No. 8 Gonzaga entered the NCAA Tournament with nine consecutive trips to the Sweet 16, the longest streak in the country. That run is now over, and the team now with the longest Sweet 16 streak?
The one that beat the Zags on Saturday night.
No. 1 seed Houston used a dazzling offensive performance and held off a late Gonzaga surge for an 81-76 win in one of the most anticipated matchups of the second round and advance to their sixth consecutive Sweet 16.
It was a true clash of styles in Wichita. Houston entered the night with the best scoring defense in the country at 57.9 points allowed per game. Gonzaga had the second-best scoring offense in the country at 86.7 points per game.
Offense ended up being the name of the game, but it was Houston with the hot hand, and Gonzaga didn’t have enough time to catch up. The Cougars didn’t have the better shooting percentage, more 3-pointers or more free throws, but they controlled the offensive glass for second-chance opportunities. And Gonzaga learned the worst thing it could do was let elite teams get multiple cracks at scoring.
Two days after Gonzaga came out firing out of the gates against Georgia, the Bulldogs got a little dose of their own medicine when Houston came out firing. Cryer, the Big 12’s best perimeter shooter, drilled back-to-back 3-pointers and the Cougars were up 10-2 four minutes in.
Houston was rolling and led by as much as 14 points in the first half while Cryer continued to knock down shots, picking up 16 of his team’s first 31 points. Gonzaga found a way to slow down the Midwest region’s No. 1 seed and its offense found a flow to cut the deficit to eight points at halftime.
On the back of Graham Ike, Gonzaga’s offense looked like its normal self in the second half. The only problem was Houston was just as, if not more, effective from the field. Anytime Gonzaga got a big basket in an attempt to turn the tide, Houston responded right back to keep the lead in the double-digit range.
After dealing with Houston’s answers for nearly the entire second half, Gonzaga found a crack in the door with a 11-1 run to make it a one-point game with 21 seconds left. But Cryer, an excellent free throw shooter, made two free throws and the Bulldogs couldn’t get a final shot off. Cryer finished with a game-high 30 points.
The second round exit is the first time Gonzaga won’t play in the second weekend of March Madness since 2014, when it also lost in the same round as a No. 8 seed against No. 1 seed Arizona.
Winners of 15 consecutive games − the longest streak in the country − Houston now heads to Indianapolis and will be the unofficial road team against Purdue in the Sweet 16 on Friday.