After two convincing wins in their first round games, the Gonzaga Bulldogs and the Houston Cougars are now on a collision-course for Saturday’s second round in the Midwest Region. The matchup pits the 1-seed Cougars against the 8-seed Bulldogs, two of the most successful programs in modern college basketball. With standout players, deep rosters, and elite coaches, these two powerhouses will duke it out in the second round on Saturday.
Houston Cougars Easily Handle SIU Edwardsville
Most 1-seed vs 16-matchups are drama-free, and that was absolutely the case for Kelvin Sampson’s Houston Cougars on Thursday afternoon as they took on the underdog SIU Edwardsville Cougars. Houston held SIUE to under 31% from the floor and only 40 points, as the overmatched Ohio Valley Conference champions provided little resistance.
Houston nearly doubled up their opponents on the glass, winning that battle 50-27. Houston lived on second-chance points, the result of 19 offensive boards, and dominated the paint on both ends. Milos Uzan led the team in scoring with 16 points, while LJ Cryer had 15 points that included 4 made triples.
Sampson was appreciative of his team’s performance but not overexcited, as the team has a long way to go to get back to the Final Four.
“I thought our defense and our rebounding, two of the things we really emphasized, were good today. Shot selection was really good to start the game, knocked some shots down, got off to a good start, so, this never gets old.”
Gonzaga Bulldogs Annihilate the Georgia Bulldogs
Meanwhile, the Gonzaga Bulldogs also faced a team with the same mascot. Their opponent was the SEC’s Georgia Bulldogs, a 9-seed who were a very competitive team in the nation’s premier conference in the regular season. Led by star freshman Asa Newell, Georgia was a dangerous opponent on paper.
However, as it turns out, Gonzaga is in an entirely different class. They opened the game on a 13-0 run, which turned into a 30-5 score line with nine minutes played. It’s hard to point to an area that Gonzaga didn’t dominate in.
The Zags shot 55% from the floor and limited Georgia to 35%. Mark Few’s team forced five early turnovers as they exploded out in front. They completely had their way on offense; Khalif Battle showcased some dazzling finishes, Graham Ike excelled as per usual on the interior, and perimeter threats like Nolan Hickman were locked in from deep.
The entire roster truly had themselves a day, but forward Braden Huff might have been the team’s MVP. 18 points on 8-11 from the floor, 8 boards, 3 assists, and 2 blocks highlight the sophomore’s outstanding all-around impact. He was a near-+30 while on the floor in the first half.
Few is clearly not tired of March success, calling advancing in March Madness “one of the greatest feelings in the world.”
Keys to the Game for Gonzaga vs Houston
Gonzaga’s elite offense will now meet Houston’s elite defense. Sampson’s team will need to begin their gameplan by arranging their array of elite perimeter defenders on Gonzaga’s talented guards. Will LJ Cryer be deployed on Ryan Nembhard, who while not being the biggest scoring threat, is the unflappable orchestrator for the Zags offense? Who will match up with Khalif Battle, who went for 24 points against Georgia on 9-13 shooting?
Houston’s ball pressure could necessitate equal aggressiveness from Gonzaga supporting cast. While bench players Immanuel Innocenti and Michael Ajayi played well in the first round, how will they fare against the Cougars’ elite defense?
For Gonzaga, their front line will have to be ready for a war down low. Ike, Huff, and Ben Gregg are going to be the main players tasked with keeping a mighty Houston frontcourt off the boards, and particularly the offensive glass. Guards like Battle and Hickman will also need to do their part, as Houston is a great positional rebounding team.
It will be essential for Mark Few’s team to get off to another good start. Houston is very good at slowing down the pace and controlling the game from ahead, and throughout the season, Gonzaga has experienced plenty of issues in clutch, late-game situations. In an ideal world for the Zags, their fans can watch them fend off a Houston comeback attempt by relying on their motion offense to continue to generate quality shots, rather than play from behind and be forced to grind out possessions against an elite defense.
There won’t be many better coaching matchups in this year’s NCAA Tournament, as Kelvin Sampson and Mark Few are two of the best minds in the sport. The two supremely talented squads will meet on Saturday in Wichita, Kansas, at 8:40 p.m. Eastern.
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