SAN FRANCISCO — For No. 1 seed Gonzaga and No. 4 seed Arkansas, the road to the Sweet 16 has been a bit tougher than expected. The two teams will face off in San Francisco on Thursday night, with a trip to the Elite 8 on the line.
Gonzaga enters the game after a second-round win over Memphis (82-78) and an opening win over Georgia State (93-72). The Zags were tested in both games and had to rely on junior Drew Timme to carry the team.
Arkansas also had some struggles in the early rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The Razorbacks beat New Mexico State (53-48) in the second round and Vermont (75-71) in round one. Arkansas relied heavily on its defense against New Mexico State as they struggled to put points on the board.
The winner of the game moves onto the Elite 8 where they will face the winner of No. 2 Duke vs No. 3 Texas Tech.
Game time and how to watch
For those of you wondering what channel the Gonzaga-Arkansas men’s basketball game is on, here are the details:
The Gonzaga vs Arkansas NCAA Tournament game will be aired on CBS. For viewers in the Spokane market, you can watch the game on KREM 2.
Tipoff is scheduled for 4:09 p.m. PDT on Thursday, March 24. The game will be played at Chase Center in San Francisco.
The game will also stream live on mobile, tablet, and web with the NCAA’s March Madness Live. Live streams are also available on Roku, Fire TV, and Apple TV.
KREM 2 game day schedule
Join KREM 2 for exclusive pregame coverage of the Gonzaga-Arizona Sweet 16 matchup. KREM 2 will be live in San Francisco with a Bulldog Madness special at 3 p.m. followed by a special edition of KREM 2 News at 3:30 p.m. that will take you into CBS coverage of the game.
3:00 p.m. – Bulldog Madness Special
3:30 p.m. – KREM 2 News Special Edition
4:00 p.m. – Arkansas vs Gonzaga
Bulldogs vs Razorbacks
The Gonzaga Bulldogs are back in the Sweet 16 for the seventh year in a row, thanks in large part to Timme. The junior star for the Zags has come up big in each of the team’s tournament games so far.
Timme scored 21 of his 25 points in the second half against Memphis on Saturday to help Gonzaga overcome a 10-point halftime deficit. In the first round, Timme scored 32 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as Gonzaga overcame first-half struggles against Georgia State.
The Zags will also look to Chet Holmgren to step up against Arkansas. The freshman had a spectacular game in the first round with 19 points, 17 rebounds, and seven blocks. He got into foul trouble in round two, and eventually fouled out with nine points, nine rebounds and four blocks.
Andrew Nembhard has been solid in the tournament. The senior guard had 23 points and 5 assists for the Zags on Saturday, and 9 points and 11 assists in round one.
The Arkansas Razorbacks are back in the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row. The path has not been easy as the offense has struggled so far in the tournament. The Razorbacks also had 19 turnovers in their last game.
Arkansas is led by guard JD Notae who is averaging 18.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists this season. He’s also a defensive threat. Notae had nine steals against New Mexico State before he fouled out.
