Gonzaga 77, West Virginia 54: The freshman backcourt of Kevin Pangos and Gary Bell Jr. combined for 27 points as the Bulldogs throttled the Mountaineers in Pittsburgh.

Bell and Robert Sacre each scored 14 points and Pangos added 13 more to lead No. 7 seed Gonzaga (26-6), which advanced to the Round of 32 for the fourth straight season and will face the winner of Ohio State and Loyola-Maryland.

Following a 3-pointer from West Virginia (19-14) that left Gonzaga with an 11-9 lead, the Bulldogs held the 10th-seeded Mountaineers without a field goal for the next eight minutes as they raced out to a 27-10 advantage with 8:17 left in the first half.

With Gonzaga using Sacre, the West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year, to smother Kevin Jones for much of the first half, the Bulldogs’ early run proved to be more than enough as West Virginia shot a putrid 23.1 percent from the field and posted nearly as many turnovers (five) in the first half as baskets (six).

Jones finished with 13 points, seven below his Big East-best 20.1-point season average.

Although the Mountaineers appeared to adjust to Gonzaga’s size and speed advantage just before intermission, West Virginia could not find consistent offense at any point.

Gary Browne scored a team-high 15 points for the Mountaineers, who lost nine of their final 13 games to close the season.

GAME NOTEBOOK: West Virginia’s 18-point deficit at half was the largest of the season and the third time the Mountaineers entered the break trailing by at least 16 points. … The Mountaineers entered the tournament as the fourth-highest scoring team in the Big East, but were held 17 points below their 71.6-point average.