Gonzaga advances to program's second Final Four

INDIANAPOLIS – The Bulldogs are in the Final Four, and they don't have a blemish on their resume yet.

The Gonzaga men's basketball team easily dusted off Creighton in the Sweet 16 and USC in the Elite Eight March 28 and 30 to improve to 30-0 this season. Gonzaga is two wins away from its first national championship in program history and the first perfect season in Division I men's basketball since 1976.

Against Creighton, a balanced offensive attack aided the Bulldogs to an 83-65 win. Drew Timme, who was named the best player of the West Region, scored 22 points. Andrew Nembhard had his best game of the tournament to date with 17 points, while Joel Ayayi and Corey Kispert added 13 points and 12 points respectively.

The Bulldogs advanced to take on USC, who had the No. 1 ranked defensive two-point field goal percentage in the country. Many analysts thought the Trojans would be Gonzaga's toughest challenge in some time, but the Zags scored the first seven points of the game and led by 19 points at halftime en route to an 85-66 victory.

Gonzaga shot over 66% from two-point range against the heralded USC defense.

Timme again shone with 23 points, this time against projected NBA Draft top-five pick Evan Mobley. Jalen Suggs and Kispert, projected lottery pick themselves, added 18 points apiece as the Bulldogs rolled.

Gonzaga will take on another Los Angeles school, UCLA, in the Final Four at 5:34 p.m. PST on Saturday, April 2. The Bruins advanced to the Final Four with a 51-49 upset win over Michigan shortly after Gonzaga finished off USC. The other Final Four matchup features Baylor and Houston.