ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Leave it to Texas Tech's Matt Mooney to succinctly sum up Saturday's West Regional final matchup against Gonzaga.
"They're really good offensively and we're really...
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Gonzaga was not going to be bullied by Florida State again with a spot in the Elite Eight on the line.
The top-seeded Bulldogs beat Florida State 72-58 in a Sweet 16...
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Zach Norvell Jr. doesn't believe there is a team in the country that can compete with No. 1 Gonzaga when it plays its best game.
STOCKTON, Calif. (AP) — A renewed focus on defense helped Gonzaga get back to the No. 1 ranking it held for three weeks earlier this season.
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Rui Hachimura had to think for a bit when asked how No. 2 Gonzaga was able to score with ease against BYU.
Zach Norvell Jr. scored 25 points, Hachimura had 23 points...
SAN DIEGO (AP) — For the first 20 minutes Saturday night, Rui Hachimura and the Gonzaga Bulldogs looked pretty average.
Once they got warmed up, there was no doubt they're one of the nation's best teams.
Hachimura scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half and had 10 rebounds and No. 3 Gonzaga tightened its defense and pulled away in the second half to beat San Diego 79-67 for its 16th straight victory.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rui Hachimura scored 22 points, Brandon Clarke added 17 and No. 3 Gonzaga beat Loyola Marymount 73-60 on Thursday night to extend its winning streak to 15 games.
It was only the second West Coast Conference game that the Bulldogs (24-2, 11-0) have not led by at least 20 at some point.
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Saint Mary's has been No. 4 Gonzaga's toughest nemesis in the West Coast Conference in the past decade. The Gaels didn't pose much of a challenge Saturday night.
Brandon Clarke scored 24 points and blocked three shots as Gonzaga routed Saint Mary's 94-46 for its 14th consecutive victory.
"That's a really good offensive team," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said of the Gaels. "We contested all of their shots. We held them to one shot for the most part."
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Fourth-ranked Gonzaga was clinging to a three-point lead over San Francisco late in the first half Thursday when someone flipped the switch on guard Zach Norvell Jr.
Norvell scored 13 consecutive points for the Bulldogs and launched them toward a 92-62 win over San Francisco.
"We got stagnant on offense," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said of the first half lull. "We made some real, real silly turnovers in the first half. We needed those shots to get us going,"
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — San Diego always seems to play Gonzaga tough, making the Bulldogs work for yet another victory.
Rui Hachimura scored 32 points and No. 4 Gonzaga pulled away to beat San Diego 85-69 on Saturday night to go undefeated through the first half of the conference season.
"We made plays defensively," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "We got some critical stops multiple times in a row, which we call kills. We took care of the ball."
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Josh Perkins had 18 points and eight assists, and every Gonzaga starter scored in double figures as the No. 4 Bulldogs rolled past Santa Clara 98-39 on Thursday night.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Rui Hachimura said it felt like Gonzaga was a bit hurried in the first half against struggling Portland before settling down for a more typical Bulldog win.
"Before the second half, we talked about passing more and using our teammates. I think the second half we did pretty well with ball movement," the 6-foot-8 sophomore said.
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Known for its offense, Gonzaga has shown that it can win by playing strong defense lately.
Zach Norvell Jr. scored 17 points and the No. 5 Bulldogs beat Loyola Marymount 73-55 on Thursday night, the eighth consecutive win for the Bulldogs since a pair of losses knocked them out of the top spot in The AP Top 25.
Loyola Marymount used a slow-down offense to keep the scoring low, but the Zags were even stingier.
"We relied on our defense tonight," Gonzaga guard Josh Perkins said.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — When it was all said and done and No. 5 Gonzaga came out with the victory, the Bulldogs were happy to have survived a tough test after so many laughers in a row.
Brandon Clarke scored 24 points and Gonzaga got a tiebreaking 3-pointer from Zach Norvell Jr. with less than three minutes remaining as part of a game-ending 17-2 run that led to a 96-83 victory over San Francisco on Saturday night.
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Fifth-ranked Gonzaga was held to its lowest point total of the season and still beat Pacific by 31 points.
Josh Perkins had 14 points and six assists, and Gonzaga beat Pacific 67-36 on Thursday night, the sixth straight win for the Bulldogs.
Pacific used a slow-down offense most of the game against the high-flying Bulldogs, who average 93 points per game.
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Seventh-ranked Gonzaga has wrapped up an eventful non-conference season that saw the Zags reach No. 1 in the Top 25, and then fall down a few spots after a pair of losses.
Rui Hachimura scored 22 points as Gonzaga beat Cal State-Bakersfield 89-54 on Monday night to wrap up the non-conference season for both teams.
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Gonzaga came out refreshed and focused after a weeklong Christmas break.
Zach Norvell Jr. scored 20 points, and the seventh-ranked Bulldogs started with a 29-1 run against North Alabama in a 96-51 victory on Friday night, Gonzaga's 13th straight win at home.
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Rui Hachimura was perfect from the field and missed just one free throw, but what he really wanted to talk about was his defense.
"I think we played good defense first," Hachimura said. "Right now we are more focused on defensive stuff."
Hachimura scored 23 points on 9-of-9 shooting, Brandon Clarke also had 23 and Gonzaga routed Denver 101-40 on Friday night.
