Sunday, March 19
Denver, CO
6:40 p.m.
Gonzaga University
vs
6-seed Texas Christian
Photo by: Michael Ciaglo-USA TODAY Sports
MBB and TCU Play for Sweet 16 Berth
3/18/2023 1:02:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Zags play for their eighth straight Sweet 16 trip
3-seed Gonzaga (29-5) vs. 6-seed Texas Christian (22-12)
SUNDAY, MARCH 19 | 6:40 P.M. PT | BALL ARENA | DENVER, CO
TELEVISION: TBS
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE RADIO | LIVE STATS
THE TIP OFF
- Third-seeded Gonzaga faces sixth-seeded Texas Christian on Sunday at 6:40 p.m. Pacific Time, in the second round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament in the Ball Arena in Denver, Colo.
- GU is making its 24th consecutive NCAA Tournament Appearance and 25th overall. The 24 straight berths to the field is the third-longest current streak in the nation (Kansas 33 and Michigan State 25).
- The Zags are 42-24 all-time in the 24 previous NCAA Tournament appearances with 12 trips to the Sweet 16, five trips to the Elite Eight, two Final Fours and two appearances in the national championship game.
- The Zags are 39-22 in the NCAA Tournament under head coach Mark Few with a berth in all 24 seasons.
- Gonzaga is one of only two teams to win its opening-round NCAA Tournament game each of the last 14 tournaments, Kansas is the other at 16. The Zags are the only program to appear in the last seven Sweet 16s.
- The Bulldogs have the most wins in the NCAA Tournament since 2017, going 18-5, Kansas is next at 16-4. GU's 23 wins in the tournament since 2015 are also the most, with Villanova and North Carolina second at 21.
- Gonzaga has earned more NCAA Tournament "units" than any program in the country in the last five seasons.
- The Bulldogs are 33-18 all-time as a single-digit seed, with a 16-2 record in first round games.
- GU plays in Denver in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history. In 2011 in the Pepsi Center, the Zags upset 6-seeded St. John's in the first round, 86-71, before falling to 3-seeded BYU in the second round. In 2016, Gonzaga upset 6-seeded Seton Hall 68-52 and 3-seeded Utah 82-59 in the first and second rounds.
- In 2021-22, top-seeded GU defeated 16th-seeded Georgia State (93-72) and ninth-seeded Memphis (82-78) in Portland, Ore., advancing to the Sweet 16 in San Francisco, where it fell to fourth-seeded Arkansas (68-74).
- GU is one victory from the program's eighth 30-win season, with the previous seven being in the last nine years.
- Gonzaga clinched its 16th straight 25-win season, which is now the NCAA Div. 1 record.
- The Zags lead the country averaging 87.4 points per game and shooting 52.9 percent from the field. The Zags are also first in effective field goal percentage (.592) and top KenPom's ratings in offensive efficiency.
- Drew Timme is third in the nation with 280 made field goals and is seventh with 710 points. His 20.9 points per game rank 15th in the nation. Timme and Anton Watson are first and second in the WCC in field goal percentage at 62.4 and 61.6 percent. Watson is second in two-point field goal percentage at 67.2 percent. Nolan Hickman is second with a 2.40 assist-to-turnover ratio. Anton Watson is second averaging 1.85 steals.
- Timme is six points from moving into fifth in West Coast Conference history in career scoring.
NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTES
- Gonzaga is making its 24th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and 25th overall.
- The 24 straight berths to the field are the third-longest current streak in the nation (Kansas and Michigan State), and the sixth-longest in NCAA Div. 1 history.
The Zags are 42-24 all-time in their 24 NCAA Tournament appearances with 12 trips to the Sweet 16, five trips to the Elite Eight, two Final Fours and two appearances in the national championship game.
- GU is 39-22 in the NCAA Tournament under Mark Few with a berth in all 24 seasons of his head coaching career.
- The Bulldogs have the most wins in the NCAA Tournament since 2017, going 18-5, Kansas is next at 16-4. GU's 23 wins in the tournament since 2015 is also the most, with Villanova and North Carolina second at 21. Duke and Kansas both have 20.
