Gonzaga, Timme move to Sweet 16 with 84-81 win over TCU
AP
Mar 20, 2023
DENVER (AP) Drew Timme added something new to his twisting, turning, head-faking, mustachioed repertoire - a 3-pointer to help Gonzaga Bulldogs get over the hump and back to the Sweet 16.
The Gonzaga big man extended his one-of-a-kind college career by at least one more game, finishing with 28 points Sunday to help the Zags make their eighth straight Sweet 16 with a come-from-behind 84-81 win over TCU Horned Frogs.
Timme made his first 3 since December - and only his third of the season - as part of a 13-1 run that helped the third-seeded Zags (30-5) take a seven-point lead with just under nine minutes left after trailing most of the night.
“It was huge - the clock, the two-point lead,” Timme said of the margin before he made his shot. “I just launched one up there. All you can do is smile and laugh.”
After TCU pulled back within three late, Timme made a twisting shot in the lane with a defender draped all over him to trigger a 4-0 mini-run that put the game out of reach.
Next stop for the 6-foot-10 senior and his social media-friendly mustache: Las Vegas for the West Region semifinals and a meeting with UCLA on Thursday. It will be a rematch of the teams' Final Four game two years ago, when Jalen Suggs banked one in from the half-court logo at the buzzer for the win.
Mike Miles Jr. finished with 24 points and four assists in his second straight electric game for the sixth-seeded Horned Frogs (22-13), who were trying to win two games in the same tournament for the first time in program history.
Gonzaga coach Mark Few pulled Miles aside briefly during the postgame handshake.
“He said that he’s coached a lot NBA players and that I am one,” Miles said. “It's appreciated.”
Damion Baugh finished with 15 points for TCU, including a not-so-meaningless 3 he hit at the buzzer to help the Horned Frogs cover the 4.5-point spread listed on FanDuel Sportsbook.
Small consolation for TCU, though for 30 minutes-plus, the Frogs looked like very much like one of the 16 best teams in the country. They came at the Bulldogs in waves, trying to stop Timme with every big man on the roster.
But while the Gonzaga big man worked for every one of his 12 baskets and his eight rebounds, TCU’s bigs were all in foul trouble as the game wound down. One of the two Horned Frogs who fouled out was JaKobe Coles, who made the last-second runner that gave TCU the first-round win against Arizona State.
“Obviously, it was pretty early in the first half when we had to make some adjustments, play a lot of different lineups, probably even deeper than I thought we would,” TCU coach Jamie Dixon said.
TCU had led by as many as 10 in the first half.
Rasir Bolton (17 points) led Gonzaga's first big run. His two 3-pointers and another by Julian Strawther gave the Bulldogs a 46-45 lead after they had missed 12 of their 14 attempts from behind the arc in the first half.
Strawther, a Las Vegas native, will head home for his team's next game. And Timme joined a list that includes Bill Bradley, Elvin Hayes and Danny Manning as only the seventh player with nine NCAA Tournament games of 20-plus points.
“I think he's going to go down as one of the all-time great college players in the history of the game,” Few said. “And he still wasn't supposed to shoot that 3. But that's what makes him good. He does things like that every once in a while.”
TIMME ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Timme said he was annoyed by what he called “some nice things on the internet before” the game that took shots at him and Gonzaga. “Throw a little lighter fluid on the fire if you wish,” he said. “I thought TCU was a highly educated school, and they didn’t sound so smart with their comments pregame, so you know. ...”
SWEET 16 ANNIVERSARY
The meeting Thursday with UCLA in Vegas will fall on the 16th anniversary of their classic Sweet 16 game, won 73-71 by the Bruins. Over the final, frenetic 40 seconds, UCLA made two steals, scored the last five points and left Zags star Adam Morrison nearly crying on the court.
ONE FEWER BIG MAN
With TCU’s big men in foul trouble, one difference might have been the absence of Eddie Lampkin. Lampkin, a key cog in the TCU frontcourt much of the year, entered the transfer portal just before the Big 12 tournament.
