Sports gambling online odds favor the Gonzaga Bulldogs over the Florida State Seminoles by 7.5-points in their Sweet 16 match. The Zags crushed the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights 87-49 as 28.5-point favorites in the first round. Then the Bulldogs eliminated the Baylor Bears 83-71 in the second round. GU was, according to the best online sportsbooks, 14.5-point faves. As a result, they failed to cover the point spread, but moved on to the Sweet 16 round. The Sems defeated the Vermont Catamounts 76-69 as 8.5-point chalk. A couple of days later, FSU bested the Murray State Racers 90-62 as four-point favorites.
According to Gonzaga head coach Mark Few, these bulldogs are a far cry from the GU team that lost to FSU in the 2018 Sweet 16. “[Florida State] returned their entire team from last year, so we will watch the tape from that. We’re a much different team this year,” Few said. “Again, because like during the warm-ups we were notified that Killian [Tillie] wasn’t going to be able to play, so that was kind of a crushing blow to us, emotionally. Florida State was really good that night. I don’t know if we could have beaten them with Killian, but I know he would have really, really helped.”
Florida State Seminoles vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs
- Date: Thursday March 28, 2019
- Time: 3:00 PM (EDT)
- Venue: Honda Center Anaheim, CA
- Odds from MyBookie.ag:
Team | SP/RL | TOTAL | ML | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Florida ST | +7½ (-110) | 147 (-110) | +290 | |
Gonzaga | -7½ (-110) | 147 (-110) | -350 | |
Betting Florida State
The Sems are scoring 75.4 points per game and allowing 67. Additionally, FSU secures 37.6 rebounds per game. The Seminoles shoot 50.9% and their opponents 45.5% from two-point distance. According to sports gambling online trends, the Seminoles are 8-1 SU and 4-5 ATS in their last nine games. Their lone loss in that stretch came to the Duke Blue Devils, which is perfectly understandable. And speaking of losses. Forward Phil Cofer will miss the game while he continues to mourn his late father. “We were going to support whatever decision he had to make,” head coach Leonard Hamilton said. “It’s best for him and his family to get through this period. Now it gives us more of a reason to want to fight our butts off to get to the Final Four so he can have an opportunity to finish his career off.”
Betting Gonzaga
The Zags score 88.6 points per game and allow 64.8. The Bulldogs grab 38.9 rebounds per game. Gonzaga’s two-point shooting percentage is 62.2 and their opponents’ is 43.1. all among the best stats in the country. Not to say better than Florida State’s numbers. Then again, GU had the 82nd toughest schedule and FSU the 24th. The Bulldogs are 23-1 SU and 15-9 ATS in its last 24 games. Their singles loss in that period was to the Saint Mary’s Gaels, which is not quite so understandable.
Pick: As noted above, French forward Killian Tillie missed the previous GU-FSU meeting. But it was not because he’s a cheese-eating surrender monkey. And also as Few pointed out, Tillie can and does and will make a huge difference. The Frenchman is averaging 6.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. Which doesn’t seem like anything to write Paris about. However, the healthier he becomes, the better he gets. Case in point, Tillie scored a season-best 17 points on FDU. He had just two points against Baylor. But that only means he’s due for another big performance, right? If you feel that way, then take the Bulldogs to cover the sports gambling online point spread.