Houston ends Gonzaga's Sweet 16 streak
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — LJ Cryer matched a career high with 30 points, including two free throws with 14.2 seconds left, and No. 1 seed Houston held on to beat eighth-seeded Gonzaga 81-76 on Saturday night to reach the Sweet 16 for the sixth straight NCAA Tournament.
J'Wan Roberts added 18 points, and Milos Uzan made two last free throws with 2.1 seconds left to give the Cougars (32-4) their 15th consecutive win and push them into a regional semifinal against fourth-seeded Purdue on Friday night in Indianapolis.
Houston also ended Gonzaga's run of nine straight Sweet 16s, which had been the longest active streak in the nation.
Gonzaga (26-9) was trailing 76-67 with just over 2 minutes to go when Graham Ike made two free throws to start its comeback, most of it coming at the foul line. And when Uzan turned the ball over and Khalif Battle made two free throws of his own, the Bulldogs had pulled to 77-76 with 21 seconds remaining.
Houston got the ball to Cryer, who was fouled, and he made both of his free throws to extend the lead. At the other end, Ja'Vier Francis stuffed Battle's tying 3-point try, and Uzan knocked down his foul shots to seal the win.
Ike finished with 27 points to lead the Bulldogs. Battle had 17.
Given that no program has won more games than Gonzaga and Houston over the past eight seasons, it seemed as if their second-round matchup in the Midwest Region would have been better suited for the second weekend.
Or even the Final Four, where the Bulldogs and Cougars were on opposite sides of the bracket in 2021.
Yet for much of the game, Houston looked every bit deserving of its No. 1 seed and Gonzaga its spot at No. 8. The Cougars asserted their physical dominance on the perennial West Coast Conference power, while Cryer — the Big 12 player of the year — poured in 16 first-half points to give Houston a 35-27 lead at the break.
Roberts, who sprained his ankle in last week's conference tournament, took over in the second half. The winningest player in Cougars history bullied his way to five baskets in the first six minutes, helping the Cougars to maintain their lead.
Gonzaga made one final run down the stretch but could never overtake them.
Takeaways
Gonzaga was second nationally in scoring at 86.7 points per game, and surpassed that in an 89-68 rout of Georgia in the first round. But the Bulldogs finished short of that mark against Houston's trademark defense.
Houston was able to rest its stars during a lopsided win over SIU Edwardsville on Thursday. Those fresh legs seemed to pay off in the closing minutes Saturday, when Gonzaga was trying to climb back into the game.
Up next
The Cougars will play the Boilermakers for a spot in the Elite Eight.
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