HOW SWEET IT IS!
Houston withstands Gonzaga’s push to punch Sweet 16 ticket
Mar 23, 2025, 12:21 pm
HOW SWEET IT IS!
LJ Cryer matched a career high with 30 points, including two free throws with 14.2 seconds left, and No. 1 seed Houston held on to beat eighth-seeded Gonzaga 81-76 on Saturday night to reach the Sweet 16 for the sixth straight NCAA Tournament.
J'Wan Roberts added 18 points and Milos Uzan made two last free throws with 2.1 seconds left, giving the Cougars (32-4) their 15th consecutive win and pushing them into a regional semifinal against No. 4 seed Purdue on Friday night in Indianapolis.
Houston also ended Gonzaga's run of nine straight Sweet 16s, which had been the longest active streak in the nation.
“It's not just winning the game," Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson said. "It's beating a great program like Gonzaga.”
The Bulldogs (26-9) trailed 76-67 with just over 2 minutes to go when Graham Ike made two free throws to start their comeback bid, and most of it wound up coming at the foul line. And when Uzan turned the ball over and Khalif Battle made two free throws of his own, the Bulldogs had pulled to 77-76 with 21 seconds remaining.
Houston got the ball to Cryer, who was fouled, and he made both of his free throws to extend the lead. At the other end, Ja'Vier Francis stuffed Battle's tying 3-point try from the corner, and Uzan knocked down his foul shots to seal the win.
“Gonzaga is as good as anyone we've played all year,” Sampson said. “Had they been seeded somewhere else, that's a team that could have had a chance to get to the Elite Eight, or maybe the Final Four. They're that good.”
Ike finished with 27 points for the Bulldogs. Battle scored 17 and Ryan Nembhard had 10 points and 11 assists.
“It ended up being just a great, great basketball game, especially the way our guys fought their way back into it. I'm so proud of the way they hung with it,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “Houston was everything and more than we thought it would be.”
Given that no program has won more games than Gonzaga and Houston over the past eight seasons, it seemed as if their second-round matchup in the Midwest Region would have been better suited for the second weekend.
Or even the Final Four, where the Bulldogs and Cougars were on opposite sides of the bracket in 2021.
Yet for much of the game, Houston looked every bit deserving of its No. 1 seed and Gonzaga its spot at No. 8. The Cougars asserted their physical dominance on the perennial West Coast power, while Cryer — the Big 12 player of the year — poured in 16 first-half points to give Houston a 35-27 lead at the break.
Roberts, who sprained his ankle in last week's conference tournament, took over in the second half. The winningest player in Cougars history began bullying his way for baskets, and that allowed the Cougars to maintain their lead.
Gonzaga made one final run down the stretch but could never overtake them.
Gonzaga was second nationally in scoring at 86.7 points per game, and surpassed that in an 89-68 rout of Georgia in the first round. But the Bulldogs finished short of that mark against Houston's trademark defense.
Houston was able to rest its stars during a lopsided win over SIU Edwardsville on Thursday. Those fresh legs seemed to pay off in the closing minutes Saturday, when Gonzaga was trying to climb back into the game.
The Cougars will play the Boilermakers for a spot in the Elite Eight.
Just one week ago, it looked like the Astros’ bats might finally be waking up. There was a noticeable uptick in offensive numbers, optimism in the air, and a belief creeping in that Houston could be on the verge of an offensive breakthrough. But if there was any momentum building, it collapsed over the past week.
In their latest seven-game stretch, the Astros were near the bottom of the league in virtually every key offensive metric — 24th in runs scored, 27th in OPS (.610), and 26th in slugging percentage (.337). These numbers aren't just a one-week blip. They are more aligned with the team’s season-long struggles, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to argue that the Astros are simply off to a slow start. The numbers don’t lie: 25th in home runs (39), 20th in OPS (.689), 23rd in slugging (.372), and 20th in total runs.
The hope was that Houston’s offense would eventually climb into the top 10. That no longer feels realistic. What’s becoming clearer each week is that this is a bottom-third offense — and the only thing keeping them competitive is elite pitching.
Pitching keeps the ship afloat
While the bats have sputtered, the arms have delivered. The Astros currently rank 7th in team ERA (3.39), 1st in WHIP (1.12), and 2nd in opponent batting average (.212). That’s championship-caliber stuff. But as the American League hierarchy takes shape, it’s worth noting that contenders like the Yankees and Tigers boast both top-five pitching and offense — a balance the Astros currently can’t come close to matching.
Core hitters going quiet
So what’s wrong with the offense? Much of it comes down to three players who were supposed to be key contributors: Jose Altuve, Christian Walker, and Yainer Diaz. All three rank in the bottom 30 in MLB in OPS.
For Altuve, the struggles are especially glaring. The month of May has been a black hole for the veteran. He has yet to hit a home run or drive in a run this month. His season numbers (.241/.296/.646) are troubling enough, but the trend line is even worse:
That last stretch has Altuve ranked with the 8th worst OPS (.537) in all of baseball over the last month.
Yet despite the slump — and a 35-year-old body showing signs of wear — Altuve continues to be penciled into the lineup almost daily. Even after missing a game on May 11th with hamstring tightness, he returned the next day. Manager Joe Espada’s reluctance to give Altuve extended rest is becoming a storyline of its own. If he continues to produce at this level, it will be hard to justify keeping him at the top of the lineup.
Rotation takes a blow
The week delivered more bad news — this time on the injury front. The Astros announced that right-hander Hayden Wesneski will miss the remainder of the season and require Tommy John surgery. What makes the injury particularly frustrating is that the signs were there. Decreased velocity led to a longer rest period, but in his return start, the team allowed him to throw 40 pitches in the first inning. That start would be his last of the season.
With Wesneski out, the pressure now shifts to Lance McCullers, whose return was once seen as a bonus but now feels like a necessity. Spencer Arrighetti’s comeback becomes more critical as well. The Astros' rotation has depth, but the margin for error just got thinner.
The road ahead
The American League isn’t dominated by a juggernaut, which gives the Astros some breathing room. But the Yankees and Tigers are pulling away in terms of balance and consistency — the very thing Houston has lacked.
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