Arkansas vs. Gonzaga Bracket Prediction: March Madness Odds
The NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 tips off Thursday night from San Francisco with West Region No. 1 and tournament favourite Gonzaga facing No. 4 Arkansas. The Zags are 9-point favourites to win on the college basketball odds with a total of 155.0.
Arkansas vs. Gonzaga NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
The West Region is the only one in this year’s NCAA Tournament that has gone completely chalk in the first two rounds with No. 1 Gonzaga facing No. 4 Arkansas in the first game from the region Thursday followed by No. 2 Duke vs. No. 3 Texas Tech. Obviously, the two winners would meet Saturday for a trip to the Final Four.
Gonzaga remains the +205 overall tournament favourite and is -222 to win the West. Arkansas is +3900 to win it all and +903 in the region. Arkansas and Gonzaga will play for the first time since the 2013 Maui Invitational. The Zags did play an SEC school during the regular season, losing at a neutral site to Alabama on Dec. 4. The Tide faced the Razorbacks once and won 68-67 in Tuscaloosa on Feb. 12.
Arkansas Razorbacks (4)
The SEC has totally flopped in this tournament as Arkansas (27-8) is the only team from the conference still standing after finishing fourth in the SEC’s regular-season standings. Coach Eric Musselman’s team edged No. 13 Vermont by four points in Round 1 and then beat No. 12 New Mexico State 53-48 in the Round of 32 on Saturday despite the Razorbacks shooting just 27.5 per cent from the field. The 53 points were the lowest tally ever for an SEC team that won an NCAA Tournament game. Arkansas won that at the free-throw line by going 22-for-25, while NMSU was 6-for-10. All-SEC pick JD Notae led with 18 points and a whopping eight steals (tied a school record for a Big Dance game).
Arkansas also reached the Sweet 16 last year and beat No. 15 Oral Roberts before losing to top seed Baylor in the Elite Eight. It’s the first time in back-to-back Sweet 16s for the program since make three straight trips from 1993-95. Arkansas is 21-1 this season when leading at the half. The Razorbacks are 14-5-1 ATS in their past 20 overall.
Gonzaga Bulldogs (1)
Gonzaga (28-3) has looked very beatable so far, tied in the second half of Round 1 against No. 16 Georgia State before pulling away and down 10 at the half of Round 2 against No. 9 Memphis but winning 82-78. WCC Player of the Year Drew Timme, the current favourite for NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player, scored 21 of his 25 points in the second half; it was only the fourth time the Zags were down at the half this season. Freshman sensation Chet Holmgren had some foul trouble and finished with nine points, nine rebounds and four blocks.
The Bulldogs have struggled from the free-throw line in both games. Gonzaga is now the only school in the country to reach seven straight Sweet 16s. The Zags are 0-4-1 ATS in their past five games.
