No. 4 Arkansas takes down No. 1 Gonzaga 74-68 in Sweet 16

The top team in the 2022 NCAA Tournament is going home.

The No. 4 Arkansas Razorbacks took down the No. 1 Gonzaga Bulldogs in the West region semifinals on Thursday, winning the Sweet 16 matchup 74-68. The Hogs have now advanced the Elite Eight on Saturday where they will await either No. 2 Duke or No. 3 Texas Tech.

Gonzaga was the odds-on favorite to win the national championship for most of the season. The Bulldogs entered Thursday with +180 odds to cut down the nets per DraftKings Sportsbook.

Down by eight deep into the first half, Arkansas started to push back against Gonzaga until eventually pulling ahead. a JD Notae layup as time expired gave the Razorbacks a 32-29 lead heading into the half.

Notae and the Hogs continued to dictate the terms of the game in the second half and his three with 6:41 remaining in the ballgame gave them a commanding 59-50 advantage. A critical juncture came at the 3:29 mark when freshman Zags phenom Chet Holmgren fouled out of the contest. The prospective No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds in what will most likely be his final game in a Gonzaga uniform.

With no Holmgren to deal with, the Razorbacks successfully closed the game out to advance to Saturday.