Gonzaga players break down keys to victory vs. Houston in NCAA Tournament

The Bulldogs will strive to control the pace against the Cougars' methodical and stifling style of play

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Graham Ike (13) defends Georgia Bulldogs forward Asa Newell (14) in the first half of a first round men’s NCAA Tournament game at Intrust Bank Arena / Nick Tre. Smith-Imagn Images

Gonzaga Bulldogs wing Dusty Stromer sent a text message to Houston Cougars guard Mercy Miller shortly after it was revealed that their teams were placed in the same region for the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

Stromer and Miller grew up in Sherman Oaks, California, where they were teammates on the Notre Dame High School boy's basketball team. Though they were together on varsity for just one season, they wound up forming quite a "big 3" with Caleb Foster, a former four-star recruit and currently a sophomore on the Duke Blue Devils' roster.

Led by their stud trio, the Knights won their final six games of the 2022-23 season to take home the California Division I boys’ basketball state championship, beating out Bronny James and Sierra Canyon in the regional finals before outlasting Andrew McKeever (Saint Mary's) and Livermore Granada in the state final. Stromer only had three points in the championship game, but the Knights held on for a 67-58 victory over the Matadors behind 33 points from Foster and 17 from Miller.

Just over two years later, Stromer and Miller are on opposite sides in the NCAA Tournament, as the 8-seeded Bulldogs (26-8, 14-4 WCC) battle the 1-seeded Cougars (31-4, 19-1 Big 12) in a second-round matchup from Wichita, Kansas, on Saturday.

"Now we're playing against each other to go to the Sweet 16," Stromer said of him and Miller. "It's pretty special."

Miller, also a four-star recruit at the time, was the focal point of one of the Knights' most memorable moments from their championship season. In a game against Sierra Canyon prior to the playoffs, the 6-foot-4 guard drove down the lane and punched home a ferocious one-hand dunk over a Sierra Canyon player, sending his team's bench into a frenzy as Stromer put his hands on his head in disbelief over what he just witnessed from his teammate.

"That was one of the craziest dunks I've seen in person," Stromer recalled. "So let's hope he doesn't have any of those tomorrow."

As Stromer and Gonzaga prepare for what he anticipates will be "a fistfight" against Houston, here's more on what the sophomore wing and his teammates can't — and must — have happen tomorrow if they're to advance to the program's 10th consecutive Sweet 16.

Dictate the pace — or get comfortable in Houston's

No two other teams in the country have more experience in the Sweet 16 than the Bulldogs and Cougars have accumulated over the last decade, though they've got the job done it completely different ways.

Under head coach Mark Few, Gonzaga has historically been one of the most efficient teams in the country on the offensive end of the floor. The Bulldogs have ranked top 10 in adjusted offensive efficiency in each of the past six seasons on KenPom.com, with a seventh-straight likely on the way as the No. 7-ranked offense heading into Saturday. Gonzaga also boasts the fifth-lowest turnover rate in the country.

On the other side, the Cougars have been known to wear down their opponent through stifling defense and a controlled tempo on offense. During Houston's current run of five straight trips to the Sweet 16 under Kelvin Sampson, it finished each campaign ranked in the top 11 in adjusted defensive efficiency. This season, the Cougars are No. 2 in the country in that category.

Offensively, Houston ranks 359th in adjusted tempo, which is just ahead of the Gaels (360th). For comparison, Gonzaga is No. 44 in tempo according to KenPom. Slower-paced teams can have an advantage when it comes to dictating the pace of a game, as Saint Mary's continues to prove time and time again against the Bulldogs.

"We're definitely gonna have to play their style," Nolan Hickman said of the matchup with Houston. "Definitely gonna have to match their physicality, their intensity. But I think we've been doing that these last two games with Georgia and Saint Mary's. So I feel like we just got turned up a little bit more for Houston."

Creating turnovers by applying pressure on the ball has helped Gonzaga thwart some of what Saint Mary's has wanted to do on the offensive end of the floor over the years, as evidenced by the West Coast Conference tournament championship game between the Zags and Gaels. Despite a poor night from behind the arc, Gonzaga was able to score 20 points off 18 turnovers committed by Saint Mary's. Against Georgia, the Bulldogs had 25 points off 13 turnovers.

