 into the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight season - two wins from a second straight Final Four.''I always have confidence on the offensive end, but helping the guys on the boards was big,'' said Norvell, who shot 8 of 18 overall.The Bulldogs jumped out to a big early lead, withstood a second-half Ohio State charge and made the big plays down the stretch to earn a spot in the West Region semifinals against the Xavier-Florida State winner in Los Angeles.Rui Hachimura added 25 for Gonzaga.The resilient-all-season Buckeyes (25-9) rallied from an abysmal start and an 11-point halftime deficit to take a brief second-half lead before Gonzaga went on an 11-0 run to snatch it back.Keita Bates-Diop had 28 points and Kam Williams 19 for Ohio State.''They are really good and could make another Final Four run,'' Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann.Ohio State and Gonzaga met four months ago in the PK80 Invitational.It did not go well for the Buckeyes.The Zags shredded Ohio State's defense while shooting 59 percent and held the Buckeyes to 35 percent in an 86-59 thrashing.The Buckeyes said they are a better team now. Their record reflects it, too: 25 wins, a second-place finish in the rough-and-tumble Big Ten Conference and a return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015.The Zags looked a little rusty in their opening 68-64 win over UNC-Greensboro. They looked more like the team that blew out BYU in the WCC title game early against the Buckeyes.Gonzaga scored the game's first 15 points while hitting six of nine shots and blocking two of Ohio State's. The Buckeyes had three of their first seven shots roll off the rim early and didn't score until Jae'Sean Tate hit a 3-pointer at 14:18Ohio State righted itself on offense, but struggled to slow the zigging Zags, who made 18 of 31 shots to lead 44-33 at halftime.''We weren't locked in on defense and just tried to stay calm,'' Bates-Diop said. ''I'm proud of how we fought back.'' The Buckeyes got even more shots to fall coming out of halftime and forced a rash of Gonzaga turnovers during a 12-2 run to go up 58-54.Gonzaga answered with an 11-0 run, going up 73-67 on Hachimura's 3-pointer at the shot clock buzzer - a run that propelled them back to the Sweet 16.BIG PICTUREOhio State came up short of its first Sweet 16 since 2013, but the season could hardly be considered a failure. The Buckeyes were picked to finish 11th in the Big Ten in Holtmann's first season, but ended up second and won a game in the NCAA Tournament.''Obviously, you'd like to see it end differently, but we've evolved as a program,'' Holtmann said. ''This group really turned a corner and flipped a switch.'' Gonzaga did not play particularly well in its opening NCAA Tournament game, but looks like it could make another Final Four run after getting past the Buckeyes.PERKINS' IMPACTWhile Norvell and Hachimura were handling most of the scoring duties, junior guard Josh Perkins was aptly running the offense. He had 10 points and eight assists, helping the Zags shoot 53 percent and make nine 3-pointers.''Josh Perkins has put together two really, really solid games, kind of managing the throttle of our offense,'' Few said.UP NEXTGonzaga will face the Xavier-Florida State winner at the West Region semifinals in Los Angeles.---More college basketball: https://collegebasketball.ap.org ; https://twitter.com/-Top25 and https://www.podcastone.com/ap-sports-special-events)
Mar 16, 2018 BOISE, Idaho -- And now, on to the rematch between No. 5 seed Ohio State and No. 4 Gonzaga.The last time these two teams met, Gonzaga (31-4) disposed of Ohio State by 27 points.But that was then and this is now as the two teams attempt to get to the Sweet 16 on Saturday at Taco Bell Arena."They're a team that looked like they came together more and they certainly have their belief in (coach) Chris (Holtmann) and the staff and the system and all of that," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "(Ohio State) certainly has grown exponentially." The Buckeyes will have had to, given the 86-59 beating they took in the inaugural PK80 back in late November."You go back and watch the game and it was a little tighter than that for longer periods than maybe the results indicate," Few said on Friday in talking to the media about the first meeting.The Buckeyes vow to play harder, tougher, better."We're a completely different team," Ohio State guard C. J. Jackson said. "We're a lot better now. And as they are, they're a lot better team." Back then, Jae'Sean Tate said the Buckeyes were still "trying to find ourselves" in the first meeting. After all, Holtmann was just in his first few months as the head coach and he was still trying to figure out what worked and, well, what didn't.Ohio State eventually settled in and finished 15-3 in the Big Ten under its first-year head coach who moved from Butler last year."Now that we have our culture and we know what winning looks like and what ... things we need to do to win," Tate said. "I think this is going to be completely different matchup than it was earlier in the season." At the time of the loss to Gonzaga, Holtmann said "more than anything I want to see how we respond to moments like this." Ohio State proceeded to lose two of its next three games, but then found a groove to eventually finish in a tie for second place in the Big Ten."Fortunately," Holtmann said, "we hit our stride at the right time with this group." Now, the Buckeyes must do what they couldn't do in November -- beat Gonzaga."Listen, game one was not much of a game," Holtmann said on Friday. "They absolutely took us to the woodshed. It was a mismatch in every way. And I'm hopeful that we can do a better job of getting our guys ready for that."But I don't know that they've made dramatic changes, they've just gotten better and better, as you would expect one of Mark's team to be. I think they're an elite team right now." It's an elite team that is hoping to return to the Sweet 16, the Final Four and NCAA championship game, where it finished last year in a loss to North Carolina. But with a bunch of new faces and some in different roles, the Bulldogs also had to adjust."It's going to be a fight, for sure," said Gonzaga guard Josh Perkins. "Just try to execute our coach's game plan and we should be in good hands." Perkins added the Bulldogs' young team has gained experience with "the young guys are getting better and better every day. Corey (Kispert) has improved, roles have changed. Guys are more comfortable in the spots they've been in before." Few said he expects the game to be physical."They've got great size and great physicality, and tough guys," Few said. "And they've really shot -- some of them shot the ball well (on Thursday)." Few singled out Keita Bates-Diop, who had 24 points and 12 rebounds in Ohio State's win over South Dakota State on Thursday."We prepared for him heavily last time, as well we should have. He's a fabulous player," said Few. "Tate is a unique player to prepare for. He's just a load and tough and physical and aggressive. And I really think those guards have stepped up their game. I think they've come into their own and are playing with a lot of confidence, which I think that's probably the biggest difference from November to now."
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