After getting past their intense first-round matchups, the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Gonzaga Bulldogs are going to lock horns in the second round. Read on for a breakdown of this intriguing showdown and register here to make your pick.
Betting Preview for the Ohio State Buckeyes vs Gonzaga Bulldogs College Basketball Game on March 17, 2018
Where: American Airlines Center
When: Saturday, March 17, PM ET
Line: Ohio State Buckeyes vs Gonzaga Bulldogs – view all NCAA Basketball lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Ohio State Buckeyes
Having a dude like Keita Bates-Diop sure is a luxury for the Buckeyes. Expected to be a lottery pick in this year’s NBA Draft, Bates-Diop unloaded 24 points and pulled down 12 rebounds on Thursday to lead Ohio State to an 81-73 win over the gritty South Dakota Jackrabbits. The Buckeyes also got a tremendous lift from their outside shooting, hitting 12 of their 40 three-point attempts. That’s a lot of three-point attempts, and the Buckeyes probably will have to choose their shots wisely against a Gonzaga team that does not give plenty of second-chance points opportunities. The Buckeyes are not known for their long-range shooting in the first place, as they make only 6.8 threes on 35.3 percent shooting from the field. Bates-Diop also got ample help from Kam Williams and CJ Jackson, who had 22 and 20 points, respectively. Ohio State has enough talent to take down Gonzaga, which had a rough time getting out of the first round.
Betting on the Gonzaga Bulldogs
Gonzaga was expected to breeze past UNC Greensboro in the first round, but the Spartans did not let the Bulldogs off the hook that easily. The Bulldogs won 68-64 in an underwhelming performance for a serious title contender, but at the end of the day, Mark Few’s days got the win and will be moving on. Johnathan Williams led Gonzaga with 19 points, while Josh Perkins had 13. The Bulldogs shot just 42.4 percent from the field, but they could do better than that, as they are 10th in the nation in effective field goal percentage (57.7) and sixth in points per game (84.5). The key for the Bulldogs is for them to get the pair of Killian Tillie and Rui Hachimura going again. Tillie only had two points against the Spartans while Hachimura coughed up just four points. Tillie averages 13.4 PPG, while Hachimura puts up 11.3.
Writer’s Prediction
Ohio State takes out Gonzaga, 78-74.
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