Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. St. John’s Red Storm

Betting Odds

Point Spread: St. Johns(-1.5)
Game Total Line: (135)
(wagering lines available at 5Dimes)

The Southeast Region offers an intriguing matchup between the Gonzaga Bulldogs and the St. John’s Red Storm in the second round of this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Thursday night’s game from the Pepsi Center in Denver tips off at 9:45 p.m. It will be broadcast nationally on CBS.

Gonzaga, the 11th seed in the region, earned an automatic bid to this year’s tournament with a two-game run through the West Coast Conference Tournament that ended with a 75-63 victory over St. Mary’s as a two-point favorite in the championship game. The Bulldogs beat San Francisco 71-67 in the first game as a 14-point favorite. They come into this one with an overall record of 24-9 straight-up (16-12-1 against the spread) and an 11-3 record SU in conference play.

This team is no stranger to the NCAA Tournament and with a veteran roster led by senior guard Steven Gray and junior center Robert Sacre is more than capable of pulling off a couple of upsets along the way. Gray leads the team with 13.8 points and 3.9 assists while Sacre is the team’s leading rebounder with 6.2 a game and averaging 12.5 points.

The Bulldogs are shooting 47.9 percent from the field and 26.6 percent from three-point range. They have been especially consistent from the three-throw line; converting on 75.9 of their attempts. Gonzaga is averaging 77 points and 37 rebounds a game.

St. John’s late season run that included wins over Duke, Connecticut, and Pittsburgh was more than enough to earn an at-large bid to the dance as a sixth seed despite an early exit from the Big East Tournament. The Red Storm fell to Syracuse 79-73 in the quarterfinals as a three-point underdog after squeaking out a controversial 65-63 victory over Rutgers as a 10-point favorite in the second round. They enter this tournament at 21-11 SU overall (15-16 ATS) and were 12-6 SU in Big East play.

The loss to the Orange came at a steep price when St. John’s lost its leading rebounder, D.J. Kennedy with a season-ending knee injury. Senior forwards Justin Brownlee and Justin Burrell will need to step up to fill the void, but the real pressure in this game will be on senior guard Dwight Hardy, who leads the team with 18 points a game, to come up big against the Bulldogs.

The Red Storm is shooting 45.5 percent from the field and averaging 70 points a game. They are hitting 33 percent of their shots from beyond the three-point line and 71.1 percent of them from the foul-line. St.John’s was already less than stellar under the boards before losing Kennedy with just 33 rebounds a game.

Gonzaga is 5-0 ATS in its last five games on the road and 4-1 ATS in its last five games overall. The total has stayed ‘under’ in three of its last five games.

St. John’s is 3-2 ATS in its last five road games and 1-3 ATS in its last four games overall. The total has gone ‘over’ in its last five games.

Against the Spread Game Pick

The Bulldogs will be a popular upset pick in the bracket pools, but stick with St. John’s to pull out the win in this one as it is the better all-around team even with Kennedy out of the lineup and has already proven itself this season on the big stage.
Take St. Johns -1.5 at Beted where you can bet using your checking account!