What Houston players said ahead of NCAA Tournament game vs. Gonzaga: 'They got to play on our terms'

A Gonzaga-Houston matchup in the postseason sounds more appropriate to take place during the Final Four rather than the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, but as fate would have it, two of the most consistent college basketball programs over the last decade will square off in the round of 32 this Saturday from Wichita, Kansas.

The Bulldogs (26-8, 14-4 WCC) are making their 26th straight appearance in March Madness, highlighted by their current run of nine consecutive trips to the Sweet 16 round, while the Cougars (31-4, 19-1 Big 12) have been to the second weekend five times in a row and have dominated arguably the best conference in the country since they joined the Big 12 in 2023.

They've enjoyed similar success over the last decade, but through very different play styles. The Zags have historically been one of the most efficient and up-tempo offenses in the nation under head coach Mark Few, though the Cougars are confident their stifling defense and controlled pace on offense will dictate the flow of Saturday's matchup from INTRUST Bank Arena.

Here's what Houston's LJ Cryer, J'Wan Roberts, Milos Uzan and Emmanuel Sharp had to say about their matchup with the Bulldogs.

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On having to face Gonzaga in the second round as opposed to a later round:

Cryer: "I mean it could be a later matchup. But I mean last year we played [Texas] A&M in the second round so, you gonna play somebody that's really good in the round of the 32. That's out of our control at he end of the day, how they make brackets, so we were gonna get matched up against a good team and it just so happened to be them."

Roberts: "At this point in the tournament man, there's not really any bad teams. Every team is great. And you know it's just about us focusing on us, not worrying about whether this could be a later team that we would have played in a later round. We just got focused on executing and doing what we're supposed to do."

On Ryan Nembhard's season:

Cryer: "He's a great player. He's won everywhere he's been. He's steering the ship for Gonzaga right now. He has great vision. That game we played [in the 2023 NCAA Tournament when both scored 30 points] — I didn't know he could score like that. It kind of took us for a little surprise, but he's a tremendous passer, and he's definitely leading the team right now."

Uzan: "He's got 300 assists and probably 70 turnovers — somewhere in there? It's just his assist-to-turnover ratio is off the charts. I know he's probably leading the country right now, but he's a really good point guard. I'm excited to match up against him and see what it's like."

On the keys to forcing Gonzaga to play at Houston's controlled pace:

Uzan: "We play extremely hard. We try to win every game and I feel like in order for us to do that, they got to play on our terms. We're not the fastest team, so yeah, we're gonna have to slow them down on the defensive end and slow down their pace.

Cryer: "You got to play the game on our terms at the end of the day. We know they play pretty fast, and, I mean, we're kind of the opposite of them, so just go out there and do what we do at the end of the day. Yeah, don't get caught up in playing their game.

On comparing Houston and Gonzaga's winning culture:

Sharp: "It just shows that they have a winning culture just like we do. And throughout the years, the record shows that. We're consistent with our effort throughout the years and and teaching the young guys the culture and keeping that alive, and it looks like they do the same. So hats off to that program. It's a great program, and they're a great team."

Cryer: "He pretty much summed it up — it's culture versus culture."

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