How the game was lost: Kyle Wiltjer, the 6-foot-10 transfer from Kentucky who played on the Wildcats' 2012 national title team and was the SEC's sixth man of the year his sophomore season, scored 32 points, 16 in each half, and looked like one of the better big men in the nation as the No. 10 Zags (5-0) built a big early lead and held off repeated challenges to defeat the Bulldogs (3-2) in the NIT Season Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden in New York late Wednesday night.
Notable: Gonzaga held its largest lead at 54-35, only 3 1/2 minutes into the second half. The Bulldogs began a rally shortly after coach Mark Fox got a technical foul. … Charles Mann scored 23 for Georgia, 16 in the second half.
Number: 1. Gonzaga guard Nick Pangos had 22 points, six assists and three steals but he committed his first turnover of the season through five games.
He said it: "We didn't get off to a very good start but after that, we played it pretty nose to nose. … Their team was getting nearly 29 points a game from the 3-point line and so we decided we were going to eliminate the 3-point line and then let their post players play one-on-one. (Wiltjer) finished a lot of those plays. He's just too good to play one-on-one." — Fox.
Next: Georgia will play Minnesota, which lost the other semifinal game to hometown team St. John's, at 4:30 p.m. Friday on ESPNU.
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