- Gonzaga is one of only two teams to win its opening-round NCAA Tournament game each of the last 14 tournaments, Kansas is the other at 16.
- The Bulldogs are 33-18 all-time as a single-digit seed, with a 16-2 record in first round games as a single-digit seed.
- The Zags receive a three-seed for the third time in program history, with the last coming in 2006 when they advanced to the Sweet 16.
- Gonzaga plays in Denver in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history. In 2011 in the Pepsi Center, the Zags upset 6-seeded St. John's in the first round, 86-71, before falling to 3-seeded BYU in the second round. In 2016, Gonzaga upset 6-seeded Seton Hall 68-52 and 3-seeded Utah 82-59 in the first and second rounds.
- In 2021-22, top-seeded Gonzaga defeated 16th-seeded Georgia State (93-72) and ninth-seeded Memphis (82-78) in Portland, Ore. The Zags then advanced to the Sweet 16 in San Francisco, where it fell to fourth-seeded Arkansas (68-74).
MADE FOR MARCH
- Drew Timme has 225 total points in the NCAA tournament, making him the all-time GU leading scorer in the tourney. He has 88 made field goals in the tournament, which also leads GU in tourney all-time.
- Timme's 48 made free-throws during the tournament tops the program, while his 68 attempted free throws are second. He is fourth with 79 rebounds.
- Anton Watson is tied for third in program history with 14 steals in the NCAA Tournament in his career.
SWEET 16 ALL OVER AGAIN
- Gonzaga is the only program in the country to appear in each of the last seven Sweet 16s.
- Per ESPN stats, the Zags are the fourth program ever to reach seven straight Sweet 16s. They join UCLA, Duke, and North Carolina.
SCOUTING THE HORNED FROGS
- Texas Christian won a thrilling back-and-forth game with 11th-seeded Arizona State Friday, 72-70. A floater by JaKobe Coles with 1.5 seconds remaining gave six-seed TCU the win. TCU (22-12), which trailed 44-37 at halftime and as many as 11 in the second half, did not take a second-half lead until a pair of Damion Baugh free throws with 34 seconds to play. The Horned Frogs' Mike Miles Jr. led all players with 26 points. TCU tied a season-low with five turnovers.
- TCU improved to 7-9 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the second round for the second-straight season.
- Miles Jr. averages a team-high 17.6 points per game. Emanuel Miller adds 12.3 points and a team-leading 6.6 rebounds per outing.
- Baugh scores 12.5 points per game and dishes out a team-best 5.9 assists.
- Baugh and Miles Jr. were both named Second Team All-Big 12 Conference.
- TCU leads the country in fastbreak points averaging 17.68 per game.
SERIES NOTES
- This is the third all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Texas Christian.
- It's the first meeting since a 90-87 TCU win in Fort Worth on Dec. 30, 1998. TCU led by 14 points on three different occasions in the second half before surrendering an 18-6 run that allowed Gonzaga to lead 83-82 with 2:37 to play. The Bulldogs didn't have enough fuel left in the tank to finish the comeback, or hold off TCU center Lee Nailon, who scored nearly half of his team's points with 44 points and 14 rebounds in the three-point victory. The loss proved to be a vital learning experience for a Gonzaga team that would drop only two more games during the regular season before going on a historic NCAA Tournament run that set the table for the school's golden era.
- The Bulldogs are 24-12 against current Big 12 members, including 6-4 in the last 10 all since 2019.
- Since 2016-17, GU is 9-4 against Big 12 competition facing seven of the 10 members in the league with the exception of TCU, Oklahoma State and Kansas State.
UP NEXT
- With a victory, Gonzaga would advance to the West Regional semifinal in Las Vegas, Nev. It would be the Bulldogs' eighth straight appearance in the Sweet 16.
- The Zags would play the winner between second-seeded UCLA and seventh-seeded Northwestern in T-Mobile Arena Thursday.
MILESTONE WATCH
- Drew Timme ranks first in program history with 2,231 points and is tied for fifth with 865 rebounds. He is six points from passing Pepperdine's Colbey Ross for fifth on the WCC all-time career scoring list.
