ANAHEIM, Calif. – In Saturday's Elite Eight matchup between Gonzaga and Texas Tech, something's gotta give. No. 1seed Gonzaga has the single most impressive offense in college basketball this season. Its offensive rating, scoring an average of 125.0 points per 100 possessions this season, ranks No. 1 on KenPom.com. The Zags have scored 100 points on its opponents in seven games this season. No. 3 seed Texas Tech, on the other hand, has boasted the single most impressive defense in college basketball this season. Its defensive rating, allowing an average of only 84.4 points per 100 possessions this season, ranks No. 1 on KenPom.com, and is tied for the same defensive rating as the 2014-15 Kentucky team that went 38-1. No team in college hoops has posted a better defensive rating than that over the past decade. It was on display in Thursday's Sweet 16 victory vs. Michigan, where Texas Tech limited the Wolverines to only 44 points. That was 10 points fewer than Michigan's previous lowest-scoring game of the season – and typical of Texas Tech's defense, who have held opponents to nearly 25 points under their average scoring output. This Elite Eight game will be the college basketball version of Newton's Third Law of Motion: When two equal and opposite forces meet at the Honda Center in the West Regional finals, one force has got to give. But which one? Texas Tech's defense is aggressive and physical, turning over teams at a rate that ranks 11th in college hoops; 23.1 percent of the Red Raiders' defensive possessions end in their opponent turning the ball over. Their team mantra is an old quote from golfer Ben Hogan: "The secret is in the dirt." What that means is their secret ingredient isn't any special defensive scheme, isn't about recruiting the very top players; it's about working harder than their opponent, both on the court and off. At the pre-Elite Eight press conference on Friday afternoon, senior guard Matt Mooney, who is a graduate transfer from South Dakota, was wearing a T-shirt that read, "Never lose your chip." Sure, they're clichés – but they are clichés that Texas Tech's players have bought into from Day One. "We have a lot of guys who aren't five-star guys," Mooney said when I asked him about the team identity that's behind those slogans. "The coaching staff, coach (Chris) Beard, who came from a mid-major, who started out coaching random teams and has worked his way up. A lot of our guys are the same way. We just try to embrace that. We weren't the highest-recruited guys, but that doesn't mean we can't compete with the best in the country." After smothering Michigan on defense in the Sweet 16, senior wing Brandone Francis had a pretty succinct explanation for Texas Tech's performance: They wanted it more. It was hard to argue with that. They were aggressive from the tip, getting in the face of Michigan on the perimeter and playing them physical down low, forcing the Wolverines into a woeful 1-of-19 from beyond the arc as well as 14 turnovers. It's a defense-first culture that Beard focused on creating from the moment he took the job three years ago. "We try to recruit guys that understand: You are gonna play defense, we're gonna coach you, we're gonna hold you accountable," Beard said. "We do a lot of listening in recruiting, not just talking. Players will tell you what they want. Guys who are talking about me me me, the shots and the ball – not so much with us, they don't really succeed with us. Guys that want to win, guys that want to guard, guys that understand (what we do) – a great example of that is Zhaire Smith, a guy who goes from being a non-top-100 recruit to the 16th pick in the drafted." Texas Tech is in the Elite Eight for the second consecutive year. Getty Images "Defense is just who we are," Beard continued. "It's in our DNA." Not to say that Texas Tech can't score. Sophomore Jarrett Culver, the Big 12 Player of the Year, has been an offensive force, with his season averages of 18.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists vaulting him into the conversation as a potential top-five pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. Just like Texas Tech is still a more-than-able offensive team, this Gonzaga team that's known for efficient scoring is plenty skilled on the defensive end, as they proved in the first three games of the tournament. ("Gonzaga plays defense, man," Beard marveled. "I'm telling you: It might not be their identity, but they are hard to score against. So many late shot-clock possessions. You gotta go get a basket if you're gonna beat Gonzaga.") Gonzaga ranks 13th in the nation in defensive efficiency. They're a complete team – only five other teams rank in the top 15 in both offensive and defensive efficiency – but it's the offensive end that comes more naturally to this group. "Our offense has been stellar all year long, but that hasn't been the case for our defense," said sophomore wing Corey Kispert. "From beginning to end we've had to work really hard to