Rui Hachimura, No. 1 Gonzaga Crush FDU, Advance to 2nd Round of NCAA Tournament

The Gonzaga Bulldogs may have been one of the original Cinderellas, but they have no time for underdogs anymore.

The West Region's top seed in the 2019 NCAA men's basketball tournament defeated No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson 87-49 on Thursday in Salt Lake City. Gonzaga is now one victory away from its fifth consecutive Sweet 16 appearance.

Rui Hachimura led a balanced attack with 21 points and eight rebounds, while Killian Tillie (17 points and four assists off the bench), Brandon Clarke (14 points, nine rebounds and three blocks) and Zach Norvell (11 points, seven dimes and five boards) provided effective support.

Elyjah Williams spearheaded the losing effort for the Knights with 10 points and nine boards.

Consistent Defense Key to Unlocking Gonzaga's Championship Potential

Nobody plays offense better than Gonzaga.

The Bulldogs led the country in points per game at 88.8 and check in at No. 1 in KenPom's offensive efficiency rankings. They used pace early and often in the victory, overwhelming the New Jersey school with a drastic talent difference and not leaving a single doubt.

Gonzaga can turn toward a number of options, including Hachimura, the West Coast Conference Player of the Year. He scored 20.1 points a night with the ability to find the basket in the lane, slash into openings when defenders collapse on ball-handlers and hit from the outside.

While the go-to scorer doesn't shoot from deep often, he connected on a blistering 46.9 percent of his triples this season.

The Bulldogs also have Norvell (15.3 PPG) and Josh Perkins (11.0 PPG) as capable playmakers on the outside, and second-leading scorer Clarke (16.5 PPG) to light up the scoreboard. It is nearly impossible to effectively double Hachimura with so many other players who can capitalize on the openings he creates.

That type of offense means Gonzaga doesn't have to play shutdown defense every night, but it will win the national championship if it does.

For as excellent as the offense was against the Knights, the defense was suffocating when the game was still hanging in the balance. FDU shot 5-of-26 from the field (20 percent) with 10 turnovers in the first half, struggling to create any open looks against the Bulldogs.

Darnell Edge and Jahlil Jenkins were unstoppable in their victory over Prairie View on Tuesday with a combined 55 points but were a mere 1-of-9 from the field in the opening 20 minutes and never had a chance. 

The Zags have no real weaknesses—hence the No. 1 seed and 30-3 record—but the defense was not as effective as their offense during the regular season. It was 16th in KenPom's rankings and struggled in a handful of high-profile games outside of the WCC.

Gonzaga allowed 103 points to North Carolina, 92 points to Creighton and 87 to Duke, although it is a testament to its offensive brilliance that it won the latter two games. Cameron Johnson, Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett and Ty-Shon Alexander all scored more than 20 points against the Bulldogs.

That could be a problem for the West's top seed if it faces Murray State's Ja Morant in the Sweet 16. The NBA-ready point guard notched a triple-double in a win over Marquette on Thursday and is talented enough to turn small openings into game-changing plays in a pressure-packed tournament setting.

The Bulldogs will need to play better defense than they did against North Carolina and others, and the fact they turned on the postseason switch and played so well on that end in a game they could have easily overlooked Thursday bodes well for their chances in the later rounds.

This is a Final-Four-or-bust season for the No. 1 seed that has established itself as one of the best programs in college basketball. The offense will be there all tournament, so the defense holds the key to cutting down the nets.

What's Next?

Gonzaga faces either No. 8 Syracuse or No. 9 Baylor in the round of 32 on Saturday.