Gonzaga Has CBB Fans Eyeing Final Four Run After Rout of Hunter Dickinson, Kansas

Gonzaga and Kansas were playing what looked like it might be a classic game for the first half of Saturday's second-round showdown in the NCAA men's tournament, with the No. 4 seed Jayhawks taking a 44-43 lead into the break.

And then the fifth-seeded Bulldogs went Super Saiyan.

Gonzaga reeled off a 37-9 run to start the second half en route to an 89-68 blowout win. The Bulldogs opened the half by hitting on 11 of their first 12 field goals, while Kansas missed 15 shots in that span.

Sometimes, a tourney game is decided by one team getting hot. Other times, a team going cold seals their fate. Both happened simultaneously in the second half on Saturday.

Anton Watson paced the Bulldogs with 21 points and six rebounds, while Nolan Hickman added 17 points. Hunter Dickinson (15 points, five boards, four assists) did what he could for the Jayhawks.

But this was all Gonzaga, and social media gave the team its deserved flowers after the contest:

Make it nine straight Sweet 16 appearances for Gonzaga. That level of consistency is very impressive in the age of one-and-done recruits and the transfer portal, and Mark Few was praised after the win, too:

Saturday's result doesn't come as the biggest surprise. Gonzaga was only one seed lower than Kansas, has won 11 of its past 12 games and the Jayhawks were without star guard Kevin McCullar Jr. due to a bone bruise on his knee.

But does anybody want to see this Gonzaga team right now? Purdue is the top seed in the Midwest region, but a potential Sweet 16 matchup with the Bulldogs would be a formidable test.

Kansas ran into an absolute buzzsaw in the second half, a reminder of what this Gonzaga team is capable of when it's hitting on all cylinders.

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