Gonzaga Puts Away Indiana With More Than Morrison

SALT LAKE CITY â€”  Gonzaga needed something else this time.

Call it the Z-team.

On a night when Adam Morrison was off his mark and under wraps -- his 14 points were his second-lowest point total of the season -- the unsung and the little-known put the Zags in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2001 with a 90-80 victory over Indiana on Saturday in the Huntsman Center.

“That’s the thing with this team, I’ve said it all year and I think people really didn’t believe me, that we’ve got some other guys on this team that can play,� said Morrison, who has dueled Duke’s J.J. Redick to be the nation’s leading scorer much of the season.

“It’s a perfect example of when I’m having a bad night, everybody else is here to pick me up.�

The victory sent third-seeded Gonzaga into a game against second-seeded UCLA in an Oakland Regional semifinal Thursday, only the second time the schools will have met.

Gonzaga defeated UCLA in 1999 at Pauley Pavilion, 59-43.

“They have a great point guard in Jordan Farmar and a great wing player in Arron Afflalo,� Morrison said. “It’s not often you see two West Coast powers, I guess you could say, meet up in the tournament, so it’s going to be a great game.�

Gonzaga’s game against Indiana was good, not great, but it took what Gonzaga Coach Mark Few called “steely resolve� to put away sixth-seeded Indiana, ending Mike Davis’ time as coach.

Under pressure for much of his six seasons at the school after replacing Bob Knight, Davis resigned last month.

“Don’t be sad for me,� said Davis, who said his decision eased the pressure on the players and allowed them to play more freely the last part of the season. “You should be happy for me. I had a great opportunity to coach at one of the great schools in college basketball. I feel more sadness for the players, really.�

His players made a game effort down the stretch, even after trailing by 15. They made four three-point baskets in a stretch of 2 1/2 minutes to get as close as five with 3 minutes 32 seconds to play, but Gonzaga (29-3) made enough free throws to keep Indiana (19-12) at bay.

The Hoosiers made 16 three-pointers -- Robert Vaden led the way with six and scored 20 points -- but they went to the free-throw line only six times compared to Gonzaga’s 41.

Morrison made five of 17 shots and was 0 for 3 from three-point range, but his teammates came through.

J.P. Batista, Gonzaga’s 6-foot-9, 269-pound forward, led the way with 20 points, nine rebounds and three assists, and Sean Mallon -- once a Spokane-area high school star who outshone Morrison -- had 15 points and 10 rebounds. Point guard Derek Raivio had 13 points, and Erroll Knight and Jeremy Pargo came off the bench to give Gonzaga six players in double figures.

Knight, in particular, seemed to get Gonzaga going with his athleticism.

“He’s a junkyard dog kind of guy,� Morrison said. “He could play on a team where he’d have more of an offensive role, but he’s playing with two black holes like myself and J.P.�

Morrison gave Indiana partial credit for his off-night, his lowest output other than an 11-point game against San Diego.

“I thought they did a good job. They have four guys about the same size, so they switched out on me and made it difficult for me to get the ball and did a good job sucking in,� Morrison said. “I just missed some shots I normally make, but you’ve got to give it to them, they held me down.�

Not so long ago, Gonzaga was a Sweet 16 regular, making three in a row. But the last five years, no longer underdogs, they had lost in the first or second round every time.

“It means a lot, especially because every time we turn on the TV, it’s gone anti-Zag for the last month here,� Morrison said. “Every analyst that’s supposed to be our guy and a friend to the program -- they’re good guys, but I think everybody picked us to lose and were saying Indiana is tougher.

“We felt like we had nothing to lose, and if you’re going to pick us to lose, we’re just going to come out and say, ‘What the hell,’ and do whatever we need to to win.