2022 NCAA Tournament: Key matchups for Saturday’s Round of 32 games
Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. Memphis Tigers (West Region) – 9:40 PM EST
Two top NBA Draft picks will square off as Chet Holmgren will suit up for the top-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs and Emoni Bates returns to his second game of action looking to make an impact in the final game of the night on TBS.
Gonzaga won their first-round game rather easily in the opening round, 93-72, against Georgia State on Thursday. They were led by 32 points and 13 rebounds from Drew Timme while Holmgren had 19 points, 17 rebounds, seven blocks, and five assists in his debut game of the NCAA Tournament.
The Bulldogs have lost just three games in 2021-22 and they’ll surely get all they can handle from a scrappy Memphis bunch. With all eyes on Holmgren/Bates, look for Holmgren to have a big game to overshadow Bates.
On the Memphis side of things, they’ve played sharp on both ends of the floor with Jalen Duren at the anchor and Deandre Williams as their go-to guy when they need a spark.
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They’ll need to be prepared to run up and down as they look to slow down the Bulldogs and make them beat them with halfcourt sets. They’ve got the size to compete with Gonzaga, they’ll just need to be patient on both ends of the floor.