No. 1 Houston Beats No. 8 Gonzaga, Thrills CBB Fans with March Madness Sweet 16 Berth

Houston is headed to the Sweet 16 once again.

The No. 1 seed Cougars survived a late scare during an 81-76 win over No. 8 seed Gonzaga in Saturday night's second-round March Madness matchup.

Houston never trailed during the contest and led by as many as 14 points, but its lead was cut to just one point with 21 seconds remaining in the second half.

Following a pair of free throws from the Cougars' L.J. Cryer, a potential game-tying three from Bulldogs guard Khalif Battle was blocked by Ja'Vier Francis.

Then, Houston connected on two more free throws to seal the win.

Cryer was unstoppable offensively, finishing with a game-high 30 points to go along with three assists and one steal. He shot 8-of-15 from the field, which included six three-pointers.

Senior forward J'Wan Roberts scored 18 points of his own, while Joseph Tugler recorded a double-double by racking up 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Fans were impressed with Houston's hard-fought victory.

Gonzaga's performance against a tough Houston defense was still impressive, finishing with 50/45/100 shooting splits as a team against a Cougars squad that owned the No. 1 scoring defense in the country.

Houston will now advance to face Purdue for a spot in the Elite Eight.