Unstoppable Gonzaga moves on the Elite Eight

Gonzaga is three wins away from an undefeated season.

The No. 1 overall seed Bulldogs had absolutely no problems with No. 5 Creighton in the teams’ West region Sweet 16 matchup on Sunday. Gonzaga won 83-65 after putting the Blue Jays away early in the second half with a 19-9 run over the first nine minutes after halftime.

Creighton didn’t play poorly in the first half. Yet it still found itself down 10 at the break thanks to Gonzaga’s ruthless offensive efficiency. It was hard to see how the Blue Jays would be able to keep up with the Bulldogs in the second half after what transpired in the first 20 minutes, and that became evident as Gonzaga was able to cruise in the final minutes of the game.

Drew Timme scored a team-high 22 points for Gonzaga, which will face the winner of the Oregon-Southern California game later Sunday.

A victory Tuesday against either the Ducks or Trojans would send the Bulldogs to their second Final Four in four tournaments and move them two wins from becoming the first unbeaten national champion since Indiana in 1976.

The last five unbeatens to enter the tournament since that Hoosiers team have fallen short of winning the title.