By EDDIE PELLS (AP National Writer)
DENVER (AP) — Drew Timme added one thing new to his twisting, turning, head-faking, mustachioed repertoire — a 3-pointer to assist Gonzaga recover from the hump and again to the Sweet 16.
The Gonzaga huge man prolonged his one-of-a-kind faculty profession by at the very least another sport, ending with 28 factors Sunday to assist the Zags make their eighth straight Sweet 16 with a come-from-behind 84-81 win over TCU.
Timme made his first 3 since December — and solely his third of the season — as a part of a 13-1 run that helped the third-seeded Zags (30-5) take a seven-point lead with just below 9 minutes left after trailing many of the night time.
“It was huge — the clock, the two-point lead,” Timme mentioned of the margin earlier than he made his shot. “I just launched one up there. All you can do is smile and laugh.”
After TCU pulled again inside three late, Timme made a twisting shot within the lane with a defender draped throughout him to set off a 4-0 mini-run that put the sport out of attain.
Next cease for the 6-foot-10 senior and his social media-friendly mustache: Las Vegas for the West Region semifinals and a gathering with UCLA on Thursday. It can be a rematch of the groups’ Final Four sport two years in the past, when Jalen Suggs banked one in from the half-court brand on the buzzer for the win.
Mike Miles Jr. completed with 24 factors and 4 assists in his second straight electrical sport for the sixth-seeded Horned Frogs (22-13), who had been attempting to win two video games in the identical event for the primary time in program historical past.
Gonzaga coach Mark Few pulled Miles apart briefly throughout the postgame handshake.
“He said that he’s coached a lot NBA players and that I am one,” Miles mentioned. “It’s appreciated.”
Damion Baugh completed with 15 factors for TCU, together with a not-so-meaningless 3 he hit on the buzzer to assist the Horned Frogs cowl the 4.5-point unfold listed on FanDuel Sportsbook.
Small comfort for TCU, although for Half-hour-plus, the Frogs regarded like very very like one of many 16 greatest groups within the nation. They got here on the Bulldogs in waves, attempting to cease Timme with each huge man on the roster.
But whereas the Gonzaga huge man labored for each considered one of his 12 baskets and his eight rebounds, TCU’s bigs had been all in foul bother as the sport wound down. One of the 2 Horned Frogs who fouled out was JaKobe Coles, who made the last-second runner that gave TCU the first-round win in opposition to 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 mentioned.
TCU had led by as many as 10 within the first half.
Rasir Bolton (17 factors) led Gonzaga’s first huge run. His two 3-pointers and one other by Julian Strawther gave the Bulldogs a 46-45 lead after that they had missed 12 of their 14 makes an attempt from behind the arc within the first half.
Strawther, a Las Vegas native, will head dwelling for his staff’s subsequent sport. And Timme joined a listing that features Bill Bradley, Elvin Hayes and Danny Manning as solely the seventh participant with 9 NCAA Tournament video games of 20-plus factors.
“I think he’s going to go down as one of the all-time great college players in the history of the game,” Few mentioned. “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 mentioned he was aggravated by what he known as “some nice things on the internet before” the sport that took photographs at him and Gonzaga. “Throw a little lighter fluid on the fire if you wish,” he mentioned. “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 assembly Thursday with UCLA in Vegas will fall on the sixteenth anniversary of their basic Sweet 16 sport, received 73-71 by the Bruins. Over the ultimate, frenetic 40 seconds, UCLA made two steals, scored the final 5 factors and left Zags star Adam Morrison almost crying on the court docket.
ONE FEWER BIG MAN
With TCU’s huge males in foul bother, one distinction might need been the absence of Eddie Lampkin. Lampkin, a key cog within the TCU frontcourt a lot of the 12 months, entered the switch portal simply earlier than the Big 12 event.
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AP March Madness protection: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madnes and bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
Source: www.bostonherald.com