National Basketball Association
Duke 66, Gonzaga 52
When: 5:05 PM ET, Sunday, March 29, 2015
Where: NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas
Officials:
# Jeffrey Anderson, # Doug Sirmons, # Mike Stuart
Attendance:
20744
By SportsDirect Inc.
Duke 66, Gonzaga 52: Justise Winslow starred down the stretch to highlight a 16-point performance as the Blue Devils defeated the Bulldogs to capture the NCAA Tournament's South Regional final from Houston.
Tyus Jones pitched in 15 points and six assists as the top-seeded Blue Devils (33-4) advanced to a Final Four matchup with No. 7 seed Michigan State next Saturday in Indianapolis. Matt Jones, who averages 5.9 points and had scored a total of 15 points on 5-of-18 shooting in the last four games, contributed 16 points behind 4-of-7 shooting from the arc.
Kyle Wiltjer had 16 points to pace second-seeded Gonzaga (35-3), which did not make a basket over the final 6 1/2 minutes - including a crushing miss by Wiltjer - and still has never reached the Final Four. Byron Wesley added 10 points for the Bulldogs, although backcourt mates Kevin Pangos and Gary Bell Jr. combined to miss 10 of their 14 shots and totaled nine points between them.
The Blue Devils held a 53-46 advantage before Gonzaga scored five straight points, although Wiltjer missed a wide-open layup with a chance to tie the score and Duke answered with seven straight points - all by Winslow. The freshman southpaw's 3-pointer made it 60-51 with 2:49 to play and Quinn Cook iced it with four late free throws.
Duke scored 20 points in the game's first six minutes and led by as many as 11 before settling for a 31-26 lead at the break, although Gonzaga scored five quick second-half points to draw even and later went ahead by four. Matt Jones made two 3-pointers during a 10-4 run that allowed Duke to open a 48-42 lead with 9:37 remaining, helping the Blue Devils overcome a subpar performance from Jahlil Okafor.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Okafor had nine points and eight rebounds for Duke, which had not trailed by more than three points in any of its first three NCAA Tournament games and had not trailed in the second half in any of those contests. ... Duke did not commit a turnover until Okafor's offensive foul with under two minutes left in the first half. That foul - the second on Okafor - sent the star freshman to the bench, although he did not commit another foul the rest of the way. The Blue Devils finished with only three turnovers, while the Bulldogs had 13. ... Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski is heading to the Final Four for the 12th time, tying former UCLA coach John Wooden for the all-time record.
Top Game Performances
| Gonzaga |
|
Duke |
|
Kyle Wiltjer 16 |
Scoring |
Matt Jones 16 |
|
Gary Bell Jr. 2 |
Assists |
Tyus Jones 6 |
|
Przemek Karnowski 5 |
Rebounds |
Jahlil Okafor 8 |
|
Kyle Wiltjer 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Justise Winslow 6 |
|
Byron Wesley 1 |
Steals |
Matt Jones 3 |
|
Domantas Sabonis 1 |
Blocks |
Jahlil Okafor 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Gonzaga
|
52 |
44.0 |
2-10 |
6-9 |
8 |
31 |
3 |
1 |
13 |
| Duke
|
66 |
37.5 |
8-19 |
16-19 |
10 |
29 |
2 |
8 |
3 |
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