Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs are looking to advance to the Sweet 16 for the 15th time in program history, after having their nine year streak of making the second weekend snapped last year against Houston.
This year it is another power conference program from the state of Texas that stands in Gonzaga's way. The Texas Longhorns, who snuck into the NCAA Tournament as a No. 11 play-in seed, will battle Gonzaga on Saturday after picking up wins over NC State and No. 6 seed BYU to advance to the Round of 32.
The Longhorns needed a Tramon Mark game-winner with 1.1 seconds left to knock out the Wolfpack and secure a spot in the 64 team field. After a trip from Dayton to Portland, however, Texas absolutely rolled Kevin Young and No. 6 BYU, leading for 39 minutes and seven seconds in the 79-71 victory.
That momentum could serve the Longhorns well against a Gonzaga team that had to fight really hard to escape No. 14 seed Kennesaw State on Thursday night.
While the Zags made it to the Round of 32 in one piece, it wasn't easy against a physical, scrappy Kennesaw State team. Graham Ike (19 points) Davis Fogle (17) and Jalen Warley (12 points, 12 rebounds) got it done on a night when Gonzaga's offense once again was nowhere to be found in the first half.
Don't Mess with Texas
Texas boasts an incredibly efficient offense under Sean Miller, led by 6'7 forward Dailyn Swain (17.6 points) and 7'0 center Matas Vokietaitis (15.7) although Mark (13.8) and Jordan Pope (13) help round out the squad as key contributors in the backcourt.
The Longhorns sat 17-9 on Feb. 17 and were widely considered a lock to make the NCAA Tournament. However, they lost four of their last five games to finish the regular season 9-9 and in tenth place in the SEC – and then lost to No. 15 seed Ole Miss in the first game of the conference tournament.
Texas will test Gonzaga's excellent wing defenders with their athleticism and physicality. The Zags will need big games defensively from Warley, Emmanuel Innocenti, and Tyon Grant-Foster to keep this Longhorns team from racking up 80+ points – something they've already done 21 times this year.
Below is a look at how to watch Saturday's matchup between Gonzaga and Texas:
How to watch Gonzaga vs. Texas
Date:Saturday, March 21
Gametime: 4:10 p.m. PT
Where: Moda Center (Portland, OR)
Howtolisten: 96.1 FM (local) and Varsity Sports App
Howtowatch: TBS
Live stream:NCAA March Madness Live | Max (with subscription) | FuboTV, Sling, YouTube TV (via TBS)
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/gonzaga as How to watch Gonzaga vs. Texas: TV channel, live stream, game time for Round of 32 matchup.