Mar 22, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Austin Reaves (12) passes the ball around Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Anton Watson (22) during the first half in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports
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