BYU vs. Gonzaga: Score and Reaction from Cougars' Upset Win

The Gonzaga Bulldogs' dreams of an undefeated season came to an end on Saturday night when the BYU Cougars stunned the nation's No. 1 team in a 79-71 upset in Spokane, Washington.

This game started out like most Gonzaga games have in 2016-17. The Bulldogs built an 18-2 lead in the first five minutes and were up by as many as 10 points in the second half, but BYU's 12 offensive rebounds and Eric Mika's 29 points capped off an incredible rally. 

Josh Perkins also had two critical turnovers on back-to-back possessions that led to four points and a 75-71 lead for BYU with 17 seconds to play. 

Jon Rothstein of FanRag Sports summed up the chaos in Spokane with this tweet:

Anyone who has paid attention to the Cougars over the last four years is not surprised by this result, as ESPN Stats & Info pointed out:

One scenario that often gets discussed with an undefeated team, especially one that's been as dominant as the Bulldogs, is what happens when they are forced to play in a close game. Gonzaga entered Saturday 17-0 against West Coast Conference opponents, with all 17 wins coming by at least 10 points.

Whatever Mika and BYU head coach Dave Rose decided to do in the second half to erase their deficit worked masterfully. It helps when TJ Haws chips in with 17 points and Elijah Bryant adds 14. 

ESPN's Roxy Bernstein did notice the physical similarities between Mika and a legendary cinematic villain:

Mika played the role of Ivan Drago against Apollo Creed, slaying the once-mighty champion to send a message to the rest of the nation. 

Gonzaga's undoing was an inability to hit shots from three-point range. The Bulldogs went just 3-of-16 from beyond the arc, while also turning the ball over 15 times. Those numbers offset the fact five players were able to score double figures. 

Alex Kirry of KSL News Radio in Salt Lake City did tweet out the bittersweet Spokesman Review newspaper in Spokane that went up online Saturday before the game even started:

Omens tend to be overblown in sports, but given BYU's success against Gonzaga in recent years, that was a bad one for the Bulldogs. Their worst fears were realized when the clock struck zero. 

The upside for Gonzaga is it had already clinched the WCC regular-season title and No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. The Bulldogs still have an inside track on a top seed in the NCAA tournament, though the margin for error is slimmer now and will likely require a WCC tournament title.

BYU, on the other hand, gets a huge marquee win on national television that ran its overall record to 21-10. The Cougars were not even among ESPN's Joe Lunardi's first four out or next four out in his most recent bracketology projection from February 23.  

A deep run in the WCC tournament combined with Saturday's win will certainly push BYU into the bubble picture. For now though, it will have to settle for being the one team to defeat Gonzaga in the regular season.

Postgame Reaction

Mika was the story during the game, but he was quick to deflect attention to the rest of his team. 

"It felt good, it was a team effort," Mika said on SportsCenter (h/t Deseret News). "We know what we're capable of, we haven't shown it all year, but we showed it tonight."

Few credited BYU's ability to make plays late in the game and Gonzaga's turnovers as key differences in the outcome, via Will Sherratt of 700 ESPN Radio in Spokane:

BYU point guard L.J. Rose offered his thoughts about the win on Twitter:

Rose highlighted his team's play over the final minutes as crucial following the victory. 

"The last two minutes our guys just made big plays, so, good win," Rose said, via Jay Drew of the Salt Lake Tribune. "I'm just proud of how our guys kept battling."