The Gonzaga?Bulldogs take on the North?Dakota State Bison tonight in the NCAA?Tournament Second Round. The game is scheduled for a 9:50 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on TNT. Currently the NCAA?Tournament Betting Odds for the game have Gonzaga obviously listed as a massive favorite to pick up the victory.
Gonzaga, the second seed in the South Region, lost just a couple of games this season as they romped to 32 victories and a West Coast Conference regular season and tournament title. The Zags pour in better than 79 points per game, share the basketball extremely well and they lead the country in field goal percentage at 52.4 percent from the floor.
North Dakota State will have to play amazing defense just to stay involved. The Bison won three straight games to earn the Summit League Tournament title last weekend, knocking off San Diego State in the finals by a single point, 57-56. The Bison finished the season with a 23-9 record despite losing their opening two games of the season and they are led by Lawrence Alexander’s almost 19 points per game.
Gonzaga hasn’t reached the second weekend of the tournament since the 2009 season but this year Mark Few and the gang are poised to make a deep run. Many consider Gonzaga consistently overrated because of the weak West Coast basketball and while that might be true, the Zags have underachieved as well once March comes around and they reach the tournament.
Senior Kevin?Pangos looks to lead the team deep. This Gonzaga team is loaded at every position, they have depth and they play very good defense. Opponents are shooting the ball at just a 38.4 percent clip, which ranks 13th best nationally.
North?Dakota State has nothing to lose here, other than the game. Gonzaga should come out fired up and ready to go, expecting to bury their recent struggles in the first weekend.
Free Pick:?Gonzaga 83, North Dakota State 61
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