Third-seeded Gonzaga earned its 17th consecutive opening-round win in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday. No. 11 Texas advanced to the second round for the fourth time in the past five years.
Two high-powered offenses will clash when the Zags and Longhorns meet in the second round Saturday, with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line. It would be Gonzaga’s third trip to the round of 16 since 2022 and its 14th all-time trip to the Sweet 16. It would be Texas’ 15th appearance in the round and its first since 2023.
Gonzaga (31-3) leads the West Coast Conference with 84.8 points a game. It’s also home to the league’s top scorer, WCC Player of the Year Graham Ike, who averages 19.7 points a night and has a conference-best 14 double-doubles. He’s also No. 2 in the WCC with 8.2 rebounds a game.
Ike led the way with 19 points and eight rebounds in the Zags’ 73-64 win over No. 14 Kennesaw State in the first round. Six-foot-7 freshman Davis Fogle added 17 points off the bench, while 6-foot-7 senior Jalen Warley finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Texas (20-14) is averaging 83.2 points a game, which ranks No. 7 in the SEC. The Longhorns have four players who average at least 13 points a game, including 7-foot center Matas Vokietaitis, who had a career night in a 79-71 win over No. 6 BYU on Thursday.
Vokietaitis led the Longhorns with 23 points and a career-high 16 rebounds and shot a career-best 10-for-17 from the floor. He’s the first player in program history to put up at least 20 points and 15 rebounds in an NCAA Tournament game.
Vokietaitis is No. 2 on the team with 15.7 points and 7.1 rebounds a game. Six-foot-8 junior Dailyn Swain leads Texas with 17.6 points and 7.5 rebounds a night.
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Gonzaga vs. Texas Odds
Gonzaga is a 6.5-point college basketball betting odds favorite on BetMGM as of this writing, and the Over/Under is at 147.5 points.
The Moneyline is at -250 for the Zags and +200 for Texas.
Gonzaga leads the all-time series 4-1, but Texas won the most recent meeting in 2022.
Gonzaga vs. Texas On TV
The second-round NCAA Tournament game featuring No. 3 Gonzaga and No. 11 Texas will be televised on TBS.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET.
Gonzaga vs. Texas Prediction
I predict Gonzaga wins 75-72.
The reality is that stingy defense and great coaching by Mark Few saved Gonzaga from suffering a first-round upset against an athletic squad from Kennesaw State. The Zags’ simple adjustment to employ pump fakes against one of the best shot-blocking teams in the country was the difference.
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Gonzaga held Kennesaw State to 64 points and 36% from the floor, but the Owls’ 3-point defense almost led to an upset. The Zags finished the game 3-for-18 from 3-point range. Luckily for them, Kennesaw State was 3-for-17 from beyond the arc.
I don’t expect Gonzaga to be that cold from the perimeter again, and Ike and company are going to be uber motivated to keep this run going. The Zags have played in two national championship games in program history, but they’ve never won a national championship.
