The Gonzaga Bulldogs survived a near upset in the quarterfinals of the Maui Invitational. Will they not be so lucky in the semis against the Arizona Wildcats?
For those who didn’t manage to stay up late last night, you missed an entertaining quarterfinals matchup between the Gonzaga Bulldogs and the Illinois Illini. After a close first 18 minutes, the No. 3 ranked team in the country held a double-figure lead for a good part of the second half.
But Illinois’s constant pressure continued to plague Gonzaga, causing 22 turnovers in the game. That and the 12 missed free throws allowed the underdogs to climb back in and was a made three-pointer away from taking the lead with just seconds to go.
But in the end, the Bulldogs pulled out the win by a score of 84-78. Rui Hachimura led the team with 23 points but it was reserve forward Jeremy Jones’s performance who saved the game. He finished with career-highs 14 points and 12 rebounds and played a crucial role in giving Gonzaga the first-half lead. It was by no means an elite performance but in a tournament setup – surviving and advancing is good enough.
The Bulldogs will now take on another program out west in the Arizona Wildcats, who are coming off of a comeback win against the Iowa Cyclones. After being down in the first half, Sean Miller’s club outscored the Big 12 school by 14 points to advance to the semifinals.
After struggling in the first few games with his new team, Samford grad transfer point guard Justin Coleman had a big game, leading Arizona with 18 points on 7/13 shooting. Freshman Brandon Williams went just 2/11 from the field but did make nine free throws and dished out six assists. All five starters scored in double figures as part of a balanced effort for the Wildcats.
These two programs have faced off in scheduled home-and-home contests a couple of seasons ago, with Arizona beating Gonzaga both times. But Arizona isn’t as good as they were in those years and the Bulldogs might have the best roster assembled in school history.
The key for Arizona is to eliminate the three-pointer from Zach Norvell and Gonzaga. They limited Iowa State to just 4-24 from deep and 10 made free throws. Gonzaga is one of the best offenses in the country and if can limit the turnovers, might just be too much for the Wildcats to keep up with.