach.
It’s a shame Memphis did not pick it up a little earlier, as there is no way they would have seen Gonzaga in the second round. There is no doubt that they were better than a number 8 seed.
Things will not get any easier for Gonzaga with the No. 4 seed Arkansas waiting for the next round, and then maybe a potential reunion with either Texas Tech or Duke in the Elite Eight. We’re worried about that later. For now, cheers for Gonzaga and Memphis for giving us a hell of a show.
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