Drew Timme's storied career at Gonzaga comes to an end

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Gonzaga was down 10 pointsearly in the second half Saturday night in the West Region finalagainst UConn, but Julian Strawther had just secured a defensiverebound, and perhaps the Bulldogs had a run in them.

But then came a whistle. Zags forward Drew Timme had picked uphis fourth foul. Shortly thereafter, it became clear that Gonzaga’sNCAA Tournament run would end.

Without him, the third-seeded Bulldogs weren’t a match for No. 4seed UConn, which pulled away to win 82-54 and end Timme’s collegecareer.

Timme, who gained fame for his masterful inside moves andworld-class mustache, put together perhaps the finest collegecareer in recent memory. He was a throwback for his crafty low-postgame and for spending four years at the same school.

“I’m just so thankful that the program and the place took me forwho I was,” Timme said. “They didn’t ask me to be anybody butmyself. I’m forever in debt for Gonzaga, just the love I have forjust everyone that helped me and made this journey so special andso fun. I just don’t think I could ever repay that.

“I’d do anything for Gonzaga. I always will. This isn’t agoodbye; it’s a see-you-later.”

The emotions were clear on Timme’s red face, which he coveredwith a towel a handful of times. He sniffled as the postgame newsconference was about to begin.

But Timme held it together when the questions came, includingabout the fourth foul less than three minutes into the second half.That came after he was whistled for a charge just 26 seconds intothe half.

“The bottom line is they were the better team tonight,” Timmesaid of UConn. “They made more shots. They got the 50-50 balls.Regardless of whether we want to say what-ifs, the refs didn’tcontrol that game.”

Timme, who had 12 points and 10 rebounds against the Huskies,departs knowing he left a mark not only at Gonzaga but on collegehoops.

He owns the Gonzaga record with 2,307 points and led the Zags tothe Sweet 16 in each of the past three seasons and the nationaltitle game in 2021.

“I think he’s one of the greatest college players in this modernera,” coach Mark Few said. “He’s won at the highest level. Weleaned on him as hard as we’ve ever leaned on a player, and hedelivered time and time and time again.

“But that’s just a small piece of it. He’s a bigger-than-lifecharacter. It was a blast to coach him.”

Gonzaga will have a new man in the middle next season, and theBulldogs got a taste of that experience will be like when Timme satfor about three minutes and UConn rolled to a 58-37 lead.

By the time Timme re-entered the game, the Huskies were well ontheir way to their fourth double-digit victory in as manygames.

Had Timme never picked up that fourth foul, the Huskies likelystill would have pulled away, but the call altered the tone of thegame and sped up the rout.

“You try to stay positive,” Bulldogs forward Anton Watson said.“We brought the team together and tried to keep positive thoughtsand try to keep chipping away at that lead, but it’s hard when Drewgoes out.”

It was another disappointing end to the season for Gonzaga,which is still searching for its first national championship.Expectations were low it would happen this year, so making theElite Eight was a win in itself.

The Zags can thank Timme, who entered the game leading the teamwith averages of 21.5 points and 7.5 rebounds, for helping get themthere.

“I don’t think anybody thought we would make it this far thisyear,” Timme said. “Just the stuff we overcame as a group and howwe stayed together, I think, speaks volumes to who we are aspeople, more than players.”