Drew Timme scored a career-high 30 points and matched his career best of 13 rebounds to help top-ranked Gonzaga post an 87-71 victory over Oklahoma in NCAA Tournament West region second-round play on Monday at famed Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Corey Kispert and Jalen Suggs added 16 points apiece as the top-seeded Bulldogs (28-0) won their 32nd consecutive game. Joel Ayayi registered 12 points and eight rebounds as Gonzaga moved four wins away from an unbeaten season.
Gonzaga will face either fifth-seeded Creighton or 13th-seeded Ohio in the Sweet 16.
Austin Reaves scored 27 points on 11-of-17 shooting to pace the eighth-seeded Sooners (16-11), who lost for the sixth time in the past eight games. Alondes Williams added 15 points, Jalen Hill had 11 and Kur Kuath blocked five shots.
Oklahoma was without second-leading scorer De’Vion Harmon for the second straight game due to a positive COVID-19 test.
Gonzaga has recorded 25 straight wins by double digits.
Timme made 9 of 12 field-goal attempts and was 12 of 14 from the free-throw line as the Bulldogs shot 49.1 percent and made 8 of 22 from behind the arc.
The Sooners shot 50 percent from the field and were 5 of 16 from 3-point range.
Oklahoma scored the first basket of the second half to trail by 10 before the Bulldogs quickly pushed the margin to 60-41 on Kispert’s 3-pointer with 14:19 remaining.
The lead was again 19 more than two minutes later before Oklahoma made a run with eight straight points. Timme’s three-point play with 8:20 left was Gonzaga’s first points in a span of 3:44 and made it 69-55.
The Sooners moved within 10 points on three occasions before finally cutting their deficit to 77-68 on a 3-pointer by Reaves with 2:38 remaining.
But Kispert buried a 3-pointer to make it 84-70 with 1:15 remaining as the Bulldogs finished off the victory.
Timme had 14 points and seven rebounds in the first half as Gonzaga took a 46-34 advantage.
The Sooners started fast while racing to a 12-4 lead before the Bulldogs caught Oklahoma at 19 on Ayayi’s 3-pointer with 13:06 left in the half.
The contest later was tied at 28 before Gonzaga took the lead for good with a 12-2 run. Ayayi and Suggs each knocked down 3-pointers during the flurry.
–Field Level Media