No. 1 Gonzaga dominates No. 16 Virginia, 98-75

The No. 1 Gonzaga Bulldogs showed exactly why they are the top-ranked team in the country with a leisurely 98-75 win over the No. 16 Virginia Cavaliers. This was the first time a team had scored 90+ points on a Virginia squad since North Carolina did it in February of 2013 and the first time a team shot 60% against the Hoos in the Tony Bennett era. Two Zags players scored over 20 points in the game as Drew Timme dropped 29 points and Corey Kispert poured in career-high 32 points on a program-tying 9-for-13 day from three.

To beat Gonzaga this season, you’ll have to be perfect. Virginia was not.

The Hoos shot 26-for-54 from the field (48%) and 40% from three and turned the ball over 15 times. Gonzaga converted the turnovers into 27 points on the other end and shot 60% from the field and a blistering 50% from three to comfortably lead from tip to tail. Virginia started the game with three straight turnovers, giving Gonzaga a 7-0 lead out the gate.

Kihei Clark led Virginia with 19 points and dished four assists, but turned the ball over six times in the game. Trey Murphy (15 points) and Sam Hauser (10 points) also finished in double-digits for scoring.

Gonzaga led by 13 at the half and by as many as 33 at one point as Virginia could not put together enough stops to come even remotely close to overcoming the Zags’ offense. Gonzaga scored 1.49 points per possession, the most given up by a Bennett team.

Virginia is now 1-31 all-time against No. 1 ranked teams and 0-4 under Tony Bennett. Next up, the Cavaliers are scheduled to open ACC play at Notre Dame on December 30.