NCAA Basketball Betting – Bulldogs vs Fighting Illini
The No. 18 Gonzaga Bulldogs remain undefeated with their blowout win over Notre Dame on Wednesday, and will now set their sights on Illinois who is rolling after beating Maryland on the road their last time out.
Date/Time: Saturday, December 3, 5PM EST
Venue: Assembly Hall in Champaign, IL.
Broadcast: ESPN
Spread: Gonzaga -12
Over/Under: 138
The Zags continue to fire on all cylinders and improved to 5-0 while avenging last years loss to the Irish, pounding them 73-53.
This was the second blowout win this season for the Bulldogs who beat Notre Dame with a significant edge in assists while also coming out ahead in three pointers. Gonzaga rolled up 18 points from beyond the arc, and spread the ball around well, dishing out 16 assists.
Senior Robert Sacre and David Stockton led all scorers against the Fighting Irish with 15 points each, while Elias Harris added 15 big rebounds in the win. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Meanwhile, Illinois’ 71-62 win over the Terrapins, gave them a perfect 7-0 record as they mowed their way past Maryland for the second straight time in as many seasons.
The Fighting Illini were able to overpower their opponents in assist and also came out ahead in free throw shooting were as a team they shot 90 percent from the charity stripe, compared to 15 for the Terrapins.
Sam Maniscalco led the charge with 24 points on 54 percent shooting from the floor in 34 minutes, 15 of that coming from three-point range.
No. 21 Illinois topped No. 24 Gonzaga, 73-61 in last year’s meeting, but return just one player for this matchup.
The teams are pretty evenly matched in this one, but the Zags will need to find a way to shut down the Illini offense, while limiting fouls, as Illinois is 77.5 percent from the line.
Free Pick: Illinois