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — In the closing seconds of a tie game, Gonzaga guard Josh Perkins dribbled out high looking for somewhere to pass the ball.
He spotted Rui Hachimura near the free throw line.
"They left Rui open where he is automatic," Perkins said.
Hachimura sank a turnaround jumper with 0.6 seconds left, lifting the top-ranked Bulldogs to an 81-79 victory over in-state rival Washington on Wednesday night.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Gonzaga's Zach Norvell Jr. got off to a slow start against Creighton for the second year in a row. Like last year, he finished with a flurry.
Norvell scored 23 of his career-high 28 points in the second half, and top-ranked Gonzaga wiped out an early double-digit deficit and beat Creighton 103-92 on Saturday.
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — North Dakota State didn't figure to pose too much trouble for Gonzaga on the day the Bulldogs rose to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25. The Bison didn't.
Brandon Clarke and Rui Hachimura each scored 18 points as top-ranked Gonzaga beat North Dakota State 102-60 on Monday night to remain undefeated.
"Mission accomplished," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said.
LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Gonzaga found itself in the same position as Duke's first five opponents: appearing helpless as the Blue Devils and their rim-rattling freshmen ran past and flew over them.
The Zags never panicked, never looked up in awe at the bouncy Blue Devils. They have too much experience to get rattled, even against college basketball's most talked-about team.
LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — The Latest on the Maui Invitational (all times local):
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Rui Hachimura scored 24 points, Zach Norvell Jr. added 20 and No. 3 Gonzaga earned a spot in the Maui Invitational title game with a 91-74 win over Arizona Tuesday night.
Gonzaga (5-0) was out of synch late in the first half after a good start, falling into an eight-point hole.
LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — The Latest on the Maui Invitational college basketball tournament (all times local):
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Rui Hachimura scored 23 points, Zach Norvell Jr. added 15 and No. 3 Gonzaga held off Illinois 84-78 in the opening round of the Maui Invitational.
Gonzaga (4-0) withstood Illinois' 10-0 run to go up nine with 97 seconds left, but Trent Frazier scored on a four-point play to pull the Illini within 80-78.
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Gonzaga was flying up and down the court in the first half against Texas A&M, taking hurried shots, and coach Mark Few was not pleased.
At halftime he told his team to slow down, and the No. 3 Bulldogs responded by blowing out the Aggies 94-71 on Thursday night.
"We slowed a couple of guys down," Few said. "We got the ball in the right places and took the right shots."
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Gonzaga rode a strong effort from Rui Hachimura to open the season with a rout.
Hachimura scored 33 points to help the third-ranked Bulldog to a 120-79 win over Idaho State in the season opener for both teams Tuesday night.
Zach Norvell Jr. added 23 points for Gonzaga (1-0), which has the highest preseason ranking in school history. Norvell Jr. also added seven rebounds.
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — What looked to be a rebuilding year for Gonzaga ended instead in the Zags' fourth consecutive trip to the Sweet 16.
Now comes the inevitable offseason of drama for fans as several underclassmen consider going pro and Gonzaga explores options for moving to another league.
Coach Mark Few, who was named West Coast Conference coach of the year for the 12th time, can look to next season knowing he'll have players to build with again.
Zach Norvell Jr. earned the nickname "Snacks" for his affinity for candy and chocolate. Gonzaga's coaches picked up on it when Norvell's father used the moniker during a visit, so Snacks followed the shooting guard to Spokane.
Now Norvell is gobbling up opponents in the NCAA Tournament.
Gregarious and confident, Norvell has provided the fire the low-key Zags have needed and has them in position to make another Final Four run.
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Zach Norvell Jr. pulled up for 3-pointers, drove fearlessly to the rim and bulled his way into the trees to snare rebounds.
A spectator during Gonzaga's Final Four run a year ago, the confident, extroverted freshman could be the ticket for a return trip.
Norvell had 28 points, hit six 3-pointers and grabbed 12 rebounds, leading Gonzaga back into the Sweet 16 with a 90-84 victory over Ohio State in the West Region on Saturday night.
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Zach Norvell Jr. watched Gonzaga's greatest moments play out from the sideline last year.
This year, the redshirt freshman will be part of the highlight reel.
The shooting guard from Chicago hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 20.8 seconds left Thursday to help the fourth-seeded Bulldogs escape a major scare in the West Region with a 68-64 victory over UNC Greensboro.
PROVO, Utah (AP) — Ho hum, it's another West Coast Conference championship for Gonzaga.
Johnathan Williams scored 16 points, and the sixth-ranked Bulldogs clinched the conference title with a 79-65 victory over BYU on Saturday night.
The Bulldogs (27-4, 17-1) have won at least a share of 18 of the past 19 regular-season WCC championships, including each of the past six seasons.
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Loyola Marymount was short-handed and stood second-to-last in the West Coast Conference, but No. 9 Gonzaga wasn't about to take them lightly.
The Zags scored the first 17 points of the game and cruised to a 76-46 victory on Thursday to retain at least a share of first place in the league.
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Gonzaga is one of the nation's elite offensive teams. On Thursday night, the Zags showed they can also grind out a defensive win.
Johnathan Williams scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as Gonzaga edged stubborn San Diego 69-59.
"We kind of needed it," Gonzaga's Zach Norvell Jr. said of the grinder. "We want to see what kind of guys we've got."