Gonzaga faced the wildcard of the tournament tonight in UCLA. Unlike nine years ago when Gonzaga blew a second half lead to lose the game, the Bulldogs instead showed up tonight and played the basketball game that was meant to be played. I think we all knew Gonzaga wasn’t going to let the only double-digit seed left derail its Elite 8 birth. It wanted some revenge and ended the game with a 74-62 win.
Impact Player
Przemek Karnowski earns the reward here. Not only did he put up 18 points and boards but he had a couple flashy passes for a big man. He also put up 2 blocks. His behind the back pass to Kevin Pangos had the arena pumped. Much love for the big man.
Strange, Yet True
Gonzaga is ranked 3rd in the NCAA in 3-point percentage but that didn’t stop them from laying an egg from that range tonight. They went 3-19 (15.8 percent) while the Bruins went 3-13 from there. Both teams also put up the same number of field goal attempts (67) but Gonzaga edged UCLA by only one with 27. This makes Gonzaga’s field goal percentage a whopping 40.3 percent while UCLA was close to that with 38.8 percent. Tonight was not a good night for finding the basket for either team.
Up Next
UCLA ends its impressive tournament campaign at the Sweet 16 with a 22-14 record. Gonzaga dances on to the tune of an Elite 8 birth. They play the winner of the Duke/Utah game later tonight on CBS.
Dorm Room Hoops 