PORTLAND, Ore. — Coming off its 17th consecutive win in round one, Gonzaga has an opportunity to get back to the Sweet 16 as it faces 11-seeded Texas in the round of 32 on Saturday.

The 3-seeded Bulldogs (31-3) got past frisky 14-seed Kennesaw State, 73-64, after the Longhorns (20-14) upset 6-seeded BYU, 79-71, on Thursday, setting up Saturday’s 4:10 p.m. PT tipoff from the Moda Center.

Follow along with us as we track the highlights and turning points of the second round matchup.

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Despite leading by as many as eight, Gonzaga went into the half trailing Texas, 35-33, after the Longhorns ended the half on a 15-5 scoring run.

Graham Ike led all scorers with 11 points to go along with three assists. The All-American played the entire 20-minute period. Emmanuel Inncoenti, who played 19 minutes in the first half, had seven points. Jalen Warley added seven points, five rebounds and three assists.

Gonzaga shot 15-of-29 from the field, but Texas went 16-of-31 and only committed one turnover to the Zags’ four. Jordan Pope led the Longhorns with nine points. The two teams combined for 46 paint points.

First Half Pulse

The contingent of Gonzaga fans who made the trip to the Moda Center for Saturday’s game didn’t have to wait nearly as long for their team to find its groove offensively as they did Thursday.

The Longhorns’ length and athleticism wasn’t too much to handle early on for the Zags, who hardly had any trouble generating clean looks around the rim in the first half. Sean Miller’s constant reminders from the sideline about how he wanted his guys to defend weren’t getting through, either, as Ike and company found ways to get the ball in the painted area and capitalize with points.

One play late in the first half perfectly encapsulated the kind of 20 minutes it had been for Miller and company. As Texas’ head coach motioned for his players to double-team Ike, he tried to warn them about Warley cutting right down the middle of the lane. Despite the Longhorns’ pressure on Ike, Warley went right down the middle of the lane and got an easy two, and all Miller could do was put his hands on his knees in response.

That bucket put the Bulldogs up six with about 3 and a half minutes left until halftime. The Longhorns gave the Zags a taste of their own medicine after that, though, with a couple of post-ups for Matas Vokietaitis that helped trim Texas’ lead.

Gonzaga’s offense stalled momentarily, and it was enough to flip the script going into halftime as Texas rattled off a 15-5 scoring run to lead, 35-33, at the intermission break.

Before The TipStarting lineups

Gonzaga trotted out a familiar starting five in Mario Saint-Supéry, Adam Miller, Emmaneul Innocenti, Jalen Warley and Graham Ike for Saturday’s game. The Zags entered the second round with a 5-1 record when those five players start.

Texas, meanwhile, came out with Jordan Pope, Tramon Mark, Dailyn Swain, Camden Heide and Matas Vokietaitis. The Longhorns went 16-11 with that lineup going into Saturday.

Pregame Crowd

Based on the number of Gonzaga fans who showed up for the Zags’ first round game, it was reasonable to assume Bulldogs followers would be in full force once again on Saturday.

That was the case for the most part, but overall, the attendance for the second round matchup was lower than it was for Thursday’s first round games.

Mark Few vs. Sean Miller

Saturday’s contest is the first NCAA Tournament battle between Gonzaga and Texas, though it’s not the first time the two teams’ head coaches have shared a sideline as competitors in the big dance.

Texas’ Sean Miller was the head coach at Xavier when the 14-seeded Musketeers gave Adam Morrison and company everything they could handle in their 2006 first round game from Salt Lake City, only for the Zags to prevail in a 79-75 final. Years later, though, Miller’s Arizona squad got the better of Mark Few’s team in a second round affair from San Diego, where the 1-seeded Wildcats blitzed the 8-seeded Zags in an 84-61 final in the 2014 NCAA Tournament.

Now, Miller and Few go head-to-head with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line, once again.

The Zags are seeking their 10th trip to the second weekend since 2015, while the Longhorns are striving for their second Sweet 16 under a first-year head coach in a four-year span (Rodney Terry guided Texas to the Elite Eight in 2023).