Texas Topples Gonzaga, 74-68, in Round of 32
The 11-seed Longhorns knocked out third-seeded Gonzaga behind a balanced, efficient offensive performance that the Bulldogs' depleted frontcourt could never match.
Matas Vokietaitis was the quiet engine Texas needed: 15 points, nine rebounds, 6-of-10 from the field, and three made free throws in 31 minutes against a Gonzaga interior that was already playing without Braden Huff. He did not take over the game so much as he steadily took it apart, winning his matchups on both ends and keeping the Longhorns ahead every time Gonzaga threatened to level it.
Jordan Pope provided the perimeter pressure that kept the defense from keying exclusively on Vokietaitis, finishing with 17 points on 7-of-18 shooting and three threes, while Nic Codie added 12 points on 5-of-6 from the field in 26 minutes off the bench, giving Texas a third dependable scorer that Gonzaga had no clean answer for.
Graham Ike put up 25 points but needed 22 field goal attempts to get there, and his 45.0 percent team shooting rate could not compensate for a Gonzaga squad missing Huff's 17.8 combined points per game; Texas shot 50 percent as a team and committed just five turnovers to Gonzaga's seven, which in a six-point game is not a footnote but a bottom line.
TexasNo. 11
GonzagaNo. 3