The West Region has been hit hard by upsets, and all of a sudden heading into the Sweet Sixteen, the Gonzaga Bulldogs are the favorite to emerge out of the region. The fourth-seeded Bulldogs will aim to take care of business in the Sweet SIxteen when they match up with the No. 9 seed Florida State Seminoles.
Florida State got here by rallying to pull off the upset of the No. 1 seed Xavier Musketeers in the Round of 32. The Seminoles would love to knock off another superior seed and move all the way to the Elite Eight despite being a lower seed. Gonzaga will definitely be the favorite but Florida State is playing well and won’t be the easiest out.
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Odds Analysis
Florida State is listed as the six-point underdog in this matchup. More than 55 percent of the action is on the Seminoles to cover the spread. Gonzaga is listed as the -260 favorite on the moneyline while Florida State is the +215 underdog. The scoring total is listed at 154.5 points and the “over” is the more popular choice.
The Seminoles are 22-11 and 17-13-1 against the spread. Florida State has covered in five of seven attempts as the underdog this season. The Seminoles are 5-5 against the spread as the underdog on the year.
Gonzaga is 32-4 straight up and 15-19-1 against the spread. The Bulldogs have gone 5-4 against the spread in neutral site games this season. Gonzaga is 14-17-1 against the spread as the favorite.
Last Time Out
Gonzaga jumped out to an 11-point lead on Ohio State at the half in the Round of 32 and then held on in the second half for a 90-84 win. The Bulldogs shot 53.4 percent from the field and hit 40.9 percent from three-point range. Zach Norvell led the way with 28 points while Rui Hachimura added 25.
Florida State trailed Xavier by 12 points with 10:42 remaining in the second round but rallied for a 75-70 victory. The big shot from the Seminoles came from P.J. Savoy, who nailed a three-pointer with just more than a minute remaining for the go-ahead points. Florida State may be the underdog in this game but it showed great resilience against Xavier and will not be intimidated going against another higher-seeded foe.
Key Stat
10. That’s the Bulldogs’ ranking nationally in points per game. They have averaged 84.2 points this season and put up 90 in the second round against Ohio State.
Norvell Jr. had 28 points and 12 rebounds in that game against Ohio State. He is among the top scorers on a very balanced Gonzaga offense that also includes Killian Tillie and Johnathan Williams.
Florida State averages 81.1 points per game, which is 35th in the country. The Seminoles haven’t been scoring that much in March Madness as of yet, but both of theses teams will be more than willing to keep the tempo fast so fans could see a lot of points in this matchup.
Free NCAA ATS Picks
Florida State picked up a nice win last time out but its Cinderella run will end here. Gonzaga is one of the best teams in the country and will move along to the Elite Eight with a rather easy win. Take the Bulldogs to not only win this game but also cover the spread in NCAA basketball betting odds.
The “over” is the choice as both of these teams are going to shoot the ball well in this matchup.
NCAA Odds: Gonzaga 83, Florida State 77
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