Top-seeded Gonzaga survives scare from Memphis to reach Sweet 16

For a moment on Saturday night, it looked as if Penny Hardaway was going to pull off one of the best upsets of this year’s NCAA tournament.

Hardaway’s early lead, though, wasn’t enough to knock off the tournament’s top seed.

Gonzaga rallied out of an early 12-point hole to beat No. 9 seed Memphis, 82-78, at the Moda Center in Portland, which officially secured the Bulldogs’ seventh straight trip to the Sweet 16.

“I said, ‘I don’t give a flying 'F' what happens at the end of the game, whether we lose or win, we’re not going out as no, uh, soft guys. Leave it all out on the floor, because it could be your last 20,’” Gonzaga star Drew Timme said of his halftime message to his teammates, clearly trying to censor himself on TBS. “Hey man, if we go out and we still lose, play with no regrets. We took that to heart, and we came out with the win fortunately.”

Memphis jumped out to a 10-point lead by halftime after a couple of huge defensive stands early, including an 8-0 run lasting more than three minutes just before the break. The Tigers outscored Gonzaga 20-10 inside the paint in the first 20 minutes and, perhaps more importantly, they held both Timme and Chet Holmgren to a combined six points.

That, however, didn’t last long.

Timme came out of the locker room hot, dropping the first 11 points of the second half for Gonzaga while mounting an 11-4 run to cut the game to just a single possession. The Bulldogs then retook the lead for the first time since late in the first half off a perfect Timme hook shot and backed it up with a Rasir Bolton 3-pointer — which put them up by four and back in control.

Though Memphis didn’t fade away completely, and cut it back to a single possession after a huge contented 3-pointer from Lester Quinones with just more than 30 seconds left, it wasn’t enough. Andrew Nembhard hit four free throws in the final stretch to lead Gonzaga to the four-point win and get the Bulldogs one step closer to avenging their loss in the title game last season.

That, naturally, prompted quite the celebration from coach Mark Few in the locker room.

Timme finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds while shooting 10-of-16 from the field in the win, and Nembhard added 22 points. Holmgren added nine points with nine rebounds and four blocks.

DeAndre Williams led Memphis with 14 points and seven rebounds, and Tyler Harris added 13 points off the bench. Quinones added 10 points, and was the only other Tigers player to score in double figures.

Gonzaga will now advance to take on Arkansas, who edged out New Mexico State earlier in the night, in the Sweet 16 on Thursday in San Francisco.