Oklahoma vs. Gonzaga Bracket Prediction: March Madness Odds
The only undefeated team in the country stayed that way on Saturday, as the Gonzaga Bulldogs routed the Norfolk State Spartans 98-55. The next team up to the plate to try and solve Gonzaga is Oklahoma. The Sooners squeaked by Missouri 72-68 in the first round, but now they’re up against the Goliath of college basketball. Does Oklahoma have any hope of taking down a Gonzaga squad that has shown almost no weaknesses, or are the Bulldogs destined to keep plowing their way through the field?
Oklahoma Sooners vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
Gonzaga opened as a 14.5-point favourite over Oklahoma on the college basketball odds with a total of 154.5. We might see that spread grow even larger, as early bettors are backing the Bulldogs at an 84 per cent rate. Surprisingly, the Under is seeing a 67 per cent majority, despite Gonzaga being the highest scoring team in the nation. The Bulldogs have also hit the Over in five straight games against Big 12 teams. Oklahoma is also no stranger to high scoring games. The Sooners have hit the Over in four of their last five games against WCC teams.
(8) Oklahoma Sooners
Oklahoma battled to the final whistle and came out on top against No. 9 Missouri on Saturday. The biggest storyline before the game was the absence of De’Vion Harmon, who is out through at least the first two rounds due to COVID protocols. Without Harmon, the Sooners got it done by committee. The duo of Austin Reaves and Brady Manek combined for 35 points, shooting an outstanding 50 per cent. Elijah Harkless took Harmon’s spot in the lineup and finished with a double-double of 16 points and 10 boards.
The team, outside of Reaves, Manek and Harkless, shot a combined 31 per cent from the field, which won’t be good enough against Gonzaga. Oklahoma will need their role players to step up if they want a chance to win. On Saturday the Sooners shot 46.7 per cent from beyond the arc, if they can duplicate that success, they have a shot to take down any team in the nation.
(1) Gonzaga Bulldogs
Gonzaga continues to steamroll opponents and show very little, if any, weakness at all. The Bulldogs offence has been pouring points in at an unstoppable rate against every opponent and they lead the nation with 92.1 points per game. Gonzaga’s leading scorer was back at it in the win over Norfolk State on Saturday, as Corey Kispert finished with a game-high 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting. By halftime the Bulldogs were up by 20 points and never gave Norfolk State a chance. Along with Kispert, another three Gonzaga players hit double-digit points, including Anton Watson (17), Joel Ayayi (15) and Drew Timme (10). The only surprise was Jalen Suggs struggling and finishing with six points.
The Bulldogs offence was extremely efficient on Saturday, shooting over 51 per cent from the floor and beyond the arc, while their defence held Norfolk State to just 19 field goals. Gonzaga is just plainly the best team in the nation. And while being the best team in the nation doesn’t guarantee you win the NCAA Tournament, the Bulldogs should cruise on Monday.
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