Gonzaga vs. Kennesaw State live updates: Score, highlights as Zags lead Owls at halftime

Gonzaga is in familiar territory for the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

The reigning West Coast Conference champions make it 27 straight appearances in the big dance Thursday when they take the Moda Center floor for a matchup against Kennesaw State in a contest between the West Region's No. 3 and No. 14 seeds.

The third trip to the Rose City in a three-month span for the Bulldogs, who dispatched Oregon in a December nonconference game at Moda and suffered a shocking upset to Portland eight weeks later at Chiles Center, will pit them against the Conference USA tournament champion Owls, who are making their second NCAA Tournament appearance since 2006.

The winner of Thursday's first-round matchup will take on the 11-seeded Texas on Saturday. The Longhorns advanced to the second round with a 79-71 victory over AJ Dybantsa and company prior to Gonzaga's game.

Halftime

The Zags went into the locker room with a 33-27 lead despite trailing for a good chunk of the first half.

A 10-0 scoring run from Gonzaga in the final 2 minutes helped flip the script, though, swinging momentum in favor of the Zags after they struggled mightily to find their rhythm offensively early on.

Ike paced the Bulldogs with nine points on 4-of-7 shooting. Davis Fogle and Jalen Warley came up big as the first half wound down, with the latter showing off his versatility as a "small-ball" center and the former playing a pivotal role in the 10-0 spurt to end the half.

Fogle scored all six of his first half points in the final minute and change, with a 3-pointer from the wing capping off a nice end to the first 20 minutes for Gonzaga.

First Half Vibes

It certainly wasn't a pretty basketball being played for the first 20 minutes of action between the West Region's No. 3 and No. 14 seeds.

Ike got Gonzaga on the board first but missed his next couple of field goal attempts, as the Owls threw everything and the kitchen at the All-American forward to try and rattle the Zags offensively.

Antoine Pettway told the media before Thursday's game that his team's strategy to slow down Gonzaga's dominant post scorer was through prayer. Early on, it looked that plan was working; not just with Ike, but with the Zags' offense as a whole.

To be fair, Kennesaw State didn't come out of the gate firing on all cylinders, either. Despite that, though, the Bulldogs couldn't turn defensive stops into points like they'd been accustomed to doing all season, making for some ugly basketball for a majority of the first half as both sides struggled to find the bottom of the basket.

Sped up beyond control, Gonzaga went 12-of-31 from the field in the first half, with an Ike putback dunk being the biggest offensive highlight in the first 20 minutes of play.

Kennesaw State, meanwhile, went missed 21 of its 31 first-half field goal attempts and recorded just one turnover before the halftime horn. Rickard was a bright spot for the Owls, though, with a pair of 3-pointers keeping his team afloat when all else seemingly failed. Frankquon Sherman played a big factor on the boards with three offensive rebounds.

Before The Tip

Crowd Vibes

A crowd that was once split between BYU and Texas followers transitioned into a very pro-Gonzaga crowd in the minutes leading up to tipoff, creating a very friendly atmosphere for the Zags as they warmed up for their first-round tilt.

A contingent of Owls fans was gathered in the section across from the team's bench, with pods of Longhorns and Cougars fans still occupying a solid chunk of seats. A significant portion of the BYU faithful didn't seem too upset over the results of the previous game to leave Portland without catching the nightcap.

Injury Latest

If the Bulldogs are to make it 10 Sweet 16 appearances in the past dozen years, it sounds like they'll have to do without one of their best players.

After his team heard its name called during the Selection Sunday show for the 2026 NCAA Tournament, Mark Few was less than optimistic about Braden Huff's chances of playing in the first and — if Gonzaga gets by Kennesaw State — second rounds.

"I don't think he's gonna be able to play this weekend or anything," Few said. "But he is jogging and shooting."

Huff has not played since suffering a knee injury ahead of Gonzaga's road game at Washington State on Jan. 15. The team initially gave a 4-8 week timeline for his return, with the tail end of that window coming right at the start of the NCAA Tournament.