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Arizona routs Gonzaga to reach Sweet 16

Mar 24, 2014 - 5:16 AM San Diego, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Arizona's stifling defense swarmed Gonzaga, quickly turning each of its miscues into easy baskets the other way.

Aaron Gordon filled the stat sheet with 18 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals and the Wildcats thrashed Gonzaga, 84-61, in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.

Top-seeded Arizona (32-4) tallied 15 steals and scored 31 points off 21 Bulldogs turnovers.

"Obviously, you want to play well in the NCAA tournament and that's exactly what our team did tonight," Arizona head coach Sean Miller said.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson netted 18 points, while Nick Johnson had 17 points, five boards and five assists for the Wildcats, who will face San Diego State in a West Regional semifinal on Thursday in Anaheim.

Arizona reached its third Sweet 16 in the last four seasons.

Przemek Karnowski supplied 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead eighth-seeded Gonzaga (29-7), which beat Oklahoma State in the second round.

"That Arizona team we saw tonight was as good a team as we have faced, that I can remember," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said.

The Wildcats forced four steals in the first four-plus minutes and raced out to a 13-6 lead.

Arizona was up 28-18 before extending its advantage further with a 12-2 run. Gabe York's steal and layup capped the burst and gave the Wildcats a healthy 40-20 cushion with 6:23 left in the half.

The Wildcats, who registered 19 points off 11 Gonzaga turnovers in the first half, took a 47-34 spread into the locker room.

A 12-4 flurry to begin the second half staked Arizona to a 59-38 advantage. The Wildcats led by as many as 28 down the stretch.

Game Notes

Arizona held a 48-28 points in the paint edge ... The Wildcats shot 49.2 percent (32-of-65) from the floor and 38.9 percent (7-of-18) from beyond the arc.