Jim Meehan

Gonzaga figures to have a busy offseason and it started quickly Monday with sophomore wing Dusty Stromer reportedly planning to enter the transfer portal.

The top-seeded Cougars were scoring points seemingly at will most of the second half, but their top-ranked defense was unable to stop Graham Ike and Gonzaga’s offense. So instead of game over, Gonzaga was still in the picture, even after a J’Wan Roberts field goal with 4:29 left gave Houston a 76-65 lead.

There was no ideal start Saturday for Gonzaga, two days after racing in front of Georgia 27-3 and rolling to an NCAA Tournament first-round win. But the Zags nearly made up for it with a frantic comeback in the closing minutes that had 14,168 roaring inside Intrust Bank Arena and made the Cougars sweat out an 81-76 round-of-32 victory.

The texts started flying between Gonzaga’s Dusty Stromer and Houston’s Mercy Miller right after the NCAA Tournament brackets were released Sunday afternoon. The TV screen showed the Midwest Region bracket with Gonzaga vs. Georgia, Houston vs. SIU-Edwardsville, winners meeting in the second round. Stromer reached for his phone to message his former Notre Dame High teammate in Sherman Oaks, Calif.

Milos Uzan had a tough job coming into Houston’s program, replacing do-everything point guard Jamal Shead, a first-team All-American now earning NBA paychecks with Toronto.

Gonzaga and Houston didn’t play each other Thursday – that round-of-32 showdown arrives Saturday – but they took turns trying to one-up the other with dominating performances.

Houston’s start wasn’t quite as impressive as Gonzaga’s in the ensuing game Thursday, but the Cougars left no doubt early in a blowout victory over Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. The top-seeded Cougars put their efficient offense and smothering defense on display throughout a 78-40 victory 16th-seeded SIEU.

The senior guard from Seattle knocked down five 3-pointers and scored 18 points to guide eighth-seeded Gonzaga past No. 9 Georgia 89-68 Thursday in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.