get our defense to the level we want it to. It's been a slow process, a slow build up to this point." The Gonzaga offense is one of the more beautiful offenses to watch in college basketball: Smooth and loose, with lots of movement of the players and of the ball. Its bread-and-butter has long been the high-low offense – bringing the ball in through the high post and working it down to the low post – but that's not always been the case. Early in Few's tenure he was a proponent of the flex offense, which puts and emphasis on the versatility of players, then he migrated toward the motion offense, which uses lots of movement off the ball and lots of cutting to maximize a team's quickness. More recently he's been using more ball screens, but it's always been with a basis in the high-low – and with a level of offensive flow and freedom that can be rare in the sometimes-clunky sport of college hoops. "It first came from watching some of our older teams," Few explained when I asked about the lineage of his offensive philosophy. "I was a young assistant at Gonzaga, and we were pretty rigid, pretty tight, look at the bench a lot after a missed shot or a mistake. I always thought, 'If I ever become a head coach, I want my guys to play with a bunch of confidence and a bunch of freedom.' Just drill them down in practice so they know what to look for and what to expect and how to react, and once we get to the game, just let it rip. Those are the hardest teams to guard." This year, on those principles and with the perfect players to execute them, Gonzaga has statistically been the hardest team in college basketball to guard. But now they face Texas Tech, the best team in college basketball at guarding. The Elite Eight game on Saturday will be a case of strength versus strength – and a test case of the state of which philosophy works best in today's college basketball.<doc-sep>Texas Tech and Gonzaga were victorious in their Sweet 16 matchups, which means they’ll meet in the Elite Eight. With both teams playing tremendous basketball of late, it’s possible this game comes down to the wire. Despite entering the NCAA Tournament fresh off an upset loss, the Red Raiders have been really impressive. They basically suffocated the Michigan Wolverines yesterday with stingy defense. As for the offense, superstar guard Jarrett Culver led the way with 22 points. Sharpshooting guard Davide Moretti was also huge for Texas Tech because he went 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. Gonzaga didn’t exactly blow out its opponent last night, but it pulled away late against Florida State. Four starters reached double digits in scoring, which includes Rui Hachimura, Brandon Clarke, Zach Norvell Jr. and Josh Perkins. The Red Raiders might be the hotter team entering this showdown, yet ESPN is leaning heavily in the Bulldogs’ favor. ESPN currently gives Gonzaga a 73.5 percent chance of defeating Texas Tech in its matchup predictor. Texas Tech is searching for its first Final Four appearance in program history, meanwhile Gonzaga is looking to get back for the second time in three years. Tipoff is set for 6:09 p.m. ET from the Honda Center. Which team do you believe will punch its ticket to the Final Four?<doc-sep>Defense really does win championships. Or quarterfinal games, at least. No. 3 Texas Tech limited Gonzaga and its top-ranked offense to its second-lowest scoring effort of the season as the Red Raiders held on to win 75-69 and advance to the school's first-ever Final Four. Texas Tech held the Bulldogs to just three field goals in the final 14 minutes to pull away in a back-and-forth game that featured nine lead changes in the first half. Gonzaga never found it rhythm offensively, shooting just 43 percent from the floor, down from its season average of 53. The Red Raider defense forced 15 Gonzaga turnovers, the second most this year for the Bulldogs. Rui Hachimura led Bulldog scorers with 22 points. MORE: Watch college basketball live with fuboTV (7-day trial) Chris Beard has the Red Raiders in the Final Four in just his third season in Lubbock. Jarrett Culver and Matt Mooney combined for 36 points while David Moretti hit a pair of crunchtime 3s to preserve the win. Texas Tech will await the winner of No. 1 Duke and No. 2 Michigan State for a Final Four meeting in Minneapolis on April 6. Sporting News tracked live scoring updates and highlights as the Red Raiders defeated Gonzaga in the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight. Check out the updates below. Gonzaga vs. Texas Tech: Live score, highlights (All times Eastern) 8:24 p.m.: That'll do it! Texas Tech hangs on for a 75-69 win and are the first team to punch its ticket to the Final Four. 8:19 p.m.: Perkins called for a technical guarding the in-bounds pass. Tech now leads by four, with the ball and 11 seconds left. Josh Perkins gets called for the technical foul after reaching over the sideline on the inbounds pass. pic.twitter.com/izpYlBMXFe — CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 31, 2019 8:14 p.m.: A steal and transition 3 by Josh Perkins! Bulldogs trail by just two with 22.1 seconds left. 8:13 p.m.: Gonzaga wins a jump ball, down five, with 41.1 seconds. 