No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 8 Northwestern Preview
Where: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, UT
When: Saturday, March 18, 5:15 PM ET
Line: Gonzaga Bulldogs (-11) vs. Northwestern Wildcats (+11) – view all NCAAB lines
TV Broadcast: CBS
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Betting on the Gonzaga Bulldogs (-11)
A slow start wasn’t enough to prevent the Gonzaga Bulldogs from running away with a huge 66-46 win over the South Dakota Jackrabbits on Thursday. It wasn’t until late in the first half that Gonzaga got its first lead of the game, but the team’s superior depth and talent won out in the end to send the school to its ninth-straight opening round victory at the Big Dance.
Jordan Mathews led the team with 16 points, but the Bulldogs as a whole must’ve greatly underestimated their opponents, as they shot a poor 39.7 percent from the field that afternoon. It was only the second time this season that they’ve been held under 70 points after putting up an average of 86.6 points per game.
On the bright side, Gonzaga’s defense was spectacular, limiting the Jackrabbits to just 31-percent field goal shooting. The X-factor happened to be junior forward Johnathan Williams, who finished the game with six points, 14 rebounds and a pair of blocks. Williams was responsible for guarding the second-highest scorer in the country in South Dakota State’s Mike Daum, who finished with a relatively humble 17-point outing despite averaging nearly 24 points per contest during the season.
Williams’ double-digit rebounding numbers also summed up how good the Bulldogs were at the glass, having a 50-38 rebounding edge over the Jackrabbits. A horrible shooting performance isn’t the norm for this team, so expect the Zags to get back on track offensively this Saturday against Northwestern while still keeping their tenacious D up to par.
Betting on the Northwestern Wildcats (+11)
Call it fate or dumb luck, but the fact remains that the Northwestern Wildcats are still alive in the Big Dance with their 68-66 win over the Vanderbilt Commodores on Thursday.
With Vanderbilt up by one point, team leader Matthew Fisher-Davis committed an errant foul with less than 15 seconds left to send Northwestern’s Bryant McIntosh to the line. McIntosh would go on to make his two free throws and give his team the lead for good. He also led his team with 25 points on the night.
Regardless of the nail-biting finale, the Wildcats still had a terrific shooting performance against Vandy with a sweet 49.1-percent field-goal shooting clip and 32 points in the paint. 14 of those markers from down low came from sophomore center Dererk Pardon, who also hauled in 11 boards.
However, don’t count on the boys from Evanston, Illinois to keep their hot hands ablaze, as their 71 points-per-game average for the season ranked in the bottom third of the entire NCAA. The Wildcats are also averaging 15 assists per contest, but only dished out 10 dimes against the Commodores.
Although Northwestern has had its fair share of wins over some teams still alive in the tournament this season, the team has yet to square off against a true powerhouse like Gonzaga. And given Thursday’s near defeat, it appears as if the team will see its Cinderella tournament run come to an abrupt end this Saturday.
Writer’s Prediction
The Bulldogs (-11) bully the Wildcats en route to a 81-64 win.
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