March Madness 2017, Gonzaga vs Xavier: Highlights, score and recap

Highlights, score, and recap of Saturday’s Elite Eight showdown between Gonzaga and Xavier in the NCAA Tournament

Xavier rode into this Elite Eight game as the tournament’s last Cinderella. Gone were the rest of the double digit seeds; even stories like Michigan and Wisconsin were gone. The Musketeers had ridden an improved defense and Trevon Blueitt to three consecutive upsets, and were looking to add a fourth to get to their first Final Four as a program.

They finally ran into a team that could bust the zone, though. After holding their opponents in the first three matchups to under 26 percent shooting from deep, Xavier could not contain the Bulldogs’ 3-point attack. Gonzaga opened the game by taking seven of its first eight shots from behind the arc, and finished with 11 makes on 23 attempts. With a team finally up to hitting the shots they’d been surrendering all tournament, Xavier could not keep up.

RELATED: Updated 2017 NCAA Tournament Bracket

With their outside shots falling, Gonzaga was able to pull Xavier’s zone further and further from the basket, opening up lob opportunities and post-ups for Gonzaga’s bigs. Jonathan Williams in particular shone amongst his more heralded front-court partners, finishing the game with 5 offensive rebounds and 19 points on 8-12 shooting.

Xavier gamely stayed with the 1-seeded Bulldogs for much of the first half, exploiting transition opportunities and attacking the basket to get to the line. But Gonzaga’s offensive onslaught and a sub-par showing from three (Xavier finished 2 for 15 from beyond the arc) meant that it would be tough for Xavier to maintain contact. A hail of turnovers in the second half and a rare off night for Trevon Blueitt meant that they couldn’t. Xavier’s Cinderella run finally came to an end, while Gonzaga moved on for a chance to play for the title.

Three Stars

Nigel Williams-Goss came to play in this one. After a disappointing showing in a win against West Virginia in the Sweet 16, Goss rebounded to play one of his finer games of the tournament. More than willing to take the space Xavier afforded him from three, he buried four of his seven attempts from deep, many of them off the dribble. His 23 points were good for the team lead, and his zone-busting shooting was a big part of Gonzaga’s offensive breakout in the game.

Jonathan Williams may have been the real star, though. While Gonzaga was always going to have a size advantage against Xavier, you would have expected it to be Karnowski or Collins, the two most-talked about players in Gonzaga’s loaded froncourt. Instead, it was Jonathan Williams dominating on both ends for the Bulldogs. He added two steals and three blocks to his 19 points, and dominated the interior of Xavier’s defense.

Josh Perkins was the other key to busting Xavier’s zone. All but one of his field goal attempts came from beyond the arc, but they were big ones. He hit three of his seven attempts from beyond the arc, and finished in double digits with 11 points.

Highlights

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Next Game

Gonzaga continues on its ‘redemption’ tour, as they’ll advance to the Final Four for the first time. They’ll play for the right to make the national championship against the winner of the Florida-South Carolina game, which will be contested on Sunday night. Gonzaga will likely be the heavy favorite as a 1-seed against at best a 4-seed, and currently the strongest team in the country by adjusted efficiency. Their narrative battering run continues next weekend.