The No. 8 seed Gonzaga Bulldogs will face the No. 1 seed Houston Cougars in the Round of 32 on Saturday evening.

It’s not only a matchup of programs that have made the Sweet 16 each of the past five years, but it pits two of the best coaches in college basketball – Mark Few and Kelvin Sampson – against each other.

And the respect between the two sides is palatable.

During his Friday media availability, Sampson jumped all over a reporter who incorrectly pronounced Gonzaga as ‘Gon-zog-uh’.

“It always burns me up when people say that,” Sampson said, after correcting the reporter with the proper pronunciation. “It’s like calling me Kevin. My name is not Kevin.”

Sampson is familiar with the inland northwest, having coached at Washington State in nearby Pullman from 1987-1994, leading the Cougars to the NCAA Tournament his final season before moving on to Oklahoma, and then Indiana, and then after a stint as an NBA assistant back to the college ranks at Houston starting in 2014.

“They were our neighbors,” Sampson continued. “And it’s not Spo-cane. It’s Gonzaga and it’s Spokane.”

Gonzaga and Houston have not faced each other before, and the contrasting styles should make for a unique matchup on Saturday. The Coogs play at one of the slowest tempos in all of college basketball, using their physicality and three point shooting prowess to dominate opponents, winning the Big 12 with a 31-4 overall record and dominating in their first game of the NCAA Tournament with a 78-40 win over (16)SIU Edwardsville.

Tip between Gonzaga and Houston is slated for 5:40 PM PT on Saturday, and will be broadcast on TNT.