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1st Half
TCU
Horned Frogs
38
GONZ
Bulldogs
33
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
Xavier Cork vs. Drew Timme (Bulldogs gains possession)
19:45
Rasir Bolton misses three point jump shot
19:43
Damion Baugh defensive rebound
19:33
+2
Emanuel Miller makes two point layup (Chuck O'Bannon Jr. assists)
2-0
19:25
+2
Drew Timme makes two point jump shot (Julian Strawther assists)
2-2
19:07
Chuck O'Bannon Jr. misses three point jump shot
19:05
Bulldogs defensive rebound
18:50
Julian Strawther turnover (out of bounds)
18:32
Emanuel Miller offensive foul (Anton Watson draws the foul)
18:32
Emanuel Miller turnover (offensive foul)
18:21
Julian Strawther misses three point jump shot
17:54
Mike Miles Jr. misses two point jump shot
17:52
Nolan Hickman defensive rebound
17:45
Julian Strawther misses three point jump shot
17:43
Xavier Cork defensive rebound
17:34
+2
Chuck O'Bannon Jr. makes two point jump shot
4-2
17:19
Chuck O'Bannon Jr. blocks Drew Timme's two point jump shot
17:17
Horned Frogs defensive rebound
17:05
Chuck O'Bannon Jr. misses two point jump shot
17:03
Julian Strawther defensive rebound
16:52
+2
Drew Timme makes two point layup (Julian Strawther assists)
4-4
16:52
Xavier Cork shooting foul (Drew Timme draws the foul)
16:52
Drew Timme misses regular free throw 1 of 1
16:52
JaKobe Coles defensive rebound
16:40
JaKobe Coles turnover (lost ball)
16:21
+2
Drew Timme makes two point hook shot
4-6
15:55
+3
Chuck O'Bannon Jr. makes three point jump shot (Mike Miles Jr. assists)
7-6
15:35
Rasir Bolton misses three point jump shot
15:33
JaKobe Coles defensive rebound
15:23
+2
Micah Peavy makes two point layup (JaKobe Coles assists)
9-6
15:16
JaKobe Coles personal foul (Drew Timme draws the foul)
15:16
TV timeout
15:08
Drew Timme misses two point layup
15:07
Anton Watson personal foul (Damion Baugh draws the foul)
14:52
+2
Mike Miles Jr. makes two point layup
11-6
14:43
Souleymane Doumbia personal foul (Drew Timme draws the foul)
14:27
Anton Watson turnover (bad pass)
14:06
Micah Peavy misses two point jump shot
14:04
Anton Watson defensive rebound
13:55
+3
Malachi Smith makes three point jump shot (Anton Watson assists)
11-9
13:33
Nolan Hickman shooting foul (Mike Miles Jr. draws the foul)
13:33
+1
Mike Miles Jr. makes regular free throw 1 of 2
12-9
13:33
+1
Mike Miles Jr. makes regular free throw 2 of 2
13-9
13:22
Julian Strawther turnover (bad pass)
13:02
Emanuel Miller misses two point layup
13:00
Emanuel Miller offensive rebound
12:58
+2
Emanuel Miller makes two point layup
15-9
12:45
Anton Watson misses three point jump shot
12:43
Shahada Wells defensive rebound
12:33
Emanuel Miller turnover (lost ball) (Ben Gregg steals)
12:26
+2
Julian Strawther makes two point layup
15-11
12:10
Ben Gregg shooting foul (Xavier Cork draws the foul)
12:10
Xavier Cork misses regular free throw 1 of 2
12:10
Xavier Cork misses regular free throw 2 of 2
12:10
Julian Strawther defensive rebound
11:51
Ben Gregg misses three point jump shot
11:49
Rondel Walker defensive rebound
11:34
Shahada Wells misses two point layup
11:32
Hunter Sallis defensive rebound
11:27
