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Gonzaga Basketball

Sweet 16 matchup between Gonzaga, Arkansas will tip off at 4 p.m. Thursday, air on CBS

Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Julian Strawther (0) mobs teammate guard Andrew Nembhard (3) after Gonzaga defeated the Memphis Tigers during the second half of the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament on Saturday Mar 19, 2022, at the Moda Center in Portland, Ore. Gonzaga won the game 82-78. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)
By Theo Lawson theol@spokesman.com(509) 459-5584

GU-Arkansas to tip at 4 p.m. Thursday, airs on CBS

Gonzaga and Arkansas drew a late afternoon tipoff for Thursday’s Sweet 16 matchup at the Chase Center in San Francisco.

The top-seeded Bulldogs (28-3) and fourth-seeded Razorbacks (27-8) will tip at 4 p.m. Thursday for a spot in the Elite Eight. The game will be televised nationally on CBS with a broadcast crew of Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill and Tracy Wolfson.

The winner of Gonzaga-Arkansas will face the winner of No. 2 Duke (30-6) vs. No. 3 Texas Tech (27-9) in the Elite Eight. The Blue Devils and Red Raiders are scheduled to tip off immediately after the first game ends at the Chase Center.

According to Caesars Sportsbook, Gonzaga is an early 81/2-point favorite against Arkansas, which won close games against Vermont (75-71) and New Mexico State (53-48) to clinch a berth in the Sweet 16.

It’ll be the second-ever matchup – and first postseason matchup – between the Bulldogs and Arkansas, who played at the Maui Invitational in 2014. Gonzaga won that game by a final score of 91-81.

If the Bulldogs win Thursday, they’d get a rematch against Duke or Texas Tech – two of the five ranked teams they faced during a rugged nonconference schedule. On Nov. 26, Gonzaga lost to No. 5 Duke 84-81 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, but the Bulldogs beat No. 25 Texas Tech the next month, winning 69-55 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix.