Gonzaga outlasts Memphis, advances to Sweet 16 behind Drew Timme

For a while, it looked like Gonzaga may be the second 1-seed to be upset on Saturday. They had other plans.

The Bulldogs erased a 12-point deficit to come back and beat 9-seed Memphis 82-78, staving off elimination and advancing to the Sweet 16. It's Gonzaga's seventh straight Sweet 16 appearance.

Gonzaga trailed by 10 at halftime, but came out ready to change that in the second half -- and did just that thanks to their star forward Drew Timme. The Tigers' Landers Nolley II made a jumper to open the second half, but after that, the Bulldogs went on an 11-2 run fueled entirely by Timme as their upperclassman leader brought them back within three.

From that point on, it was a good old fashioned slugfest. Gonzaga finally took its first lead of the game when Timme hit a jumper to go up 58-57 with 10:17 left in the game. Memphis would tie the game a couple times, but never claimed the lead again.

The Tigers got within two with 36 seconds left, but Andrew Nembhard hit both free throws. Nolley then drew a foul and hit both to cut it back to two, but Nembhard went to the free throw line and was money again, hitting both to go up by four and effectively ice the win.

Timme led Gonzaga with 25 points and 14 rebounds, both game highs, and logged 21 of his 25 points in the second half. Nembhard added 23 points and five assists, Rasir Bolton had 17 points and some big free throws down the stretch, and Chet Holmgren logged nine points, nine rebounds and four blocks.

DeAndre Williams led Memphis with 14 points and seven rebounds. Tyler Harris added 13 points off the bench. Jalen Duren had seven points and seven rebounds and Alex Lomax logged nine points, three rebounds, and five assists.