#7 Bulldogs (26-6) vs #2 Buckeyes (27-7)
If you read my regional preview than you already know that I am thrilled with how Gonzaga looked on Thursday night in clobbering West Virginia.
#7 Gonzaga Bulldogs (26-6) vs #2 Ohio State Buckeyes (27-7)
Saturday March 17
East Region – Pittsburgh, PA
2:45PM
Moneyline: No money line currently listed
Spread: Ohio State -7.5
O/U:136.5
Gonzaga
The game was pretty much over before half time with the final margin 23 points.
There were a couple of other blowouts on opening day but given the seeding this was the most impressive win of the day. They didn’t beat the Big Sky winner, last I checked WVU plays in the Big East (for now).
They did it with a total team effort too as no player scored more than 14 points. You might not know but the Bulldogs have a fantastic all freshmen starting backcourt. Point guard Kevin Pangos usually gets most of the attention but his running mate at shooting guard, Gary Bell, has a higher ceiling.
Bell is super athletic and when he is aggressive he can be hard to stop. He chips in all over the score sheet too. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Ohio State
I know they won big but I was once again not overly impressed with Ohio State (perhaps I am too hard). They won by 19 points, covering a 17.5 point spread but too many times it felt like Loyola Maryland was just a shot away from putting a scare in them. Their defense played very well but I think you have to look at the competition.
There are not a lot of true scorers on the Greyhounds.
Speaking of defense, is it possible nobody has played Jared Sullinger better than Loyola just did? Sully shot just 4 for 14 and was an afterthought on offense with DeShawn Thomas using his athleticism to swoop in and score 31 points.
If they are going to continue winning they are going to need Sullinger, and point guard Aaron Craft, to play more like the stars they are supposed to be. If they don’t Gonzaga will roll them up.
Spread Pick: Gonzaga +7.5
O/U Pick: Over
Score Prediction: Gonzaga 74 – Ohio State 69
