For all of their success, neither the No. 1 seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs nor the No. 11 seed Xavier Musketeers have ever made it to the Final Four. One of them will punch their ticket as they face off in the Elite Eight with that trip on the line.
Even though Gonzaga is from a small conference, it only has one loss all season and has proven to be one of the best teams in the country. It will be favored in this matchup but Xavier is playing well.
The Musketeers have knocked off No. 6 seed Maryland, No. 3 seed Florida State and No. 2 Arizona to get here and is not a normal double-digit seed. Xavier would love to pull another upset in this showdown.
At 6:09 p.m. ET, tune into CBS for live television coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Saturday, March 25, 2017, at the SAP Center in San Jose, California
We'll have NCAA basketball odds available for this and every game on the college basketball Saturday schedule.
College Basketball Odds
Xavier is 23-13 straight up and 17-18 against the spread. The Musketeers have been fantastic in neutral site games on the season, covering in seven of their eight games. Xavier is 5-9 against the spread as the underdog on the season.
Gonzaga is 35-1 straight up and 23-10-2 against the spread. The Bulldogs are 5-5-1 against the spread in neutral court games. Gonzaga has not been an underdog this season and won’t be again in this one.
Key Stat
61.1. That’s how many points per game opponents are averaging against Gonzaga’s defense this season. Gonzaga’s defense has a been a staple of the team’s success all season long and that’s continued so far in the tournament.
The Bulldogs defeated South Dakota State 66-46 in the first round and allowed just 58 points from West Virginia in their win on Thursday, holding the Mountaineers to 26.7 percent shooting.
In the last ten games, only two teams have scored more than 70 points against this Gonzaga defense.
Xavier averages 75.1 points per game on the season and has put up an average of 80 in three tournament games thus far, so it will be an interesting clash of styles. The team that better dictates the pace should have the advantage in this one, although Gonzaga can play fast as well as slow when the need arises.
Player to Watch
Trevon Bluiett -- The junior guard has been playing lights out all tournament long and will look to continue that dominance against the Bulldogs this weekend. Bluiett put up 25 points in Thursday’s upset over No. 2 Arizona and finished with 29 points against No. 3 FSU last weekend.
This is Bluiett’s third NCAA tournament appearance, but he’s playing a much larger role this season and, so far, looks comfortable shouldering the weight. Bluiett is averaging 18.5 points and 5.7 rebounds on the season.
He had a breakout performance against Cincinnati back in January, dropping 40 points in Xavier’s 86-78 loss to the Bearcats. The Musketeers will be looking for another big game from their star player this weekend.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
Xavier has picked up some nice wins and will be a tough out for Gonzaga. However, this is a nice matchup for the Bulldogs, who have the superior talent and enough offensively ability to deal with a zone if the Musketeers use it.
Gonzaga has been discounted by some as a No. 1 seed, but caught a break by not seeing Arizona in the Elite Eight and should now be a comfortable favorite to advance. The Musketeers have played great thus far but are going to be coming out on the wrong end of things in this matchup.
Take Gonzaga to both win this game outright and likely cover, depending on where the spread comes in.
College Basketball Odds: Gonzaga 73, Xavier 65
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