#8 Gonzaga vs #1 Houston NCAAB: Bulldogs Seek to Extend Streak (Mar 22)

• Gonzaga curb stomped Georgia in the first round, surging past them to win 89-68.
• Houston had no trouble taking down 16-seed SIUE in a dominant, 78-40 victory.
• This will be the first matchup between these two powerhouse basketball programs.

Gonzaga puts its 9-year Sweet 16 streak on the line in this game against 1-seed Houston. It’s likely to be a stellar clash between two blue bloods. The winner of this matchup will face off against either 4-seed Purdue or 12-seed McNeese. First, they must escape this brutal matchup.

Gonzaga Seeks Another Sweet 16

Gonzaga showed exactly why they were under-seeded as an 8-seed in their 21-point blowout of Georgia. The Zags jumped ahead by a lot from the very start and never looked back. The downside to their 8-seed (they should have been a 5-seed) is that Gonzaga now faces 1-seed Houston in the 2nd-round. It’s Gonzaga’s 7th-ranked offense vs Houston’s 2nd-ranked defense.

Houston Aiming to Avoid an Upset

Houston basketball has been revolutionized under Kelvin Sampson, having now made the NCAA Tournament for seven straight years. A blowout win in the first round as a 1-seed and the Big-12 championship is just their latest accomplishment. However, Houston had just one Final Four trip in that span, in 2021. They’ll need to get past Gonzaga to find their way back to glory.

Gonzaga Bulldogs vs Houston Cougars Pick

Gonzaga puts their 9-year Sweet 16 streak to the test against Houston’s 5-year streak of the same kind. Both teams are still fighting to break through and prove themselves as a true basketball power. This game should be the best of the 2nd round with energy that could rival a Final Four matchup. It could go either way but I like Mark Few to lead Gonzaga to another win.