Zags Stay Undefeated with 85-66 Win Over USC

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Can anybody stop these guys? For the 30th straight time this season, Gonzaga answered that question with a resounding “No.”

The Bulldogs got on a roll and put on a show, cruising into the Final Four with an 85-66 beatdown of a Southern California team that was nowhere near ready for what it ran into Tuesday night. Drew Timme had 23 points and five rebounds and, after one dunk, pretended to slick down his handlebar mustache for the few thousand fans in the stands.

Jalen Suggs finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists. All-American Corey Kispert had 18 points and eight boards on an “off” night — only 6 for 19 from the floor. Gonzaga shot 44% in the second half and “only” 50% for the game. That was five-under its nation-leading average, but it didn’t matter much.

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The All-region team included both Mobley brothers, Suggs, Kispert, and Timme, who was named the West’s most outstanding player. Timme had 45 points and 11 rebounds over the two games this week.

The top-seeded and top-ranked Bulldogs (30-0) will be the third team to bring an undefeated record into the Final Four since the bracket expanded to 64 teams in 1985. The last team to go undefeated was Indiana in 1976. On Saturday in the national semifinals, the Zags will face 11th-seeded UCLA, which beat Michigan 51-49 in a later Elite Eight game.