The top seed in the midwest region Houston Cougars advanced to the round of 32 with a 38 point stomping of SIU-Edwardsville on Thursday. They will take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs, who were one of the most impressive teams in the first round, defeating Georgia with ease in the 8v9 matchup.
Houston enters on a 14 game win streak with many of those victories not even being close. They were led by guard Milos Uzan with 16 points in the opening round despite him and the other starters playing just a little over half of the game. Uzan along with LJ Cryer and Emanuel Sharp have been a trio of scoring threats, which Houston has lacked in the past, that have complemented their suffocating defense perfectly this year. This is the seventh time the Cougars have been in the second round under Kelvin Sampson and the fifth year in a row.
Gonzaga comes in as winners of the WCC tournament and playing their best basketball as of late, which has many believing they are very underseeded at the 8 spot. The Bulldogs played incredible on both ends in the first round shooting 55% from the floor and using a stellar defensive performance to begin the game holding Georgia to three points in the first eight minutes while gaining a 24 point lead. Big man Graham Ike has been their bread and butter all season averaging 17 points and 7.4 rebounds. The Zags have been a staple of March Madness appearing in their 16th straight round of 32 game and will be looking to make it 10 straight Sweet 16 appearances under Mark Few.
The winner of this one will advance to the next round in Indianapolis to take on the winner of Purdue and McNeese.
How to watch Gonzaga vs. Houston
- Date: Saturday, March 22
- Time: 8:40 p.m. ET
- Venue: INTRUST Bank Arena, Wichita, KS
- How to Watch (TV): TNT
- Streaming: fubo TV
- Gonzaga record: 26-8 (14-4)
- Houston record: 31-4 (19-1)
Gonzaga vs. Houston odds, spread and total
Odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook
Moneyline
- Gonzaga +168
- Houston -205
Spread
- Gonzaga +5.5 (-120)
- Houston -5.5 (-102)
Total
- 139.5 (over -115/under -105)
Gonzaga injury report
- N/A
Houston injury report
- Ramon Walker Jr., G: Out (hand)
Houston and Gonzaga series history
- First-ever meeting
Gonzaga vs. Houston prediction
These are two very experienced teams and high level coaches which make this an incredible second round matchup that probably should be taking place later on in the tournament. Houston may have gotten a bad draw having to face the Zags, who rank in the top 10 of KenPom, in the second round.
These two teams play very different styles as the Zags want to run the court while Houston wants to slow the game down and suffocate you with their defense. Also of note in this one is the three point line. While Houston relatively does not shoot it a ton (20.5 per game), but when they do they connect shooting 39.6% from behind the arc which is fourth best in the country. The Zags defend the three point line well though as they rank in the top 15 holding opponents to 29.9%. Outside of this, a matchup to keep an eye on is the battle between two of the best bigs in the sport in Ike and Houston’s J’Wan Roberts who is coming off an ankle injury but got the start last game.
There is no question whoever controls the paint and finds their rhythm from deep will win this game, and I like Houston to do so by making this game be played at their pace. If you want to find a comparison, look no further than Gonzaga going up against St. Mary’s. The Cougars play a very similar style, but I believe they have much more skill and athleticism that will help them get the win and send them to the Sweet 16.