NCAA tournament - #5 Gonzaga advances to Sweet 16 with blowout win over #4 Kansas
Yahoo Sports’ Jason Fitz, Krysten Peek and NCAA champion Danny Green react to the Bulldogs decisive win and the Jayhawks shooting woes in the second round of the 2024 Men’s NCAA tournament.
Video Transcript
JASON FITZ: Gonzaga topples Kansas, and for the ninth straight time, they're headed to the Sweet 16. Krysten Peek, Danny Green, I'm Jason Fitz for Yahoo Sports. Guys, this was a blowout. Danny, what'd you see?
DANNY GREEN: I mean, Kansas, they were a good team all year long. But when you have the absence of Kevin McCullar Jr., and Hunter Dickinson being a shell of himself, it's hard to get a basket when things get tough. And you can see they were losing confidence. And just like made baskets become contagious, even missing baskets can become contagious.
So you saw that the confidence was lost in that second half, and that they just couldn't find anybody to get a basket. They got really cold. I think they started like 4 for 25. And you know, that's when they just ran away with the game.
JASON FITZ: Well, KP, they were up against greatness the way Gonzaga played today.
KRYSTEN PEEK: Absolutely. When you look at a Hall of Fame coach like Mark Few, you never want to go against him in March. And he had a game plan coming in here, and they executed very well. Kansas couldn't make any shots, but the way that the Zags were moving the ball behind Ryan Nembhard. He had 12 assists. He was great at facilitating. Anton Watson, he had 21 points.
And just the work in the post, and the way that Nolan Hickman, he got to the rim, and it was just an all-around effort. And this is going to be a dangerous team moving forward, and as they have been, not only in this year, but in 26 years prior to this.
DANNY GREEN: Yeah, I was surprised at how they were attacking Hunter in the paint. They weren't scared of him, and they were kind of leading the game in points in the paint. Usually, Hunter can control the paint. But they did a great job, not only perimeter play, but inside of controlling that.
JASON FITZ: Well, even coming in, you were curious how that shoulder was going to look on one day's rest as opposed to some time to get ready. What we have learned is the real answer to what Gonzaga has in common with Kentucky. The answer is nothing, because Gonzaga actually goes to the Sweet 16.