NCAA Tournament 2017, Gonzaga vs South Dakota State: Highlights, score and recap

Highlights from Thursday’s West Region First Round matchup between the top-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs and No. 16 South Dakota State Jackrabbits from Salt Lake City.

After a shaky first half, the top-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs avoided a historic upset with a win over the No. 16 South Dakota State Jackrabbits in a West Region First Round game on Thursday afternoon in Salt Lake City.

The Bulldogs came out flat and simply couldn’t find any rhythm on the offensive end in the early going. South Dakota State buried three jumpers to take an 8-2 lead, which it wouldn’t relinquish until just 1:41 remained in the first half.

Gonzaga shot 2-of-14 from beyond the arc in the first half at just 40 percent overall for the entire game, a shocking number given the fact that South Dakota State’s defense ranked 327th in efficiency with 1.093 points per possession allowed during the regular season. Fortunately for Gonzaga, freshman forward Zach Collins had nine points in the first half to help the Bulldogs build a narrow 26-22 lead at the break.

Things could have much worse for the Bulldogs, as South Dakota State star Mike Daum had just seven points on 3-for-10 shooting in the first after finishing the regular season as the nation’s second-leading scorer. The Jackrabbits also initially won the battle on the glass against the much bigger Bulldogs behind seven rebounds from guard Tevin King.

Finally, Gonzaga’s offense woke up out of the half with a quick 14-4 run to get some separation. The Jackrabbits could get no closer than seven points, and Silas Melson’s three to extend the lead to 48-33 put the Bulldogs in control.

Przemek Karnowski then got involved with six straight points, as the Bulldogs quickly pushed the advantage to 20 with five minutes left. The Bulldogs were then able to run down the clock for the win that was more of a struggle at times than that score would indicate.

While Gonzaga’s offense should have been more effective against the woeful Jackrabbits defense, its worth nothing it had one of the longest layoffs of any team after playing its last game on March 7. The Bulldogs had a terrific defensive gameplan on Daum, and Thursday’s contest could have gone much different had he shot better from the floor.

Three Stars

3. Mike Daum, F, South Dakota State. Didn’t have a strong game by his standards, but led the Jackrabbits with 17 points in addition to seven rebounds.

2. Jonathan Williams, F, Gonzaga. Pulled down five offensive rebounds to help Gonzaga get extra possessions when it was ineffective from the perimeter all game long.

1. Zach Collins, F, Gonzaga. Piled up 10 points, six rebounds and three blocks, including a number of key buckets in the first half to steady the Bulldogs.

Highlights

RELATED: Updated 2017 NCAA Tournament Bracket

Up Next

Gonzaga moves on to the West Region Second Round to take on the winner of the 8/9 matchup between Northwestern and Vanderbilt.