Julian Strawther misses three point jump shot
11:25
Rondel Walker defensive rebound
11:17
Ben Gregg blocks Rondel Walker's two point layup
11:17
Xavier Cork offensive rebound
11:17
+2
Xavier Cork makes two point layup
17-11
11:17
Julian Strawther shooting foul (Xavier Cork draws the foul)
11:17
TV timeout
11:17
+1
Xavier Cork makes regular free throw 1 of 1
18-11
10:52
Malachi Smith misses three point jump shot
10:50
Drew Timme offensive rebound
10:48
+2
Hunter Sallis makes two point layup (Drew Timme assists)
18-13
10:28
+2
Souleymane Doumbia makes two point dunk (Mike Miles Jr. assists)
20-13
10:03
Drew Timme misses two point layup
10:01
Drew Timme offensive rebound
9:57
Drew Timme misses two point layup
9:57
Ben Gregg offensive rebound
9:57
Ben Gregg misses two point layup
9:55
Emanuel Miller defensive rebound
9:42
Ben Gregg blocks Souleymane Doumbia's two point layup
9:40
Nolan Hickman defensive rebound
9:40
Chuck O'Bannon Jr. personal foul
9:28
+2
Malachi Smith makes two point jump shot
20-15
9:12
+2
Damion Baugh makes two point jump shot
22-15
8:55
Anton Watson turnover (lost ball) (Mike Miles Jr. steals)
8:49
Drew Timme shooting foul (Emanuel Miller draws the foul)
8:49
+1
Emanuel Miller makes regular free throw 1 of 2
23-15
8:49
Emanuel Miller misses regular free throw 2 of 2
8:49
Malachi Smith defensive rebound
8:32
Malachi Smith misses two point jump shot
8:30
Xavier Cork defensive rebound
8:16
Emanuel Miller turnover (bad pass) (Anton Watson steals)
8:11
TV timeout
7:56
Micah Peavy personal foul (Drew Timme draws the foul)
7:52
Mike Miles Jr. blocks Rasir Bolton's two point layup
7:50
Damion Baugh defensive rebound
7:28
Anton Watson shooting foul (Mike Miles Jr. draws the foul)
7:28
+1
Mike Miles Jr. makes regular free throw 1 of 2
24-15
7:28
+1
Mike Miles Jr. makes regular free throw 2 of 2
25-15
7:14
+2
Drew Timme makes two point layup
25-17
7:14
Xavier Cork shooting foul (Drew Timme draws the foul)
7:14
+1
Drew Timme makes regular free throw 1 of 1
25-18
6:56
+2
Chuck O'Bannon Jr. makes two point layup (JaKobe Coles assists)
27-18
6:45
+2
Drew Timme makes two point layup
27-20
6:23
+2
Mike Miles Jr. makes two point jump shot (JaKobe Coles assists)
29-20
6:06
Chuck O'Bannon Jr. shooting foul (Rasir Bolton draws the foul)
6:06
Rasir Bolton misses regular free throw 1 of 2
6:06
+1
Rasir Bolton makes regular free throw 2 of 2
29-21
5:48
JaKobe Coles misses two point jump shot
5:46
Julian Strawther defensive rebound
5:40
Rasir Bolton misses three point jump shot
5:38
Anton Watson offensive rebound
5:35
+3
Julian Strawther makes three point jump shot (Rasir Bolton assists)
29-24
5:35
Horned Frogs 30 second timeout
5:35
TV timeout
5:24
+2
Damion Baugh makes two point layup
31-24
5:07
Damion Baugh blocks Drew Timme's two point layup
5:05
Emanuel Miller defensive rebound
4:55
Damion Baugh misses two point jump shot
4:53
Rasir Bolton defensive rebound
4:47
+2
Rasir Bolton makes two point jump shot
31-26
4:17
JaKobe Coles misses two point jump shot
4:15
Anton Watson defensive rebound
4:08
Rasir Bolton misses three point jump shot
4:06
Micah Peavy defensive rebound
4:00
+2
Mike Miles Jr. makes two point layup (Micah Peavy assists)