No. 1 Gonzaga delivers show of force with blowout win over No. 5 Texas

Here are two very scary sentences for college basketball teams outside of Spokane, Washington:

1. Gonzaga, the top-ranked team in the country, dominated No. 5 Texas in an 86-74 win on Saturday, leading by double-digits for the entire second half.

2. Gonzaga did No. 1 with Chet Holmgren, the potential top overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft, scoring two (2) points.

Simply put, the Bulldogs looked like a No. 1 team and then some at home against the Longhorns. That was thanks to a career night by National Player of the Year candidate Drew Timme, who blew away the Texas front-court with 37 points on 15-of-19 shooting, seven rebounds and three assists.

Gonzaga led for all but the first minute of the game, taking a 20-point lead into halftime thanks to a half-court buzzer-beater from Rasir Bolton, the only other Gonzaga player to score in double digits. Holmgren, the 7-footer with the shooting and handles of a guard, still made his presence known at times, pulling in five rebounds and altering countless Texas shots in the paint.

Texas pushed the deficit down to as little as 11 points at times in the second half, but never came close to striking distance.

The Texas game was Gonzaga's first challenge in non-conference schedule with plenty of big-time games. The Bulldogs will follow it up with three mid-major opponents, then games against No. 2 UCLA and No. 9 Duke at the end of the month.

As for Texas, well, it just wasn't the school's night.