- Anton Watson is seventh all-time in GU history with 159 steals in his career. He needs nine more for sixth. Watson's 63 steals are also two from fourth and six from second for most in a single season.
SUNDAY, MARCH 19 | 6:40 P.M. PT | BALL ARENA | DENVER, CO
TELEVISION: TBS
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE RADIO | LIVE STATS
THE TIP OFF
- Third-seeded Gonzaga faces sixth-seeded Texas Christian on Sunday at 6:40 p.m. Pacific Time, in the second round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament in the Ball Arena in Denver, Colo.
- GU is making its 24th consecutive NCAA Tournament Appearance and 25th overall. The 24 straight berths to the field is the third-longest current streak in the nation (Kansas 33 and Michigan State 25).
- The Zags are 42-24 all-time in the 24 previous NCAA Tournament appearances with 12 trips to the Sweet 16, five trips to the Elite Eight, two Final Fours and two appearances in the national championship game.
- The Zags are 39-22 in the NCAA Tournament under head coach Mark Few with a berth in all 24 seasons.
- Gonzaga is one of only two teams to win its opening-round NCAA Tournament game each of the last 14 tournaments, Kansas is the other at 16. The Zags are the only program to appear in the last seven Sweet 16s.
- The Bulldogs have the most wins in the NCAA Tournament since 2017, going 18-5, Kansas is next at 16-4. GU's 23 wins in the tournament since 2015 are also the most, with Villanova and North Carolina second at 21.
- Gonzaga has earned more NCAA Tournament "units" than any program in the country in the last five seasons.
- The Bulldogs are 33-18 all-time as a single-digit seed, with a 16-2 record in first round games.
- GU plays in Denver in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history. In 2011 in the Pepsi Center, the Zags upset 6-seeded St. John's in the first round, 86-71, before falling to 3-seeded BYU in the second round. In 2016, Gonzaga upset 6-seeded Seton Hall 68-52 and 3-seeded Utah 82-59 in the first and second rounds.
- In 2021-22, top-seeded GU defeated 16th-seeded Georgia State (93-72) and ninth-seeded Memphis (82-78) in Portland, Ore., advancing to the Sweet 16 in San Francisco, where it fell to fourth-seeded Arkansas (68-74).
- GU is one victory from the program's eighth 30-win season, with the previous seven being in the last nine years.
- Gonzaga clinched its 16th straight 25-win season, which is now the NCAA Div. 1 record.
- The Zags lead the country averaging 87.4 points per game and shooting 52.9 percent from the field. The Zags are also first in effective field goal percentage (.592) and top KenPom's ratings in offensive efficiency.
- Drew Timme is third in the nation with 280 made field goals and is seventh with 710 points. His 20.9 points per game rank 15th in the nation. Timme and Anton Watson are first and second in the WCC in field goal percentage at 62.4 and 61.6 percent. Watson is second in two-point field goal percentage at 67.2 percent. Nolan Hickman is second with a 2.40 assist-to-turnover ratio. Anton Watson is second averaging 1.85 steals.
- Timme is six points from moving into fifth in West Coast Conference history in career scoring.
NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTES
- Gonzaga is making its 24th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and 25th overall.
- The 24 straight berths to the field are the third-longest current streak in the nation (Kansas and Michigan State), and the sixth-longest in NCAA Div. 1 history.
The Zags are 42-24 all-time in their 24 NCAA Tournament appearances with 12 trips to the Sweet 16, five trips to the Elite Eight, two Final Fours and two appearances in the national championship game.
- GU is 39-22 in the NCAA Tournament under Mark Few with a berth in all 24 seasons of his head coaching career.
- The Bulldogs have the most wins in the NCAA Tournament since 2017, going 18-5, Kansas is next at 16-4. GU's 23 wins in the tournament since 2015 is also the most, with Villanova and North Carolina second at 21. Duke and Kansas both have 20.
- Gonzaga is one of only two teams to win its opening-round NCAA Tournament game each of the last 14 tournaments, Kansas is the other at 16.
- The Bulldogs are 33-18 all-time as a single-digit seed, with a 16-2 record in first round games as a single-digit seed.
