Zags take on future WCC foe BYU
The Gonzaga Bulldogs pulled off the upset over St. John’s and will now face the nation’s best player and the BYU Cougars in Saturday’s third round Southeast Region contest in Denver.
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#11 Gonzaga (25-9, 11-3 WCC) vs. #3 BYU (31-4, 14-2 MWC)
Date/Time: Saturday, March 19, 8:05 PM EST
Venue: Pepsi Center in Denver, CO.
Broadcast: CBS
Money Line: Gonzaga -130, BYU +110
Spread: Gonzaga -2
Over/Under: 149
The contest will provide an early preview of the WCC showdowns between the two schools as BYU will soon leave the Mountain West Conference in basketball for the WCC.
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The Bulldogs were the third lower seed to carry out an upset on Thursday, along with No. 12 Richmond and No. 13 Morehead State.
Appearing in the tournament for the 13th consecutive season, the Bulldogs raised their status as major performers from a mid-major when they edged St. John’s for the second time since 2000, with an 86-71 victory on Thursday night.
Marquise Carter scored a career-high 24 points, as the Zags used size and strength to outmuscle the Red Storm, including outrebounding St. John’s by a 43-20 margin.
The win was the 10th straight and reminiscent of the Bulldogs wins over Xavier and Marquette, both of whom are in the NCAA Tournament this season.
Meanwhile, one of the most electrifying players in all of college basketball led his team to a 74-66 victory over the Boston Terriers in the second round of this year’s NCAA tournament. Jimmer Fredette scored 32 points and has gone over 30 points in five of his last six games as BYU advanced past the round of 64 for the second straight year ,but for only the second time in their last nine tournament appearances.
BYU’s senior guard led the nation in scoring, averaging 28.5 points per game, and is the big gun the Bulldogs will need to contain if they wish continue their run.
Gonzaga will counter with the scoring prowess of Steven Gray, averaging 13.8 points per game. Robert Sacre (12.5 PPG) and Elias Harris (12.1 PPG) are also two additional Bulldog players averaging double figures for the season.
The odds makers have the Gonzaga Bulldogs as a -2 point favorite with an over/under of 149.
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Prediction: The Cougars are defiantly a heavy favorite here, but they have struggled to defeat teams they were seemingly superior to, such as South Florida and Buffalo. As we’ve learned already this year, no team is a lock. However, I expect BYU to ride Fredette to win in this one.
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