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The NCAA Tournament is the single greatest betting event perennially. With the thrills, chills and heavy favorite spills, the Madness always delivers. Here are quick thoughts and the lean on Gonzaga vs. Houston in the second round of the Midwest Region.
No. 8 Gonzaga (26-8) vs. No. 1 Houston (31-4)
Date: Saturday, March 22
Time: 8:40 p.m. ET
TV: TNT
The pick — Gonzaga +5.5 (-110, BetMGM)
Houston — which is No. 330 in adjusted tempo over its last nine games — prefers the old-school Keith Sweat slow jams.
Gonzaga likes to crank the house beats at the club, ranking No. 28 in adjusted tempo over the same stretch.
Talk about a contrast in styles.
The Zags absolutely applied boot-to-the-face in its opening-round matchup against Georgia on Thursday. They raced out to a 30-5 lead and cruised to a lopsided 89-68 victory that was virtually decided in an instant.
Mark Few’s flamethrowers are an advanced metrics darling whether perusing KenPom, BartTorvik or Haslametrics, and they are finally starting to visually match the numbers.
Over the last 30 days, Gonzaga is No. 5 overall, according to BartTorvik, ranking top-20 in adjusted offensive efficiency and adjusted defensive efficiency. The Bulldogs converted a ridiculous 58.1% of their 2-pointers and forced opponent unforced errors on over 19% of possessions.
Kelvin Sampson’s zombie horde never rests. The Cougars relentlessly crash the glass and challenge shots.
Slotting at No. 6 in effective field goal percentage defense in its last nine contests, Houston has allowed just 45.9% shooting on 2s and 25.6% on 3s. It also generated a turnover on nearly 20% of opponent possessions.
LJ Cryer, Emanuel Sharp and Milos Uzan undoubtedly can compete with Gonzaga’s bevy of bombardiers. If Graham Ike’s post moves undress J’Wan Roberts, Nolan Hickman’s triples fall and the Bulldogs dictate pace, victory could be achieved against Houston.
Shake that booty, Zags.
Season record: 30-25, +4.22