- The Zags receive a three-seed for the third time in program history, with the last coming in 2006 when they advanced to the Sweet 16.
- Gonzaga plays in Denver in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history. In 2011 in the Pepsi Center, the Zags upset 6-seeded St. John's in the first round, 86-71, before falling to 3-seeded BYU in the second round. In 2016, Gonzaga upset 6-seeded Seton Hall 68-52 and 3-seeded Utah 82-59 in the first and second rounds.
- In 2021-22, top-seeded Gonzaga defeated 16th-seeded Georgia State (93-72) and ninth-seeded Memphis (82-78) in Portland, Ore. The Zags then advanced to the Sweet 16 in San Francisco, where it fell to fourth-seeded Arkansas (68-74).
MADE FOR MARCH
- Drew Timme has 225 total points in the NCAA tournament, making him the all-time GU leading scorer in the tourney. He has 88 made field goals in the tournament, which also leads GU in tourney all-time.
- Timme's 48 made free-throws during the tournament tops the program, while his 68 attempted free throws are second. He is fourth with 79 rebounds.
- Anton Watson is tied for third in program history with 14 steals in the NCAA Tournament in his career.
SWEET 16 ALL OVER AGAIN
- Gonzaga is the only program in the country to appear in each of the last seven Sweet 16s.
- Per ESPN stats, the Zags are the fourth program ever to reach seven straight Sweet 16s. They join UCLA, Duke, and North Carolina.
SCOUTING THE HORNED FROGS
- Texas Christian won a thrilling back-and-forth game with 11th-seeded Arizona State Friday, 72-70. A floater by JaKobe Coles with 1.5 seconds remaining gave six-seed TCU the win. TCU (22-12), which trailed 44-37 at halftime and as many as 11 in the second half, did not take a second-half lead until a pair of Damion Baugh free throws with 34 seconds to play. The Horned Frogs' Mike Miles Jr. led all players with 26 points. TCU tied a season-low with five turnovers.
- TCU improved to 7-9 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the second round for the second-straight season.
- Miles Jr. averages a team-high 17.6 points per game. Emanuel Miller adds 12.3 points and a team-leading 6.6 rebounds per outing.
- Baugh scores 12.5 points per game and dishes out a team-best 5.9 assists.
- Baugh and Miles Jr. were both named Second Team All-Big 12 Conference.
- TCU leads the country in fastbreak points averaging 17.68 per game.
SERIES NOTES
- This is the third all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Texas Christian.
- It's the first meeting since a 90-87 TCU win in Fort Worth on Dec. 30, 1998. TCU led by 14 points on three different occasions in the second half before surrendering an 18-6 run that allowed Gonzaga to lead 83-82 with 2:37 to play. The Bulldogs didn't have enough fuel left in the tank to finish the comeback, or hold off TCU center Lee Nailon, who scored nearly half of his team's points with 44 points and 14 rebounds in the three-point victory. The loss proved to be a vital learning experience for a Gonzaga team that would drop only two more games during the regular season before going on a historic NCAA Tournament run that set the table for the school's golden era.
- The Bulldogs are 24-12 against current Big 12 members, including 6-4 in the last 10 all since 2019.
- Since 2016-17, GU is 9-4 against Big 12 competition facing seven of the 10 members in the league with the exception of TCU, Oklahoma State and Kansas State.
UP NEXT
- With a victory, Gonzaga would advance to the West Regional semifinal in Las Vegas, Nev. It would be the Bulldogs' eighth straight appearance in the Sweet 16.
- The Zags would play the winner between second-seeded UCLA and seventh-seeded Northwestern in T-Mobile Arena Thursday.
MILESTONE WATCH
- Drew Timme ranks first in program history with 2,231 points and is tied for fifth with 865 rebounds. He is six points from passing Pepperdine's Colbey Ross for fifth on the WCC all-time career scoring list.
- Anton Watson is seventh all-time in GU history with 159 steals in his career. He needs nine more for sixth. Watson's 63 steals are also two from fourth and six from second for most in a single season.
Players Mentioned
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