The members of this year’s Gonzaga basketball team now know the pain felt by only one other group in the program’s history. The players on this season’s Duke team now understand the elation of reaching a Final Four felt by so many former Blue Devils.
Duke’s superior talent overcame the tenacity and experience of the best team in Gonzaga history in a 66-52 Elite Eight victory Sunday afternoon in Houston in the South Region final.
In a well-played game in which neither team ever took complete control until the final mintes, a role player made a huge difference for the Blue Devils. Matt Jones, a sophomore from Desoto, Texas, is a starter and regular contributor for coach Mike Krzyzewski, but he hasn’t achieved star status. He had scored in double figures only six times all season.
But Jones made six of his 10 attempts and scored 16 points supplementing the Duke offense on a day when freshman star Jahlil Okafor was held in check. Jones’ performance helped No. 1 seed Duke advance to the Final Four and at matchup with MichiganState for the 16th time in its illustrious history while second-seeded Gonzaga fell one game short of its first Final Four just like the 1999 team.
It will be another bitter pill for Gonzaga coach Mark Few, who has guided the Bulldogs a program record 22-game winning streak this season as well as a school record 35 wins. Meanwhile, Krzyzewski added to his mystique and that of his program by guiding the Blue Devils to the Final Four for the 12th time in his career, tying John Wooden for the most in history.
The start didn’t go well for Gonzaga senior Kevin Pangos and center Pzremek Karnowski. Both were held scoreless in the first half and they combined for only eight points in the game. Kyle Wiltjer entered the game 9-0 in the NCAA tournament including winning a national title at Kentucky in 2012.
Duke won despite not getting a single point off the bench. When Jones wasn't making plays for the Blue Devils, forward Justise Winslow was. The Houston product scored 16 points and helped his teammates cut down the nets in his hometown.
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