March Madness betting sites favor UCLA by two points when the Gonzaga Bulldogs and the UCLA Bruins play each other in an NCAA college basketball Tournament Sweet 16 game from the T-Mobile Arena on Thursday night.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs (30-5 SU, 14-20 ATS) will be taking on UCLA at the March Madness for the first time since their glorious 93-90 OT win in the Final Four two years ago. They will battle the Bruins (31-5, 20-14-2) on Thursday in the West Region Sweet 16 action.
The #3 Bulldogs have advanced to the Sweet 16 for the ninth straight year in a row with Sunday night’s close 84-81 win over TCU. They extended their SU winning streak to 11 games. The #2 Bruins are making their sixth trip to the Sweet 16 in as many tourney appearances after they outlasted Northwestern 68-63 on Saturday. They have now won 14 out of 15 since the start of the month of February.
Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. UCLA Bruins Odds by BetOnline
| Team | SP/RL | TOTAL | ML | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gonzaga | +2 (-110) | 145½ (-110) | +115 |  |
| UCLA | -2 (-110) | 145½ (-110) | -135 | |
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Betting Gonzaga Bulldogs
The Bulldogs showed why they were the top-scoring team in the country on the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Gonzaga would overcome a slow start versus the scrappy Grand Canyon Antelopes and opened their tournament with an 82-70 victory.
They maintained that pace during Sunday’s win over the Horned Frogs. Gonzaga has been averaging 90.6 points per game during its 11-0 SU streak. However, they have also allowed 80 points four times in that period. As well as 78.7 points per game during a 5-2 SU stretch at the Big Dance that began with their win against UCLA two years ago.
Drew Timme once again delivered a phenomenal March Madness showing. He tallied a game-best 28 points in Sunday’s win. He has now scored 20 or more in 5 straight NCAA Tournament games in a row.
Meanwhile, Julian Strawther faded into the background after he had recorded 28 points against Grand Canyon, going on to producing just 10 points against TCU. On the other hand, he has been averaging 9.5 rebounds so far at the tournament.
Anton Watson kept up his constant presence under the basket in Sunday’s win. He piled up a game-best 12 rebounds. That included six offensive rebounds. The senior Bulldog has now recorded double digits in rebounds in each of his last three games. With the Zags offensive attack continuing to fire on all cylinders, Watson is a strong betting sites’ prop to top 6.5 rebounds on Thursday night.
Betting UCLA Bruins
Tyger Campbell has been establishing himself as an elite playmaker in his four seasons at UCLA. He has also shown glimpses of his ability to connect from downtown. He has made at least one three-point shot in 11 out of 12 games before Saturday’s win over Northwestern.
With Thursday’s game looking like it is going to be a high-scoring affair, and with the Zags allowing 8 or more threes in 6 of their past 7 games, Campbell offers an alluring upside as a +125 bet at the best online sportsbooks to hit OVER 1.5 threes on Thursday.
The Bruins weathered a courageous Northwestern rally after the halftime break to snatch a hard-fought win against the Wildcats in Saturday’s second-round matchup. The Bruins quickly squandered a 13-point lead in spite of holding the Wildcats to just 37.3% shooting from the floor.
They managed to hold on to the win even though they scored just one field goal in the last five minutes of the game. The team has now been averaging just 71 points in their last three games.
Conversely, the Bruins have been holding opponents to a total 37% shooting in that stretch. Up in the front, senior forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. once again spearheaded the charge. He drained 24 points, and has now been averaging 9.2 rebounds in his past 6 games. Senior Tyger Campbell contributed seven assists. He has been averaging 8.5 assists at the tournament.
Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. UCLA Bruins Picks
We are leaning towards Gonzaga in this one. We are thinking that this could be a situation where the loss of Jaylen Clark will hurts the Bruins. Moreover, the Zags can deliver damage in a variety of different ways.
We think it is a fair assessment that UCLA is the far superior defensive team here, but we also think that Gonzaga will find a few gaps here and there and keep this one close if not win it straight up. Take the Zags and the free bucket.
According to betting sites’ trends, Gonzaga is 0-7 ATS in their past 7 NCAA Tournament games and 5-1 ATS in their past 6 games after an ATS loss.
