March Madness scores: No. 4 UConn blasts No. 3 Gonzaga to advance to Final Four

LAS VEGAS — UConn will be dancing in the Final Four once again.

The Huskies took advantage of Gonzaga star Drew Timme’s foul trouble early in the second half and surged to an easy 82-54 win in the West regional final in Las Vegas on Saturday. They’ll face the winner of the Midwest regional final between No. 2 Texas and No. 5 Miami.

The Zags had kept it competitive early and only trailed by four late in the first half but allowed an open 3-pointer just before the break that let UConn extend its lead to seven.

From then on, it was all Huskies.

Timme drew his third and fourth fouls in the first three minutes of the second half amid a furious UConn rally as the Huskies quickly surged to a 25-point lead and never looked back. The Huskies’ Jordan Hawkins led all scorers with 20 points but it was a collectively dominant showing for Dan Hurley’s team.

For their part, the Zags went ice cold after the break and finished an abysmal 2-for-20 from 3-point range. Drew Timme went 5-of-14 shooting with 12 points in what will likely be the last game of his Gonzaga career. 

A school steeped in March history, the Huskies had not been to the Final Four since their title run in 2014. But Hurley, now in his fifth season at the school, has a team that will almost assuredly be the favorite to win it all in Houston. The Huskies have been analytics darlings all season long but didn’t get much respect on Selection Sunday when they were given a No. 4 seed. After a commanding run through a West region that featured blowout wins over No. 13 Iona, No. 5 Saint Mary’s and No. 8 Arkansas in addition to No. 3 Gonzaga, it’s clear UConn is one of the best teams in college basketball.

Now the Huskies have a shot at their fifth national title.