8:11 p.m.: Incredible block by Tariq Owens and hustle to save ball and protect the Tech lead. 8:09 p.m.: Another Moretti 3! Tech leads by six with 1:46 to play. This is the largest deficit Gonzaga has faced all tournament. 8:04 p.m.: A steal and Moretti 3 pushes the Texas Tech lead to five. 7:58 p.m.: A Perkins 3 for Gonzaga ties things up at 58 with 5:00 to go! 7:56 p.m.: Culver gets his own rebound and then ends a four minute dry spell for Texas Tech with a short layup. Red Raiders hold a four-point lead with 6:30 remaining. 7:50 p.m.: A huge momentum swing here. Red Raiders missed an opportunity for a breakaway dunk, that instead Gonzaga turned into a big slam. 7:43 p.m.: A 6-0 Red Raiders scoring run forces a Gonzaga timeout. Texas Tech holds a three-point lead. This assist is a thing of beauty. pic.twitter.com/JLM9UH6TSd — CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 30, 2019 7:39 p.m.: Tech's Davide Moretti — who scored 15 in the last game versus Michigan — scores just his second bucket of the day to cut the Gonzaga lead to one at the under-12 timeout. 7:34 p.m.: Hachimura is up to 19 points, and the Gonzaga lead is four. 7:28 p.m.: Zach Norvell answers a Texas Tech 3 with a 3 of his own to keep the Bulldogs ahead with 15:18 to play. Make that 6️⃣ 3's for the Red Raiders & 5️⃣ for the Bulldogs! 😳💦#MarchMadness | #Elite8 pic.twitter.com/5edxg6ymnj — NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 30, 2019 7:23 p.m.: Second half action underway, and Texas Tech's Jarrett Culver knocks down a pair of free throws to tie things up. 6:59 p.m.: Gonzaga takes a two-point lead into the break. It's been back and forth with nine lead changes. Hachimura and Brandon Clarke have combined for 23 of Gonzaga's 37 points. 6:53 p.m.: Matt Mooney breaks a four minute span without a field goal for Texas Tech to tie things up. 6:45 p.m.: A Hachimura layup gives the Bulldogs their first lead in over four minutes. Gonzaga leads 33-31 with 3:50 left in the first half. 6:39 p.m.: Both teams are feeling it! Each teams trade 3s on four straight possessions. Texas Tech leads by two with 6:40 to go in the first. 6:35 p.m.: Two 3s in a row give the Red Raiders back the lead. 6:30 p.m.: Gonzaga and its top offense is struggling to heat up. Missed its last five shots, but Texas Tech only holds a two-point lead. 6:25 p.m.: Jarrett Culver hits the first 3 of the day to tie things at 11 with 12:35 in the first half. 6:19 p.m.: Both teams tied at eight. A nice start for Gonzaga's Rui Hachimura who has six points. 6:15 p.m.: Odiase is subbed out as he picks up his second foul in the first three minutes. 6:12 p.m.: Texas Tech and Norense Odiase get on the board first. 6:07 p.m.: The Elite Eight is here.<doc-sep>
Gonzaga’s season has come to an end with a 75-69 defeat to Texas Tech. In a battle of the best offense against the best defense, it was Texas Tech’s swarming defense that won the battle in the second half. Gonzaga led 37-35 at halftime and shot 50 percent, but were plagued by turnovers the entire night. They had nine in the first half and 16 for the game. Rui Hachimura and Brandon Clarke scored 23 in the first half, and Gonzaga generally had some success pounding the ball inside. In the second half, seemingly everything inside turned into a missed shot or a turnover thanks to the scrappy hands of Red Raider defenders. Gonzaga had no flow and went 7-for-26 from deep, including a 2-for-9 performance from Zach Norvell. Gonzaga had multiple wide open threes that they could not knock down in each half. On the other end, Texas Tech’s offense was hot. It has been hot for the final six weeks of the season, and it continued tonight. They got a huge game from Matt Mooney and two enormous threes Davide Moretti in the final few minutes to take over the game. Gonzaga had a last chance gasp after a Josh Perkins’ three cut the lead to two, but a technical foul on an inbounds play with 10 seconds to play ended the game. We will have more content to recap the season as the days go on, but this obviously hurts. This team had all the pieces to win a National Championship. They ran into a grind of a region, and could not solve the enigma of Texas Tech’s defense in the second half. For now, we mourn. I’m sure in time, we will look back fondly on a lot of things this season provided us. It’s the end of the Josh Perkins’ era. An era that spanned five years, all of them advancing to at least the second weekend. Assuming Rui Hachimura and Brandon Clarke leave for the NBA, Gonzaga is going to look very, very different next season. The last five years have been the glory years of Gonzaga basketball. They launched themselves into the upper echelon of college basketball programs. This team was fun to watch and it’s a shame it ended in tears. Go Zags forever.