The Gonzaga Bulldogs will take on the South Dakota State Jackrabbits on Thursday afternoon, in their bid for the Final Four, hoping to continue their strong play and leave no hope for their opponents. As usual in the matchup between seeds #1 and #16, all eyes will be on to see whether the history can be changed. The game is scheduled to be played at the Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City with the tip-off at 2 PM ET.
Place: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah
Date/Time: Thursday March 16th, 2017. 02:00 PM ET
TV Coverage: TBS
#1 Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. #16 South Dakota State Jackrabbits
LINE: Gonzaga -22 (-103)
Total: 156 points (-108 over, -108 under)
Gonzaga to finally make the long-awaited breakthrough
The mammoth line comes to no surprise as the Gonzaga Bulldogs (32-1) are widely recognized as one of the top teams in the country. They’ve steamrolled to the WCC tournament title and have the nation’s best margin of victory of +23.4 points per game. Gonzaga is among the top teams defensively, having strong inside presences in likes of Johnathan Williams, Przemek Karnowski and Zach Collins. The Bulldogs are also motivated to start the NCAA Tournament on a high note after disappointing the last time they were a top seed. The most essential player on a Gonzaga team is the Washington transfer Nigel Williams-Goss, who averaged 16.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game.
Gonzaga were no match for their opponents this season, scoring 84.6 points per game and holding rivals to 61.2 points per game, both top-15 nationwide. They don’t take a lot of outside shots, working for the best close opportunity. They are the 2nd best team in the league by efficiency, shooting .518 % from the field. They also are a dominant rebounding and defensive team with a lot of depth.
South Dakota State looking for their first tournament win
The South Dakota State Jackrabbits (18-16) come to the tournament as the Summit League champions, lifting their game at just the right time. Led by their prolific scoring forward, Mike Daum (25.3 ppg, 8.2 rpg), the Jackrabbits hope to put in a good effort, the same way they did last year against Maryland. Expect a three-point attempts barrage, as the Jackrabbits take and make a lot of shots from beyond the arc regardless of opposition, and especially as Gonzaga is certain to control the paint.
The #16 seed scores 77.6 points per game and allow 77.4, shooting at an average rate of .459 from the field. They are very good from the free throw line, a quality often valuable in the tournament, making 77.6% of their shots from the charity line, good for 9th best in the nation.
#1 Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. #16 South Dakota State Jackrabbits Game Trends & Prediction
Betting on Gonzaga paid off for the punters, as winning comfortably led to 22-7-1 ATS score, but it seems that the market has finally caught up as they alternated wins and losses in their last 7 games. The 20+ margin has become a standard for the Bulldogs. Being prolific on offense and defense, the total points lines are usually average as is their score against the over/under at 15-15.
South Dakota St. was 14-16-1 ATS and 19-12 against the over/under. They score a lot and allow a lot of points, so 150+ total points lines were common on their games.
The Bulldogs are the public bet in the matchup and rightfully so. The difference in the quality of these two teams is large and the only scenario in which the underdogs can stay in this game is to shoot the lights out from the deep. I’m willing to bet that this won’t happen against the stout defense of the Bulldogs and I’m picking the favorites to cover the large spread. Also, consider placing a wager on the under points.
My Pick: Gonzaga -22
Total: Under 156 points (-108)
