Top-ranked Gonzaga, looking to take one final step this season and win its first NCAA title, rode a big performance from Drew Timme to turn back the No. 5 Texas Longhorns 86-74 on Saturday night in Spokane, Wash.
A unanimous AP Preseason All-American, Timme scored the first seven points for Gonzaga and had 13 points on 6-for-6 shooting as the Bulldogs built a 25-13 lead. He was a problem all night for Texas, finishing with a career-high 37 points on 15-for-19 shooting to go with seven rebounds.
Iowa State transfer Rasir Bolton added 16 for Gonzaga, which was unbeaten last season before falling to Baylor in the NCAA title game.
Anton Watson scored 10 points and Andrew Nembhard had nine points and eight assists.
The Bulldogs won their 28th consecutive regular-season game as coach Mark Few returned after completing a suspension for a September DUI.
Texas, under first-year coach Chris Beard, appeared unsettled early as it tried to find some chemistry. Beard, a Longhorns alum, brought seven talented transfers to the program.
Minnesota transfer Marcus Carr's step-back 3-pointer cut the Gonzaga lead to 77-66 with 4:20 to play, but Watson's offensive rebound and layup, a 3-pointer from Nolan Hickman and a layup from Nembhard restored order.
Timmy Allen, who averaged 17.2 points per game last season for Utah as a Pac-12 first-team selection, led the Longhorns with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists. Carr added 11 points.
Texas' Brock Cunningham hit a 3-pointer with 2:23 remaining in the first half to cut the Gonzaga lead to 40-27, but the Bulldogs held the Longhorns scoreless the rest of the way as Timme's jump hook and two free throws, combined with Bolton's buzzer-beating 3-pointer from near half-court, opened up a 20-point cushion at the break.
Timme finished the half with 22 points on 9-of-10 shooting, Nembhard had seven points and four assists and Bolton added seven points.
The Bulldogs, with a 26-4 first-half advantage in points in the paint, were dominant on offense (19-for-32 from the field) and on defense, holding the Longhorns to 10-for-28 shooting (35.7 percent).
--Field Level Media
Texas | Gonzaga | |
Timmy Allen 18 | Scoring | Drew Timme 37 |
Timmy Allen 4 | Assists | Andrew Nembhard 8 |
Timmy Allen 6 | Rebounds | Drew Timme 7 |
Tre Mitchell 3 | Free Throws Made | Drew Timme 7 |
Marcus Carr 2 | Steals | Andrew Nembhard 2 |
Andrew Jones 1 | Blocks | Chet Holmgren 2 |