Mark Few's Gonzaga Bulldogs have been the hunted team in the West Coast Conference for years, and they've often been favored in their NCAA Tournament early round games in the process. They took on the role of the hunters in the WCC Tournament this year, ultimately getting the job done against St. Mary's to secure a bid to the dance in the only way possible.
Now though, comes an interesting matchup with the Seton Hall Pirates. On paper, the Big East champs are the better seed by a wide margin in the 6/11 game in the Midwest Region. However, the Bulldogs are the short favorites in the eyes of the oddsmakers.
College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
Gonzaga Bulldogs -1.5
Seton Hall Pirates +1.5
HOW THE GONZAGA BULLDOGS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
Too many times this season, the Bulldogs looked timid on the offensive end of the court. A lot of that came with the fact that its backcourt turned over from a year ago. Eric McClellan isn't quite the player Kevin Pangos was, and though he's a fifth-year senior, he's not the same type of leader either.
You hate to say that the absence of Przemek Karnowski aided this team, but especially in the WCC Tournament, the Zags all of a sudden looked like an offensive juggernaut again. All five starters scored at least 13 points against St. Mary's in the conference final.
Of course, that doesn't necessarily need to be the case once again. The frontcourt of Domantas Sabonis and Kyle Wiltjer can take a game over as well. These were the men that finally put away BYU in the semifinals, as they had 47 points and 22 boards between them in that victory.
HOW THE SETON HALL PIRATES CAN COVER THE SPREAD
We always ask whether teams have anything left in the tank after winning their conference tournaments. Seton Hall went through a meat grinder at the end of the year in the Big East. Just two weeks ago, this was a bubble team, but two wins over Xavier, one over Creighton and the conference title game triumph over Villanova turned this into a No. 6 seed overnight.
However, it's tough to really think of the Pirates as having the resume and the quality of a team belonging on the No. 6 line.
Isaiah Whitehead is remarkable, and he's going to be the difference-maker in this game. He's had seven straight games of 20+ points, and has sat for a grand total of just 30 minutes in those seven games. If he's able to put together another fantastic effort to carry this team, he and Khadeen Carrington can carry it all the way to the Final Four.
At the first sign of trouble for either man though, it could be the signal of an early exit for the Pirates.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
Seton Hall might be a bit over-seeded, but Gonzaga is as well. The Bulldogs have a ton of talent, but they haven't had any real success in this tournament in years. They're not rightly favored in this game, and we don't like the matchup for them either.
It's not often that we suggest that Wiltjer isn't the best player on the court when he's out there, but in this case, we're giving the nod to Whitehead. We're also going to give the nod to his Pirates in a modest "upset" on Thursday night.
Seton Hall 80, Gonzaga 72
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BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here and start wagering today! The Round of 64 game between the Gonzaga Bulldogs and the Seton Hall Pirates will start at 9:57 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 17, 2016 at the Pepsi Center. The game will be televised nationally on truTV.
