It came to this. No. 15 Valparaiso standing as the Midwest’s last hope to reach the weekend at this West Coast regional site. But looming for the lone Indiana school in this year’s NCAA tournament was a virtual home team and No. 2 seed at KeyArena.
Just for added steep climbing, Gonzaga entered with a 20-game winning streak. Its last loss was to Stanford 87-80 back on Dec. 20.
The winning streak continued and the Midwest went dark. Gonzaga advanced to a Saturday date with Big Ten-killer Nevada on the merit of a 76-49 rout.
Gonzaga took its first lead 13-12 with just more than 12 minutes left in first half. The Bulldogs flourished even as star guard Blake Stepp (the ballyhooed clone of legendary Gonzaga alum John Stockton) clanked 0-for-6 from the field, including five missed three-pointers before finishing with 13 points.
Freshman Adam Morrison was an energizer for Gonzaga. He scored six points coming off the bench in the first 11 minutes. Fellow freshman Sean Mallen added two more baskets during that span, showing why fifth-year coach Mark Few doesn’t consider the Spokane school a steppingstone to other jobs. More than a few prognosticators have picked t Gonzaga to make the Final Four.
Valparaiso suffered through 33 percent shooting in the first half, not capitalizing as Gonzaga searched for an offensive rhythm. The Crusaders rushed out to a 10-3 lead, then went cold from the field. Sophomore Dan Oppland, the team’s leading scorer at 16 points per game, hit a layup with 9 minutes 58 seconds left in the opening 20 minutes. The next Valparaiso field goal was Joaquin Gomes’ two-pointer at 2:35.
By then Gonzaga was up 31-20. The Bulldogs shot 52 percent in the first half despite hitting only two of nine three-pointers.
Valparaiso coach Homer Drew said this team has re-energized his commitment to coaching. He returned as chief Crusader this season when his son and successor, Scott, took the rebuilding job at Baylor.
