The undefeated Gonzaga University Men’s Basketball team rolled into Hinkle Fieldhouse to face the Creighton Blue Jays. They were aiming to stay undefeated and advance to the Elite Eight. This was the team’s 22nd straight NCAA tournament appearance. Creighton, on the other hand, made its nonconsecutive 22nd appearance in the tournament. The first NCAA champions to remain unbeaten was the Indiana University Men’s Basketball team in 1976. From the way they played today, Gonzaga is trying to be the second.
The then 28-0 red hot Gonzaga team did not waste any time showing why they were undefeated. They opened the first half with an early 7 point lead, which forced Creighton to call timeout. After talking it over, Christian Bishop’s dunk bought it within 5. Creighton made it their business to stay on Gonzaga’s heels. Marcus Zegarowski hit a three-pointer to make it a 2 point game at the 10:19 mark. That was as close as they were able to get. With a little under 4 minutes remaining, Gonzaga was back up by 10. It was a 43-33 game at the break.
At the start of the second half, Gonzaga took another early lead, ahead 16 on Creighton. Eventually, their lead blew to 22 just under the halfway point. They were shooting 64% from the field and dominated the paint with 50 points. However, they were not done adding to their lead just yet. With about 5 minutes remaining, Gonzaga took their largest advantage of the game as they were up 27. Creighton was unable to keep up. They started to find their footing in the first half, but Gonzaga was able to pull away toward the latter. That momentum carried into the second half, and Gonzaga was able to finish with an 83-65 win.
Drew Timme led the team with 22 points. Behind him was Andrew Nembhard with 17 points.
Nembhard’s brother recently committed to Creighton. Despite the loss, he gave his brother’s future team some recognition for the way they play.
“I think he’s in great hands with those guys over there because they do a great job for sure,” he said.
Coach Mark Few acknowledged that it was great to get the victory, but they still have a long way to go.
“Again, I’m just telling you, we’re not hung up on the undefeated thing at all. We’ve got to go undefeated from here on out,” Few said. “We’ve got to go 3-0 if we want to win the championship, which has been our goal all along.”
Up Next:
Gonzaga will Face the University of South Carolina Trojans on Tuesday, March 30th. The time is TBD.
