Anton Watson scored 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting and Gonzaga delivered a massive second-half knockout punch in routing Kansas 89-68 on Saturday in Midwest Region second-round action at Salt Lake City.
Nolan Hickman had 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting as the fifth-seeded Bulldogs (27-7) reached their ninth consecutive Sweet 16. Gonzaga blew the game open with a 32-4 burst over a 12-plus minute stretch of the second half.
Ben Gregg hit all six shots while posting 15 points and nine rebounds for the Bulldogs. Graham Ike also had 15 points and nine boards while making 7 of 11 shots, and Braden Huff had 11 points off the bench as Gonzaga won for the 11th time in the past 12 games.
Hunter Dickinson scored 15 points and KJ Adams Jr. and Dajuan Harris Jr. added 10 points apiece for the fourth-seeded Jayhawks (23-11). Harris added 11 assists, and Kansas again played without All-American Kevin McCullar Jr. (knee).
Gonzaga will face either No. 1 Purdue or No. 8 Utah State in the Sweet 16.
“Our guys had some resiliency and came out and executed our plan,” Bulldogs coach Mark Few said. “The offense was clicking for 40 minutes, which was a great sign.
“Nine straight Sweet 16s for this program is a testament to all the players who came through here and who were awesome players and awesome people, and that’s something.”
The Jayhawks lost for the fifth time in seven games and were eliminated in the second round of March Madness for the third time in the past four seasons.
Ryan Nembhard recorded 12 assists for the Bulldogs, who shot 60.3 percent from the field and were 8 of 15 from behind the arc.
Nembhard set the school’s single-season record of 236 assists, surpassing Josh Perkins (234 in 2018-19).
“I know all the guys that came through this program,” said Nembhard, the younger brother of former Gonzaga standout and current NBA player Andrew Nembhard. “A lot of them are pros overseas now or in the NBA. It’s an honor to get that record. I have so much respect for those guys.”
Kansas shot 38.6 percent from the field and made 9 of 22 from 3-point range in a hollow ending that was disappointing for coach Bill Self.
“For the last month, I’ve been thinking about next season, to be honest,” Self said. “Not in the moment during the game. Obviously, we had eight guys on scholarship that were healthy late (in the season) but we could have done a much better job as a staff of putting guys out there who could play.
“When you don’t have as much firepower that maybe you’ve had in past years, it certainly showed this year.”
Kansas led 49-48 after a basket by Adams with 18:26 remaining in the game before the Zags exploded and made 14 of their next 17 field-goal attempts.
Ike scored six points during a 15-0 burst that saw Gonzaga hold a 63-49 advantage with 14:11 remaining. Gregg and Dusty Stromer made consecutive 3-pointers a bit later to make it 74-53 with 9:27 left.
Watson scored the final four points to cap the 32-4 run as the Bulldogs’ lead stretched to 80-53 with 6:28 to go. Gonzaga cruised to the finish while improving to 2-1 all-time against the Jayhawks.
“At the beginning of the season, we all had high expectations because we are a very talented bunch,” Dickinson said. “I think this was kind of the tale of the season. You could see us do great and some days not as great. I feel like that was kind of the first and second half out there.”
Dickinson scored 13 first-half points to help Kansas lead 44-43 at intermission. Huff had 11 points in the half for the Bulldogs.
Kansas scored 22 of 32 points at one point to hold a 22-16 lead after Adams’ basket with 12:55 left in the half. Gonzaga responded with a 15-4 run to take a 31-26 advantage with 6:08 remaining.
–Field Level Media
