Gonzaga, Houston clash for spot in Sweet 16

Mar. 22—Second half

15:23 — UH 48, GU 37: Sharpe hits a 3-pointer and is fouled by Hickman. He'll have a free throw on the other end of the U16 media timeout.

Cougars scoring on seemingly every possession to start the half, 6 of 11 from the field with four offensive rebounds. That's a 16-2 advantage in second chance points in the game.

Zags got back-to-back 3-pointers from Ike to stay in it, going to need to improve on the glass to keep up.

Halftime

LJ Cryer established himself early and led Houston to a 35-27 lead over Gonzaga at halftime in Wichita, Kansas.

Cryer scored 16 points, making 4 of 6 3-point attempts. Houston led by as many 14 points, before the Zags make a late push.

Khalif Battle and Braden Huff lead GU with seven points apiece.

First half

1:09 — UH 33, GU 27: Battle makes a layup in transition, then hits a 3-pointer to give the Zags an 8-0 run. Houston calls timeout on a 3:35 scoring drought and just like that GU is back in it.

3:55 — UH 33, GU 22: Nembhard hits a 3-pointer in the corner and Innocenti gets a steal on the other end ahead of the U4 media timeout.

Zags have hit five of their last six attempts. Making a push here before halftime.

For Houston, Cryer hit another 3-pointer (4 of 6) and has 16 points. The Cougars have 12 second chance points.

6:17 — UH 28, GU 17: Huff gets the Zags' first 3-pointer to drop, but is called for a foul on the other end. Cougars will shoot free throws after the U8 media timeout.

Rough start to the game for Battle, who is 1 of 5 from the field and had a turnover taken for a dunk in transition.

8:00 — UH 24, GU 12: Cryer hits a 3-pointer to double-up the Zags and Gonzaga calls timeout. Cryer single-handedly outscoring GU with 13 points, making three 3-pointers.

Zags 6 of 17 from the field and 0 of 7 on 3-pointers.

11:42 — UH 17, GU 8: Cryer up to 10 points for the Cougars, who are imposing their will at the U12 media timeout.

Gregg came off the bench to score four points for the Zags, who are 4 of 12 from the field and 0 of 4 on 3-pointers.

15:11 — UH 10, GU 2: Cougars hit back-to-back 3-pointers to open up an early lead. Zags struggling in a physical game, 1 of 6 from the field.

UH already with five second chance points. Roberts was called for a foul at the first media timeout. Ike has a foul for GU.

19:31 — UH 2, GU 0: Cougars win the tip and Tugler grabs his own miss and puts it back to get the game going in Wichita.

Starting fives

Gonzaga: Same for third straight game: Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman, Khalif Battle, Braden Huff, Graham Ike.

Houston: L.J. Cryer, Milos Uzan, Emanuel Sharp, J'Wan Roberts, Joseph Tugler.

Pregame

Will Gonzaga make it 10 straight appearances in the Sweet 16?

The Zags need to post their first win over a No. 1 seed to do so, as eighth-seeded Gonzaga takes on Houston in the second round of the NCAA Tournament this evening in Wichita, Kansas. Tipoff is set for 5:40 p.m. on TNT.

The Zags (26-8) built a big lead and rolled past Georgia 89-68 in Thursday's opener. The Cougars (31-4) crushed Southeast Illinois-Edwardsville 78-40 in their first game.

Houston and Gonzaga are ranked second and eighth, respectively, by Ken Pomeroy's analytic-based metrics, setting the stage for one of the most-anticipated games of the second round. The Cougars are 5 1/2 -point favorites.

Gonzaga is 0-10 all-time against No. 1 seeds.

The winner will head to Indianapolis to face No. 4 seed Purdue.

Team stats

Houston (31-4)

Gonzaga (24-8)

Points

74.3

86.7

Points allowed

57.9

69.6

Field goal pct.

45.7

50.1

Rebounds

36.6

38.6

Assists

11.9

19.8

Blocks

4.6

3.0

Steals

8.0

7.5

Streak

Won 14

Won 5

Individual leaders

POINTS

PPG

FG%

FT%

LJ Cryer (UH)

15.2

41.5

90.5

Graham Ike (GU)

17.0

59.8

79.4

REBOUNDS

RPG

DRPG

ORPG

J'Wan Roberts (UH)

6.2

3.8

2.4

Graham Ike (GU)

7.4

5.3

2.1

ASSISTS

APG

TOPG

MPG

Milos Uzan (UH)

4.3

1.3

31.0

Ryan Nembhard (GU)

9.8

2.4

34.9

Game preview

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Gonzaga, Houston clash for spot in Sweet 16

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