Gonzaga Finally Loses Its Zip

The song was “I Will Survive,” and Gonzaga’s band played it with extra pep as the second half began.

But defending national champion Michigan State took care of the NCAA tournament’s single task: Survive and advance.

This step was not so easy.

When the Spartans’ 77-62 victory in a South Regional semifinal Friday in the Georgia Dome was over, Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo was seeking hands to shake so earnestly he almost got caught in a Gonzaga huddle at midcourt.

“That team, God, I love their toughness,” Izzo said. “I love the way they play.”

Five minutes into the second half, he couldn’t afford to be admiring: Gonzaga led by three.

“We thought we were going to win the game,” point guard Dan Dickau said.

“Even with two, three minutes left, we thought we were going to have a run to get us back in the game.”

By that time, it was over. Michigan State’s inside game and relentless waves of substitutes had engineered a 15-4 run that drained the Zags of their zip.

Still, little about the game suggested a 12th-seeded team against a No. 1.

“Hopefully, we can end that silly mid-major talk now once and for all,” Gonzaga Coach Mark Few said. “After appearing in our third Sweet 16, I think we are ‘high-major,’ and I think Tom Izzo would agree with that.”

Gonzaga (26-7) bowed out as one of only three of 319 Division I teams to reach the Sweet 16 three years in a row, along with Michigan State and Duke.

Michigan State (27-4) is a victory over Temple (24-12) in the South Regional final Sunday from reaching the Final Four for the third year in a row.

The Spartans won by pounding Gonzaga on the boards as the game wore on, finishing with a 49-29 advantage--including a stunning 18 offensive rebounds.

Two Michigan State players had double doubles. Point guard Charlie Bell had 21 points and 10 rebounds and center Andre Hutson had 19 and 10.

The Michigan State defense did its job too.

Gonzaga shot almost 52% this season, but Michigan State held the Zags to 38%, and Bell put the clamps on their big gunner, Dickau.

Dickau scored only three points in the first half, but still finished with 19, though 10 came after the lead was already digits.

“He’s a great player,” Bell said. “I had to do a great job and hope I’d get some help from my big guys.

“He got some shots and made some shots. He’s going to make some shots. I’m just glad I could slow him down.”

The Spartans also slowed down Casey Calvary, who scored 17 points and had 11 rebounds but was six for 15, though he did make both three-point shots he took.

“Calvary, I really like him, he’s a good player,” Izzo said. “But his shots started falling short, and he wasn’t getting down the court as fast.

“When they started to miss jump shots short, then free throws short, I think that is a good sign that they were wearing down.”

With good reason: Only Bell and Jason Richardson played more than 30 minutes for Michigan State, as eight of nine men played double-digit minutes.

Dickau played 40 for Gonzaga, Calvary played 38 and guard Blake Stepp played 37.

Few defending champions have stepped so quietly into the final eight as the Spartans, who lost Mateen Cleaves, Morris Peterson and A.J. Granger from last year’s team.

“Everybody talks about Duke, Stanford, the Cinderella teams,” Bell said. “Nobody thinks we can win it again.

“We think we’ve got enough talented guys to go out and win another national championship, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Temple will note that a well-executed zone can work well against Michigan State.

That’s how Gonzaga frustrated the Spartans early, tempting them into too many three-point shots.

“We’re one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the country and we had tried 13. They’re one of the best and they had tried eight,” Izzo said.

But no matter how much praise was heaped on them, the Zags are done.

“It’s something so special to play at Gonzaga; I can’t explain it to a room full of strangers,” said Calvary, a senior who played on all three Sweet 16 teams.

“I will always remember these as the very best times of my life. To think it’s come to an end makes me choke up.”