Gonzaga turns its attention to Houston in NCAA Tournament: 'It's gonna be a fistfight'

No two college basketball coaches have been part of more Sweet 16 games over the last decade than Gonzaga's Mark Few and Houston's Kelvin Sampson have while at the helm of their respective programs.

The Bulldogs have made it to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament every year it's been played since 2014, a streak of nine consecutive Sweet 16 appearances that's tied for the longest such run since the field expanded in 1985.

The Cougars are riding five straight trips to the Sweet 16 round, a run that includes an appearance in the 2021 Final Four followed by an Elite Eight berth the following season.

After Saturday, though, only one of these programs will have its remarkable streak intact. It only makes sense that the two teams that have been part of more Sweet 16 games than anyone else in the country will now square off for the right to move onto the second weekend of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, as the 8-seeded Zags (25-8, 14-4 WCC) and 1-seeded Cougars (31-4, 19-1 Big 12) will meet in a second-round matchup this Saturday from INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas.

LIVE SCORE UPDATES, HIGHLIGHTS: GONZAGA VS. HOUSTON

"It's gonna be a great matchup, super physical," Braden Huff said of the impending game against the Cougars after Gonzaga's 89-68 victory over 9-seed Georgia on Thursday. "[Houston] kinda ran through the Big 12 this year so, it's gonna be a great matchup and true test for us."

Actually, the Cougars ran through the Big 12 again. Since joining arguably the toughest basketball conference in the country in 2023, Sampson's program has won 39 of its 44 games against Big 12 opponents (regular season and conference tournament play included). This season, over half of Houston's 19 wins in Big 12 regular season play came by double-digit margins (10), while its only loss was an 82-81 final in overtime to Texas Tech.

The Cougars' other three losses in 2024-25 aren't anything to scoff at, either. In their letdowns against Auburn, Alabama and San Diego State — all of which occurred in November — Houston lost by an average margin of 3.3 points. All three games were decided in overtime, too, and away from its home court at the Ferttita Center.

"Defensively, their lights out," Gregg said of the Cougars. "They shut teams down and get them out of what they do. So it's gonna be a lot of film these next two days, probably get on the court tomorrow, Saturday before the game, and get a better feel for them and an understanding."

Houston ranks No. 2 in the country in scoring defense, yielding just 58.5 points per contest, and has let its opponents shoot 38.3% from the field, the third-lowest field goal percentage allowed in the nation. In fact, only one team has scored more than 70 points against the Cougars in regulation since March 2 of last year, and that one exception was current No. 1 seed Auburn on Nov. 9 in a 74-69 win over Houston.

The Cougars' steady pace on the offensive end of the floor only adds to the frustration their opponents often feel over the course of a 40-minute rock fight. While checking in at 360th in tempo on KenPom.com, Houston is top five in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage with four players shooting 42% or better from downtown, led by junior guard Milos Uzan at 43.5%.

L.J. Cryer, a 6-foot-1 grad student, leads Houston in scoring at 15.2 points per game. The Texas native knows a thing or two about the Zags from his experiences on the 2020-21 Baylor team that won the national championship over Gonzaga in Indianapolis. Ironically, his next chance to eliminate the Bulldogs is for a chance to play in Indianapolis for the Midwest Regional.

"They're gonna be strong with us," Hickman said. "They're gonna try to bully us and everything, but I think what we did tonight, it was big. And I think we just need to follow this momentum."

"It's gonna be a great matchup," sophomore Dusty Stromer said. "It's what March is about — two big teams like this. It's gonna be a fistfight, and like I said, we're ready for it."

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