"We just want to look forward to pushing the ball," Graham Ike said. "If we can keep them off the glass and just have a one-shot defensively, push it up the floor, I feel like we can get cross-matchups (mismatches). We play fast. It'll be interesting to see how that goes."

"There's definitely some little tendencies we can take advantage of," Ben Gregg said. "But I mean, they're so solid at what they do. It reminds me a lot of Saint Mary's. [Houston] is just more athletic."

"Cut off their water" from the 3-point line

For Gonzaga, the phrase "cut off the water" refers to taking away what the other team does well on the offensive end of the floor. In the case of the Cougars, the Zags will need to limit the open looks they allow their opponent from long range.

Houston has been one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the country this season, knocking down 39.6% of its looks from downtown. That's the fifth-best mark from 3-point range in the country. Three players shoot 42% or better from long range on a minimum of 3.5 attempts per game: Milos Uzan (43.5%), Emmanuel Sharp (42.5%) and LJ Cryer (42.3%).

"We got to cut off their water from 3," said Braden Huff. "They've got some really good shooters behind the arc, so we can't even let them get those attempts up because otherwise, they've been making a lot of those so, we gotta stop that early and often."

Gonzaga has covered the 3-point line well this season, allowing its opponents to knock down just 29.8% of its looks from deep. In fact, its last two opponents went a combined 5-for-42 (11.9%) from deep. The only problem for the Zags is, the Cougars have been able to withstand poor shooting nights already this season — they're 7-0 in 2024-25 when they shoot below 30% from 3-point land.

"Shut their water off," Stromer said. "Don't give them any easy ones early."

Being physically as well as mentally tough against Houston's swarming pressure

As the Bulldogs prepare to meet the Cougars' physicality on both ends of the floor, they're also readying for quite a mental battle. Teams that rely heavily on ball-screen actions typically succumb to Houston's relentless trap schemes and are forced into either long skip passes or costly live-ball turnovers that lead to points the other way for the Cougars.

Gonzaga guard Ryan Nembhard has handled all sorts of pressure as the nation's leader in assists, but this matchup will require his teammates to relieve pressure whenever Houston decides to swarm the Bulldogs' floor general.

"Just hitting singles," Nembhard said was the key to beating Houston's pressure. "Just being solid, not trying to turn the ball over. I think we've been good all year, but this will be a different challenge. They're super handsy, super physical. We'll have to be very solid on that side of the ball."

Mickey Mantle once said that if he played baseball to hit singles like Pete Rose did, Mantle's career would've been far less impressive in the end. Safe to say Nembhard and company don't really care about style points when there's a trip to the Sweet 16 at stake, though, so maybe don't expect as many fireworks to go off Saturday like they were on Thursday in the matchup with Georgia.

"Just getting to the second and third action," said Nolan Hickman on the key to beating Houston's pressure. "A lot of teams, they haven't really experienced guarding multiple actions continuously, like our offense is so, it should be fun to see."

Don't let Cryer get hot

This isn't the same Cryer that Gonzaga briefly saw suit up in the 2021 national championship game against Baylor, where the 6-foot-1 guard spent his first three seasons before transferring to Houston for his final two years of eligibility.

Cryer, who logged one minute during the Bears' title game win over the Zags, has averaged over 15 points in each of the last three seasons. He leads Houston in scoring at 15.2 points per game and knocks down 90.5% of his free throw attempts. Cryer has scored 20 or more points 10 times this season, most recently against Baylor on March 8 in a 23-point performance.

"Hell of a player man," Nembhard said of Cryer. "Makes tough shots. A very experienced guy so, we had a great matchup [in the 2023 NCAA Tournament] and so, I'm looking forward to another team matchup, not necessarily a one-on-one matchup."

The last time Nembhard and Cryer saw each other in the tournament was just over two years ago, when both delivered spectacular performances in a thrilling second-round matchup between Nembhard's Creighton Bluejays and Cryer's Bears. Nembhard had 30 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field, including 10-of-10 at the free-throw line, to lift his team past Baylor and Cryer, who also had 30 points on 13-of-22 from the floor.

"He's steering the ship for Gonzaga right now," Cryer said of Nembhard. "That game we played — I didn't know he could score like that. It kind of took us for a little surprise, but he's a tremendous passer, and he's definitely leading the team right now."

MORE GONZAGA NEWS & ANALYSIS

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