Last-second shot gives TCU most unlikely NCAA tournament backdoor cover against Gonzaga

Last-second shot gives TCU most unlikely NCAA tournament backdoor cover against Gonzaga

If you had Gonzaga covering the -4.5 on Sunday night in the NCAA tournament against TCU, look away.

The Bulldogs hit two free throws to go up 84-68 with .7 seconds left on the clock in the second-round game.

The game, essentially, was over, but senior guard Damion Baugh had the ball rolled down the court before he pulled up for a deep desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Final: Gonzaga 84-81 in what became an improbable backdoor cover.

Drew Timme added something new to his twisting, turning, head-faking, mustachioed repertoire — a 3-pointer to help Gonzaga get over the hump and back to the Sweet 16.

The Gonzaga big man extended his one-of-a-kind college career by at least one more game, finishing with 28 points Sunday to help the Zags make their eighth straight Sweet 16 with a come-from-behind win.

Timme made his first 3 since December — and only his third of the season — as part of a 13-1 run that helped the third-seeded Zags (30-5) take a seven-point lead with just under nine minutes left after trailing most of the night.

Next stop for the 6-foot-10 senior and his social media-friendly mustache: Las Vegas for the West Region semifinals and a meeting with UCLA on Thursday. It will be a rematch of the teams’ Final Four game two years ago, when Jalen Suggs banked one in from the half-court logo at the buzzer for the win.

Mike Miles Jr. finished with 24 points and four assists in his second straight electric game for the sixth-seeded Horned Frogs (22-13), who were trying to win two games in the same tournament for the first time in program history.

Damion Baugh finished with 15 points for TCU, including the not-so-meaningless 3 he hit at the buzzer.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.