Texas aims to dominate inside, leveraging rebounds and physicality. Can their "bully ball" strategy overcome Gonzaga's favorites status for an NCAA upset?
The Texas Longhorns are making a push toward passing through the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in more than a decade.
Gonzaga stands in their way and is a 6.5-point favorite in the 6:10 p.m. CT matchup in Portland. How can the 11-seed Longhorns pull off the upset?
By being bullies.
Texas is bucking a trend in the way it plays offens: It doesn’t shoot threes.
Instead, the Longhorns win when they pound away inside and succeed with muscle. In the first-round win over BYU, UT totaled 40 rebounds and five blocks.
A key number: The Longhorns are 13-1 when totaling 36 or more rebounds in a game.
Add in the Longhorns' ability to get to the free-throw line, and the formula is clear.
There are issues with Texas' ball-handling, as evidenced in their nail-biting First Four win, when they almost lost a huge lead because they barely handled NC State's press defense.
But Tramon Mark was a clutch shooter down the stretch there. And in the win over BYU, Martas Vokietaitis was dominant with 23 points and 16 rebounds. Oh, and Dailyn Swain is averaging a team-leading 17.6 points per game for the Longhorns.
So there is firepower here.
The expected starting Lineups for Gonzaga vs. Texas?
Gonzaga Bulldogs
- G Adam Miller
- G Jalen Warley
- G Mario Saint-Supery
- F Emmanuel Innocenti
- F Graham Ike
Texas Longhorns
- G Jordan Pope
- G Dailyn Swain
- G Tramon Mark
- F Camden Heide
- F Matas Vokietaitis
Texas has to find a way
Gonzaga's Ike is an All-America player, but the Zags will be without their top star Braden Huff due to injury. Can the Longhorns muscle up against the Gonzaga freshmen guard tandem to keep the point total down? (Texas is 5-11 this year when allowing more than 71 points).
The smart prediction, we admit, lands on a Gonzaga win. But a Texas upset can be in play ... if the Longhorns call pull off "bully ball.''