Gonzaga Nation

Gonzaga beats Georgia, advances to second round of NCAA Tournament

The WCC's Bulldogs win the battle of the Bulldogs

Cole Forsman

Mar 20, 2025; Wichita, KS, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Mike White and Gonzaga Bulldogs head coach Mark Few shake hands after Gonzaga won a first round men’s NCAA Tournament game at Intrust Bank Arena.
Mar 20, 2025; Wichita, KS, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Mike White and Gonzaga Bulldogs head coach Mark Few shake hands after Gonzaga won a first round men’s NCAA Tournament game at Intrust Bank Arena. / Nick Tre. Smith-Imagn Images
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Anyone who believed Gonzaga should’ve been better than an 8-seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament could make quite the compelling argument after Thursday’s first round matchup against 9-seeded Georgia.

The Zags (26-8, 14-4 WCC) jumped out to a double-digit lead over the Bulldogs (20-13, 8-10 SEC) in the first 4 minutes and never looked back. Led by a dazzling NCAA Tournament debut from Khalif Battle, Gonzaga pulled away for an 89-68 win from INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas, to advance to the second round.

Battle scored 24 points and went 9-of-13 from the field, including 4-of-7 from downtown. He also grabbed eight rebounds and dished out a pair of assists in 30 minutes of action. Nolan Hickman and Braden Huff each had 18.

After going 1-for-15 from deep against Saint Mary’s the last time out, the Zags could barely miss from behind the arc Thursday, as they went 12-of-20 from 3-point land.

Așa Newell led Georgia with 20 points and eight rebounds. Thirteen turnovers from Georgia led to 25 points the other way for the Zags.

Gonzaga will face No. 1 seed Houston on Saturday in the round of 32.

Here is the live updates recap.

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FINAL: Gonzaga 89, Georgia 68

2ND HALF:

Gonzaga 85, Georgia 60 (3:22): The collection of Zags fans seated behind the team's bench gave their squad a little standing ovation as it headed to the bench up 25 points with under 4 minutes left in regulation. Four Gonzaga players in double-digits scoring-wise, led by Khalif Battle's 24 points. Eight rebounds as well for the sixth-year guard in his first NCAA Tournament game.

Gonzaga 83, Georgia 60 (5:33): Michael Ajayi drains a pull-up jumper from the free-throw line for his first made field goal in the NCAA Tournament. Gonzaga has scored 25 points off 13 turnovers from Georgia.

Gonzaga 80 Georgia 56 (7:36): Nolan Hickman has tied his career high of six 3-pointers after knocking down another one from the top of the arc. Braden Huff follows with a floater inside the arc. Gonzaga is shooting 60.0% from the field and 12-of-17 (70.6%) from 3-point range.

Gonzaga 71, Georgia 48 (10:15): The 3-pointers continue to rain for the Zags, who sit at an astonishing 11-for-15 from 3-pointe land after Nolan Hickman drilled his fifth from beyond the arc tonight. The senior is one 3-pointer shy of a career-high. Meanwhile, Ryan Nembhard passed Mark Jackson for the seventh-most assists in a single season with his fifth dime of the night, putting his season total to 330 assists.

Gonzaga 66, Georgia 48 (11:42): Khalif Battle's step-in midrange jumper near Gonzaga's bench along the baseline keeps the Zags' double-digit lead well intact heading toward the midway point in the second half. Graham Ike has already outpaced his first-half total of four points, as the 6-foot-9 forward has six points already this half.

Gonzaga 58, Georgia 36 (15:44): Braden Huff gets a 2-pointer to drop, bringing his total on the night to 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting. He also has six rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal in 18 minutes of action thus far.

Gonzaga 56, Georgia 34 (16:20): Zags started the second half much like the first, as Braden Huff and Khalif Battle each knocked down a 3-pointer to get things going offensively for Gonzaga. Georgia's enjoyed a much better start, though it'll need a lot of stops defensively to hang with the Zags.

