Houston Cougars and Gonzaga Bulldogs play in NCAA Tournament second round

By Canadian Press on March 22, 2025.

Gonzaga Bulldogs (26-8, 16-4 WCC) vs. Houston Cougars (31-4, 22-1 Big 12)

Wichita, Kansas; Saturday, 8:40 p.m. EDT

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Cougars -5.5; over/under is 139.5

BOTTOM LINE: No. 2 Houston squares off against No. 24 Gonzaga in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Cougars are 22-1 against Big 12 opponents and 9-3 in non-conference play. Houston has a 29-4 record against opponents over .500.

The Bulldogs are 16-4 in WCC play. Gonzaga ranks fourth in the WCC allowing 69.6 points while holding opponents to 41.2% shooting.

Houston’s average of 8.1 made 3-pointers per game this season is only 0.8 more made shots on average than the 7.3 per game Gonzaga gives up. Gonzaga has shot at a 50.1% clip from the field this season, 12.0 percentage points higher than the 38.1% shooting opponents of Houston have averaged.

TOP PERFORMERS: LJ Cryer is averaging 15.2 points for the Cougars. Milos Uzan is averaging 14.7 points over the last 10 games.

Graham Ike is scoring 17.0 points per game with 7.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists for the Bulldogs. Khalif Battle is averaging 15.3 points and 1.6 steals over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cougars: 10-0, averaging 72.1 points, 32.0 rebounds, 9.0 assists, 8.2 steals and 4.3 blocks per game while shooting 44.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 59.5 points per game.

Bulldogs: 9-1, averaging 84.6 points, 33.4 rebounds, 20.4 assists, 7.6 steals and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting 51.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.6 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press

16
-15