Clash of styles: Gonzaga’s high-powered offense tangles with Houston’s top-ranked defense

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

No. 1-seeded Houston had the easier task as a heavy favorite over 16th-seeded Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. Houston, third on the 1-68 seed list, almost looked underseeded manhandling SIUE by 38 points.

A few hours later, No. 8 Gonzaga’s near flawless start led to a surprisingly easy 89-68 win over No. 9 Georgia.

Which brings us to Saturday’s matchup at Intrust Bank Arena. It has an Elite Eight feel with two of college basketball’s winningest programs playing at the top of their games.

“At some point, you are going to play a great team, and this is a great team and a greatly coached team,” said Gonzaga coach Mark Few, one win away from a 10th consecutive Sweet 16.

There aren’t many firsts left to accomplish for Gonzaga, but Houston presents a big opportunity. GU is 0-10 vs. No. 1 seeds. The list includes title-game losses to Baylor and North Carolina and setbacks to eventual national champions Duke (2015), North Carolina (2009) and UConn (1999). Top-seeded Purdue ended GU’s season last March.

“Whenever you get a chance to do something that no one’s ever done in this program, it’s special,” point guard Ryan Nembhard said, “because everything’s almost been done out here.”

Houston (31-4) has looked like national title contenders nearly all season with a suffocating defense and efficient offense. The Cougars, led by former Washington State coach Kelvin Sampson, won the Big 12 Conference by four games with the lone loss by one point in overtime to Texas Tech, a three seed in March Madness.

The Cougars’ on-court style reflects Sampson’s unrelenting intensity on the sideline.

“He’s the head honcho, he leads the group,” point guard Milos Uzan said, the Zags’ key matchup for Saturday’s game. “He wants us to play with that aggression and be the aggressor and that’s how we play.”

Houston was 3-4 early after narrow losses to Auburn, Alabama and San Diego State. Auburn is the tournament’s top overall seed, Alabama is a No. 2 seed and San Diego State lost in the First Four. Like the Zags, the Cougars have three overtime losses.

Gonzaga started quickly, rising to No. 3 in the AP poll, but lulls in December and January pushed the Zags closer to the bubble.

GU has responded with a promising last month, particularly at the defensive end.

“I felt like we threw the first punch (against Georgia) and it was similar to Baylor,” GU senior guard Nolan Hickman said, referring to a 101-63 season-opening win over the Bears. “We throw the first punch, we tend to look real good at the end of the game.”

The Zags are 2-0 with wins over Saint Mary’s and Georgia since changing to a two-big starting lineup with 6-foot-10 Braden Huff and 6-9 Graham Ike. Huff has responded in his second and third career starts with two 18-point efforts on 59.3% shooting, including two of his eight made 3-pointers this season.

They’ll probably line up against J’Wan Roberts and Joseph Tugler, two physical, 6-8 forwards that made the Big 12 All-Defensive team. Defense is the Cougars’ card. They rank first nationally in scoring defense at 57.9 points, pound the glass (plus-five per game) and limit foes to 38.3% shooting (second nationally).

“Great matchup,” Ike said. “We know they double every time and we pride ourselves on scoring in the paint, so we’ll find a way to manipulate that. Looking forward to a physical game, but Saint Mary’s prepared us for Georgia and Saint Mary’s and Georgia prepared us for Houston and that physicality.

“Of course, we haven’t seen that (physicality) before, but when we do, we’ll be fine.”

The Cougars limited Arizona, coached by former GU assistant Tommy Lloyd, to 58 points in Tucson and 64 in last week’s Big 12 Tournament title game. The Wildcats average 81.7 points.

The backcourt matchups are as intriguing as the frontcourt. Both squads feature three double-figures scorers, skilled 3-point shooters and point guards that set the table for teammates.

Gonzaga was 12 of 17 on 3s – led by Hickman’s five and Battle’s four – until missing three attempts late against Georgia. As important, the Zags limited Georgia to 5-of-26 shooting from distance, one game after Saint Mary’s finished 0 of 16.

Houston is fifth nationally at 39.6% on 3s but cooled off in the second half (2 of 15) vs. SIUE.

“We’ve been really dialed in on 3-pointers and the people who can shoot,” Hickman said. “Directing the shots, dictating the shots (to players with lower percentages).”

That’s a short list for the Cougars, who are five-point favorites.

“Our guys are really looking forward to it,” Few said. “The staff knows it’s a daunting preparation in 24 hours to try to put it all together, but a lot of things we’ve been doing all year hopefully will help us against them.”