TCU’s 2023 March Madness run ends in 84-81 loss to Gonzaga

DENVER — Richardson local Drew Timme added one thing new to his twisting, turning, head-faking, mustachioed repertoire — a 3-pointer to assist Gonzaga recover from the hump and again to the Sweet 16.

The Gonzaga giant guy prolonged his one-of-a-kind school occupation by means of no less than yet one more recreation, completing with 28 issues Sunday to assist the Zags make their 8th directly Sweet 16 with a come-from-behind 84-81 win over TCU.

Timme made his first 3 since December — and most effective his 0.33 of the season — as a part of a 13-1 run that helped the third-seeded Zags (30-5) take a seven-point lead with just below 9 mins left after trailing many of the evening.

“It was huge — the clock, the two-point lead,” Timme mentioned of the margin sooner than he made his shot. “I just launched one up there. All you can do is smile and laugh.”

After TCU pulled again inside of 3 past due, Timme made a twisting shot in the lane with a defender draped in all places him to cause a 4-0 mini-run that put the sport out of succeed in.

Next forestall for the 6-foot-10 senior and his social media-friendly mustache: Las Vegas for the West Region semifinals and a gathering with UCLA on Thursday. It shall be a rematch of the groups’ Final Four recreation two years in the past, when Jalen Suggs banked one in from the half-court brand on the buzzer for the win.

Mike Miles Jr. completed with 24 issues and 4 assists in his moment directly electrical recreation for the sixth-seeded Horned Frogs (22-13), who have been making an attempt to win two video games in the similar event for the 1st time in program historical past.

Gonzaga trainer Mark Few pulled Miles apart in brief all through the postgame handshake.

“He said that he’s coached a lot NBA players and that I am one,” Miles mentioned. “It’s appreciated.”

Damion Baugh completed with 15 issues for TCU, together with a not-so-meaningless 3 he hit on the buzzer to assist the Horned Frogs duvet the 4.5-point unfold indexed on FanDuel Sportsbook.

Small comfort for TCU, regardless that for Half-hour-plus, the Frogs gave the look of very just like one of the crucial 16 easiest groups in the rustic. They got here on the Bulldogs in waves, making an attempt to forestall Timme with each and every giant guy at the roster.

But whilst the Gonzaga giant guy labored for each and every considered one of his 12 baskets and his 8 rebounds, TCU’s bigs have been all in foul bother as the sport wound down. One of the 2 Horned Frogs who fouled out used to be JaKobe Coles, who made the last-second runner that gave TCU the first-round win in opposition to Arizona State.

“Obviously, it was pretty early in the first half when we had to make some adjustments, play a lot of different lineups, probably even deeper than I thought we would,” TCU trainer Jamie Dixon mentioned.

TCU had led by means of as many as 10 in the 1st half of.

Rasir Bolton (17 issues) led Gonzaga’s first giant run. His two 3-pointers and some other by means of Julian Strawther gave the Bulldogs a 46-45 lead once they had ignored 12 in their 14 makes an attempt from at the back of the arc in the 1st half of.

Strawther, a Las Vegas local, will head house for his workforce’s subsequent recreation. And Timme joined an inventory that incorporates Bill Bradley, Elvin Hayes and Danny Manning as most effective the 7th participant with 9 NCAA Tournament video games of 20-plus issues.

“I think he’s going to go down as one of the all-time great college players in the history of the game,” Few mentioned. “And he still wasn’t supposed to shoot that 3. But that’s what makes him good. He does things like that every once in a while.”

Timme mentioned he used to be pissed off by means of what he known as “some nice things on the internet before” the sport that took photographs at him and Gonzaga. “Throw a little lighter fluid on the fire if you wish,” he mentioned. “I thought TCU was a highly educated school, and they didn’t sound so smart with their comments pregame, so you know…”

The Zags’ assembly on Thursday with UCLA in Vegas will fall at the sixteenth anniversary in their vintage Sweet 16 recreation, gained 73-71 by means of the Bruins. Over the overall, frenetic 40 seconds, UCLA made two steals, scored the final 5 issues and left Zags big name Adam Morrison just about crying at the courtroom.

With TCU’s giant males in foul bother, one distinction may were the absence of Eddie Lampkin. Lampkin, a key cog in the TCU frontcourt a lot of the 12 months, entered the switch portal simply sooner than the Big 12 event.