Gonzaga celebrates with backflips, breakdancing after breakthrough win

They had secured their first trip to the Sweet 16 in six long years, so Gonzaga's players and coaches clearly felt they had earned the right to let loose.

Moments after blasting seventh-seeded Iowa 87-68 in a South Regional game on Sunday night, the Zags piled into the locker room and celebrated a breakthrough victory.

Guard Eric McClellan pulled off a back flip. Coach Mark Few performed a handstand that evolved into a  breakdancing move. Few then announced to the team that they have four more of these celebrations to go as the players clapped and cheered all around him.

Sunday's victory had to feel especially good to Gonzaga even if the Zags' reputation for underachieving in the NCAA tournament is largely overblown. They haven't reached a Sweet 16 since losing to eventual national champion North Carolina in 2009, but they're also one of only two teams to reach the round of 32 each of the past seven years.

Of the five teams Gonzaga lost to in the round of 32 from 2010-14, Wichita State is the only one the Zags were clear favorites to beat. The 2013 Shockers buried 13 threes in their upset of top-seeded Gonzaga and have since proven that they were probably a tad bit better than the average No. 9 seed.

The memory of that game and other losses to the likes of Syracuse and Arizona were surely on Gonzaga's minds as they faced a surging Iowa team that had dismantled Davidson in the opening round. The Zags quickly made it clear that this year would be different, building a double-digit lead 12 minutes into the game and extending it to 17 at halftime and to as many as 22 in the second half.

Kyle Wiltjer led Gonzaga with 24 points on absurdly efficient 10-of-12 shooting, hurting Iowa from the paint and the perimeter. The Zags shot 61.5 percent from the field as a team, scoring at will in the paint and hitting 10 of 16 threes.

Forwards Jarrod Uthoff and Aaron White had some nice offensive moments for Iowa, but the Hawkeyes simply couldn't generate enough stops. They cut the deficit to 11 a handful of times in the second half but could never get within striking distance.

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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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