The last time Gonzaga failed to make the NCAA tournament’s second weekend, Donald Trump was best known as host of The Apprentice, Pharrell’s “Happy” was unavoidable on the radio and TikTok didn’t yet exist.
That record-tying streak came to a hard-fought, heartbreaking halt Saturday night in Wichita.
Houston denied eighth-seeded Gonzaga a 10th straight appearance in the Sweet 16, opening a double-digit lead midway through the first half and weathering surge after surge from the Zags. What was once a 14-point margin dwindled to one in the final seconds before the Cougars steadied themselves and escaped with an 81-76 victory.
L.J. Cryer made two clutch free throws with 14.2 seconds to go to extend Houston’s lead to three. Then Gonzaga could not get a shot off cleanly needing a 3-pointer to tie on its final possession.
The play appeared to call for a dribble handoff from center Graham Ike to point guard Ryan Nembhard but Houston’s Milos Uzan sniffed it out and broke it up. In desperation, Ike found guard Khalif Battle, but battle dribbled into heavy traffic and was stripped before he could even attempt a last-gasp corner 3-pointer.
Gonzaga shot 50% from the field and 9-for-20 from behind the arc, but not even that display of firepower against Houston’s vaunted defense was enough. The Zags couldn’t stop guard L.J. Cryer or forward J’Wan Roberts, who combined for 48 points. The Cougars also gobbled up 13 offensive boards and converted many of those into second-chance points.
While Houston advances to the Midwest Regional semifinals to play a semi-road game against fourth-seeded Purdue in Indianapolis, Gonzaga will watch the Sweet 16 from home for the first time since 2014. Their nine consecutive Sweet 16 appearances from 2015-2024 equaled Duke (1998-2006) and North Carolina (1985-93) for the longest streaks after the NCAA tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
It’s a testament to Gonzaga’s consistency under Mark Few that the Zags have been this good for this long. They last failed to make the NCAA tournament way back in 1998. They last did not win at least one NCAA tournament game in 2007. The only achievement missing from their trophy case remains a national championship.
“They’re what every program aspires to be, have that consistency year to year,” Sampson said Friday. “When you are playing Gonzaga, you are playing one of the elite programs in the history of this game, and I really mean that.”
When Gonzaga looks back at why its Sweet 16 streak ended this March, the focus shouldn’t be on any mistakes the Zags made Saturday night. The real culprit is the late leads that Gonzaga let slip away during the regular season against Kentucky, UCLA and West Virginia. Win even one of those, and the Zags aren’t facing a juggernaut No. 1 seed in the second round. Their round of 32 opponent would have been someone much more beatable.
It surely didn’t make Houston happy on Selection Sunday when Gonzaga’s name appeared as a potential second-round draw. Three of the Zags’ eight losses came in overtime. The other five were by a total of 24 points combined. Gonzaga was a middling seed by resume but a top-10 team according to KenPom, the NET and other major predictive metrics.
To its credit, Houston didn’t complain. The Cougars took care of business.
And now who has the longest active Sweet 16 streak in college basketball with six in a row? The answer, of course, is Houston.
