NCAA Tournament notes: Gonzaga sees similarities between Houston, top WCC rival while scouting Round of 32 opponent

WICHITA, Kan. – Strong. Physical. Nasty. Aggressive.

All would be appropriate descriptions of the top-seeded Houston team eighth-seeded Gonzaga will face in the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 32 at Intrust Bank Arena.

Another description Gonzaga fans might be able to follow along with?

Saint Mary’s on steroids.

“The big piece of their whole program is defense,” Gonzaga guard Nolan Hickman said. “They key in on defense and I think it’s kind of similar to what Saint Mary’s does. They try to muck up the game, slow it down and everything, get as many second-chance points every possession, rebounding the ball extremely hard offensively.

“Yeah man, I think they are pretty similar, for sure.”

The Zags know the Gaels well, so they shouldn’t be too surprised by anything the Cougars try in Saturday’s matchup pitting the West Coast Conference Tournament champions against the Big 12 Conference Tournament and regular-season champions.

Saint Mary’s is traditionally one of the nation’s top defensive teams, ranking No. 7 in adjusted defensive efficiency this season under longtime coach Randy Bennett.

Houston coach Kelvin Sampson has established many of the same defensive standards since taking over in 2014-15. The Cougars likely have more NBA talent than Saint Mary’s, more athleticism across the board, and rank five spots higher in defensive efficiency, sitting behind just St. John’s.

Asked whether he noticed parallels between the teams, Gonzaga point guard Ryan Nembhard said, “a little bit, a little bit.”

“I think in terms of their pace, trying to get guys to slow down and make the game a lower-scoring game, it’s very similar but Saint Mary’s is a lot more solid, a lot more conservative,” Nembhard said. “These guys are a lot more aggressive, try and trap, try and get you to do things you’re very uncomfortable with. Try and turn you over, which is definitely different from Saint Mary’s. But we can definitely take some things from both teams, for sure.”

The Zags solved the Saint Mary’s problem in the third meeting between the teams, winning 58-51 in the WCC title game after dropping both regular-season matchups.

The Cougars rank No. 1 nationally in scoring defense, allowing opponents just 57.9 points per game. Not too far down on that list is Saint Mary’s, which has limited teams to 60.7 ppg and just won its opening-round NCAA Tournament game against Vanderbilt on Friday.

“There’s only one Saint Mary’s,” GU forward Graham Ike said, “but (Houston) play with great energy, great effort. They’re so physical on both ends of the floor that it’s definitely similar. But they’re unique in their own way, Houston is, and so is Saint Mary’s.”

In matchups with Saint Mary’s, Gonzaga is accustomed to facing tall, strong, fundamentally sound posts. The Gaels started 6-foot-10 Mitchell Saxen next to 7-foot Harry Wessels in last week’s WCC title game.

The Cougars don’t possess the same size in the starting lineup, playing two 6-8 forwards, Joseph Tugler and J’Wan Roberts, in the frontcourt. Even with a height advantage, Houston’s interior defenders have managed to disrupt opposing bigs.

“As soon as that ball enters, they’re already across the midline and they’re coming on the flight of the ball to double team,” Ike said. “They’re playing with great energy, great effort, and they’re showing their length on every play. When the ball comes, they’re jumping into the gaps. They’re so active on defense.”

Setting the record

Ever since Gonzaga’s arrival on the national stage more than two decades ago, fans have taken umbrage with misprononciations of the school’s name.

Add Houston coach and former Inland Northwest resident Kelvin Sampson to that group.

Sampson cut in during a question on Friday when a Houston-based reporter referenced “Gon-zah-ga” in a question about Saturday’s NCAA Tournament matchup.

“Gon-zag-a,” Sampson interrupted, offering the correct prononciation. “It always burns me up when people say that. It’s like calling me Kevin. My name is not Kevin. My mother used to say – people would see my name and say, Kevin. She always used to say, ‘Don’t let people call you Kevin. Your name is Kelvin.’ That’s why my antennas go up with that.

“Same with Gonzaga. They were our neighbors. It’s not Spo-kane or Gon-zah-ga. It’s Gonzaga and Spokane.”

Friendly rivals

Gonzaga’s Mark Few still gets an annual Christmas card from the coach who’ll be trying to end his run of consecutive Sweet 16 trips on Saturday evening.

“He’s one of the great ones in our profession and one of the fun ones,” Few said of Sampson. “He really helped me out when I was first getting going on those old Nike trips. Kind of took me under his wing. I always remember him and (Sampson’s wife) Karen doing that for Marcy (Few) and I.”

Few and Sampson had regular run-ins when the latter was coaching at Washington State. The longtime Gonzaga coach has admiration for his Houston counterpart, noting he took a challenging path to the top of the sport.

“With Kelvin you got to understand now, man, nothing was given to him,” Few said. “He coached at Montana Tech. He started at Montana Tech. Unless you’re a big fly fisherman like me, there aren’t many people getting to Butte, Montana. It’s on the way to a couple of the greatest rivers in the lower 48, but that’s about it.”

The respect goes both ways.

“Now all these years later, it’s one of the – he is not one of the best coaches in our game, he’s one of the best coaches our game has ever seen,” Sampson said. “Mark is a Hall of Famer. Not just Hall of Fame coach. He’s a Hall of Fame everything – father, husband, friend. He’s one of those guys that makes our profession look good. Mark is a great guy.”

Christmas in March

Hickman had a locker room surprise in store for his Gonzaga teammates when the team arrived at Intrust Bank Arena on Friday.

Through an NIL (name, image and likeness) deal with JLab technology company, Hickman gifted every teammate a pair of JLab headphones.

“We can rock out,” Hickman said in a video posted to Gonzaga’s Instagram account. “Get some good tunes in the headphones.”

“Shout out Nolan Hickman, man,” senior guard Khalif Battle said.

“Apprciate you, ‘Nol,’ ” sophomore forward Emmanuel Innocenti said. “These are fire.”