Norfolk State vs. Gonzaga Bracket Prediction: March Madness Odds
The Gonzaga Bulldogs are the consensus favourite coming into the NCAA Tournament. It’s hard to find a flaw in this undefeated team, but the Bulldogs are still six wins away from the National Championship. Their path to the title all starts with a first round matchup against the Norfolk State Spartans on Saturday. Norfolk State had to claw their way into this game with a 54-53 win over the Appalachian State Mountaineers in the First Four and the Spartans are in for an even tougher game against the No. 1 team in the country. Can Norfolk State stay competitive in this game, or will Gonzaga blow them out of the water?
Norfolk State Spartans vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
The biggest spread belongs to the biggest dog (or Bulldogs) and that’s Gonzaga. The Bulldogs are monster 33.5-point favourites over Norfolk State for this one. Their 12-12-2 record against the spread might not look all that impressive at first glance, but when you consider how big their spreads have been all year, it shows what a dangerous team this is. The Spartans are 13-9 against the spread and have covered in their last six games. These teams are on opposite ends of the over/under spectrum heading into this one. The total has gone Under in six of Norfolk State’s last seven games, while Gonzaga has hit the Over in six of their last seven.
(16) Norfolk State Spartans
Norfolk State needs to forget about the second half against Appalachian State and try to play a full game against Gonzaga. In Thursday’s First Four game, the Spartans went up early, but they were crushed by 15 points in the second half. They essentially clung to a victory on the back of Jalen Hawkins’ 24-point performance. The biggest contributor on the team throughout the season has been Devante Carter. The senior guard is averaging team-highs in points per game (15.5), rebounds (5.3) and assists (4).
Norfolk State’s defence is going to have to be at its best on Saturday. The Spartans’ defensive pressure was a big reason Appalachian State went 6-for-36 from beyond the arc, but they’re about to face the best offence in the country. The Spartans often avoid making a lot of mistakes, but they’ll need to take their game to a completely different level if they want a shot to at least keep this thing close.
(1) Gonzaga Bulldogs
After abusing the West Coast Conference all season, the Bulldogs finally have something real to play for. Gonzaga has never won a national championship and coming into this tournament as an undefeated No. 1 overall seed is more pressure than a lot of people realize. Corey Kispert, Drew Timme and Jalen Suggs have been the biggest contributors this season. Kispert is averaging a team-high 19.2 points per game and shooting 54.4 per cent from the floor. Timme is averaging 18.7 points per game and leading the Bulldogs in rebounds (7.1) and blocks (0.7). Projected to be a top-5 NBA draft pick, Suggs is averaging 14.3 points per game and leads the team in assists (4.5) and steals (2).
The Bulldogs are notorious for getting out to big leads quickly, so they’ll likely try to put Norfolk State away early and rest some of their big players. Gonzaga is by no means guaranteed to win the Tournament, but losing to Norfolk State in the first round should be nearly impossible.