HALFTIME RECAP: Gonzaga 48, Georgia 27

Anyone who thought Gonzaga was underseeded in the NCAA Tournament now has 20 minutes of gameplay against Georgia to back up that argument. The Zags scored 13 points unanswered out of the gate and knocked down four 3-pointers in the first 7 minutes to jump ahead by double-digits early on.

Khalif Battle and Nolan Hickman fueled Gonzaga out of the gate, as the pair of seniors combined to outscore Georgia themselves, 29-27, in the first half. Battle went 5-for-8 from the field, knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, grabbed seven rebounds and finished the half with 14 points. Hickman had 15 on 4-for-5 from the field with three assists.

Gonzaga shot 17-for-29 in the first half, including 8-for-11 from downtown. Quite the turnaround from the West Coast Conference championship game against Saint Mary's, when the Zags were just 1-for-15 from 3-point range.

On the other sideline, Georgia misfired on 10 of its first 11 attempts from the field and struggled to protect the ball against Gonzaga's swarming defense. Asa Newell was probably the lone bright spot for Mike White, as the freshman had 10 points, five rebounds and drew four fouls on the Zags. Georgia went 8-for-29 from the field and 1-for-13 from deep in the first half. Gonzaga has 20 points off 10 turnovers from Georgia.

1ST HALF RECAP:

Gonzaga 48, Georgia 27 (0:33): Nolan Hickman and Khalif Battle have the Zags up 21 with under a minute until halftime. Gonzaga's pair of seniors have nearly matched Georgia's point total by themselves.

Gonzaga 40, Georgia 23 (3:40): Nolan Hickman went 3-for-3 at the free-throw line to extend Gonzaga's lead back up to 17 points. Georgia airballed on its last offensive possession, which essentially summarizes the kind of first half Mike White's squad has endured here at INTRUST Bank Arena.

Gonzaga 37, Georgia 21 (5:07): Tyrin Lawrence finishes off a 3-point play after finishing through contact on a layup attempt over Ismaila Diagne, making his first appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Gonzaga 35, Georgia 16 (6:22): Ooos and ahhs are heard throughout INTRUST as Khalif Battle slices his way down the lane, contorts and finishes an acrobatic layup between two Georgia players. Battle is up to 10 points and four rebounds in 12 minutes of action.

Gonzaga 33, Georgia 14 (7:00): Khalif Battle snaps Gonzaga's scoring drought with a wide-open 3-pointer in front of Georgia's bench. Zags are 6-of-8 from downtown to start.

Gonzaga 30, Georgia 12 (7:55): Georgia cuts into deficit behind a couple baskets from Dakota Leffew and Silas Demary Jr., as both contributed to a 9-3 scoring spurt heading into the 8-minute media timeout. Zags face their longest drought of the day by far, going over 3 minutes without a score.

Gonzaga 27, Georgia 3 (11:43): The Zags have blown open a 24-point lead with a 4-for-4 start from downtown — after making just one 3-pointer in 15 tries against Saint Mary's the last timeout. Safe to say the rims in INTRUST Bank Arena have been favorable for Gonzaga. Georgia, on the other hand, is 1-for-11 from the field and has deployed just about everyone on its bench to stop this run from the Zags.

Gonzaga 21, Georgia 3 (13:10): It's Gonzaga's night when Emmanuel Innocenti is firing and connecting from long range. The sophomore drilled his ninth 3-pointer of the season, putting the Zags up 18.

Gonzaga 18, Georgia 3 (14:05): Nolan Hickman connects from downtown again, pushing the Zags' lead to 15. Gonzaga's made 7-of-8 to start, including 3-for-3 from deep.

Gonzaga 13, Georgia 0 (16:00): What a start on both ends of the floor for the Zags. Nolan Hickman's 3-pointer in transition opened up a 13-0 scoring run heading into the timeout.

PREGAME UPDATE

Gonzaga starters: Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman, Khalif Battle, Braden Huff and Graham Ike.

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Cole Forsman
COLE FORSMAN

Cole Forsman is a reporter for Gonzaga Bulldogs On SI. Cole holds a degree in Journalism and Sports Management from Gonzaga University.

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