Last night in Las Vegas in the West region on behalf of the “Sweet Sixteen”, Gonzaga (#3) And UCLA (#2) provided one of the most epic games of the college season, which the Bulldogs of a Drew Timme grandiose with 36 points and 13 rebounds won at the end of the effort, on an award-winning shot from Julian Strawther nine seconds from the end after having been behind for almost half an hour.
As in the previous round against TCU (#6), Mark Few’s men were indeed jostled by the accuracy of the Bruins on both sides of the field, accusing up to 13 points behind at halftime. But a huge awakening from Gonzaga’s mustachioed pivot spurred new momentum in the second half for the Zags’, who then ended up going ahead nine minutes from the end, after running behind the score for almost 25 minutes!
At the same time, UCLA did not score a single point for almost six minutes, and the Bulldogs then took the opportunity to give what was thought to be the knockout blow, notably through the intermediary of Malachi Smith who chained two baskets at halfway to give his team a 10-point lead just over two minutes from the final buzzer (72-62)…
We specify “what we thought was the coup de grace”, because the madness of March has struck again. In a last burst of effort carried by the energy of despair, the Bruins did indeed succeed… in regaining the advantage 13 seconds from the end, on an award-winning shot from the “freshman” Amari Bailey (76-75)!
The following ? A Gonzaga timeout, in which Mark Few designed a decisive system, with which longtime consumers of the NCAA championship are sure to be familiar: the “championship special” as Gonzaga’s coach calls it, designed by Jay Wright, the former Villanova coach, in the championship final in 2016 to beat North Carolina at the siren! With in this case Julian Strawther in the role of the executioner behind the bow.
” These are the kind of moments we can’t invent even in the craziest scenarios in our heads savored the savior of the Bulldogs, which we will certainly find in the NBA next season. ” It’s literally the shot you dream of when you’re a kid, especially in a March Madness game. As soon as I let go of the leather, I felt it good. »
At the “Elite Eight”, Gonzaga will challenge Connecticut (#4)easy winner of Arkansas (#8) in the other part of the table of the West region.
The full summary:
Drew Timme’s cartoon:
