GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The surprise team of the Final Four, South Carolina, had another doozy in store upon its arrival: a first half in which it scored nearly a point per possession against the nation's best defense, which had held opponents to just 0.84 in four NCAA tournament games, even as the Gamecocks' star scoring force, Sindarius Thornwell, limped to a 1-of-5 start.
More surprising still: It didn't really matter.
Gonzaga's first Final Four in program history will be followed by its first national championship game on Monday, the product of a 77-73 win over the Gamecocks that proved, yet again, there is nothing this team can't do.
The Zags scored their 77 points in 69 possessions, a tidy rate in and of itself, made all the more impressive because they faced college basketball's stingiest non-Zags defense this season. No. 1 seed Gonzaga had more paint points in the first 30 minutes of the game than South Carolina had allowed per game (22.5) in the tournament to date.
The Bulldogs were especially good in the first half, scoring 45 points in 38 possessions on 19-of-33 from the field, taking a nine-point lead into the locker room despite the Gamecocks' unlikely sans-Thornwell success. The Bulldogs needed to be good, as South Carolina found its own success offensively and lay in wait for its inevitable second-half run.
Nigel Williams-Goss, the All-American guard who led the Zags all season but had struggled for much of the NCAA tournament, came alive in force -- 23 points, 9-of-16 shooting, six assists, five rebounds -- with a relentless combination of perimeter shooting and savvy probing penetration. Meanwhile, Thornwell, the NCAA tournament's undisputed best performer to date who fell ill and missed practice early in the week, finished with 15 points on 12 shots. Zach Collins, the Zags' first-round draft prospect who comes off the bench, had 14 points, 13 rebounds and 6 massive blocked shots.
No. 7 seed South Carolina, ever full of surprises, made that inevitable run -- coming all the way back from a 14-point deficit midway through the second half to take a 67-65 lead with 7:06 left via a 16-0 run – and forced Gonzaga to earn it, possession by brutal possession, until the final seconds.
All tournament, Zags coach Mark Few has rightfully cited defense as the reason Gonzaga keeps winning. If there was anything that made this Gonzaga team special, it was the ability to lock in, get stops, and hold on when it mattered most.
The Zags needed all of the above Saturday night, not just the grinding defense but (especially) the brilliant offense against another ruthless defense as South Carolina threatened -- even in the final moments of the game, and even as Thornwell struggled -- to steal a berth in Monday night's title game.
Gonzaga's offense was a surprise all its own. Just not the one South Carolina wanted. And one that proved that Gonzaga, after a tournament full of defensive dominance, can win in more ways than one.