Drew Timme

Timme did it all in the opening half. He poured in 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting and dished out three assists as GU led 44-26 at the break. He scored inside with a variety of post moves, several created by early post-ups before the defense was set. He had a fairly quiet second half and finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Joel Ayayi

There are a lot of candidates with similar stats for the second difference maker, but we’ll go with Ayayi. The junior guard was steady at both ends of the floor, producing 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting and grabbing eight rebounds. He made 2 of 3 from distance on a night when Gonzaga was just 5 of 15 on 3-pointers.

Turning point

The Zags took control early, 11-2, and the lead hovered in that 9- to 14-point range until Gonzaga ripped off eight unanswered points late in the half, stretching the margin to 20. Timme was in the middle of the spurt with a pair of layups, Jalen Suggs scored in transition after a Gaels turnover, and Andrew Nembhard hit a tough floater in the lane.