No. 13 Gonzaga Defeats No. 22 SMU 72-56

Kevin Pangos is something else in the Tip-Off Marathon. As a freshman in 2011 he made nine three pointers and totaled 33 points against Washington State. Tonight he led all scorers with 17 points on 6-11 shooting (5-8 from three) to go along with 7 assists and 3 steals.

All eight Gonzaga rotation players logged double-digit minutes and combined for ten made three pointers.

It was a back and forth game for the first few minutes, but that was while the game wasn't on television due to the Connecticut vs. Stanford overtime affair.

Gonzaga had taken control once the national television audience was allowed to tune in. By the mid-point of the first half the Zags held a five point advantage, which they stretched to 13 points thanks to a three-and-a-half minute drought from SMU.

By the break the Zags were up 37-27.

The second half began like the first ended, with the Mustangs hanging around just enough to keep things interesting. That was until a stretch of eight-and-a-half minutes in which Gonzaga outscored SMU 21-4 to blow the game open.

While Gonzaga's offense was lighting it up, it was the defense that really allowed the Zags to put the game away early. In the second half the Zags held SMU under 0.8 points per possession until the final minute, when walk-ons flooded into the game.

SMU finished the game on a 9-0 run, not that it mattered. This game showed either the Mustangs are overrated or the Zags are underrated.

If the first half was the Kevin Pangos show, the second half was all Domantas Sabonis. The freshmen from Lithuania finished the game with 13 points and nine rebounds, including a couple of emphatic second half dunks.

Ben Moore led the Mustangs with 11 points. Nic Moore and Justin Martin added 10 each.