Final Four Picks: Gonzaga vs UCLA 4/3/21 College Basketball Picks, Odds, Predictions

The top ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs take on the UCLA Bruins Saturday in a Final Four college basketball NCAA Tournament matchup at the Lucas Oil Stadium.

The UCLA Bruins are fresh off an upset win over the Michigan Wolverines and look to make their first final appearance since 2006. The UCLA Bruins are averaging 72.6 points on 46.3 percent shooting and allowing 67.9 points on 43.9 percent shooting. Johnny Juzang is averaging 15 points and 4.1 rebounds while Chris Smith is averaging 12.6 points and 6.4 rebounds. Jaime Jaquez Jr. is the third double-digit scorer and Jules Bernard is dishing 1.6 assists. The UCLA Bruins are shooting 37.3 percent from beyond the arc and 72 percent from the free throw line. The UCLA Bruins are allowing 34.9 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 32.7 rebounds per game.

The Gonzaga Bulldogs beat up on the USC Trojans in the Elite Eight and hope to make their second final appearance in school history. The Gonzaga Bulldogs are averaging 92.9 points on 55.3 percent shooting and allowing 69.3 points on 41.9 percent shooting. Corey Kispert is averaging 19 points and 1.7 assists while Drew Timme is averaging 18.9 points and 7.2 rebounds. Jalen Suggs is the third double-digit scorer and Joel Ayayi is grabbing 7.1 rebounds. The Gonzaga Bulldogs are shooting 36.1 percent from beyond the arc and 73.2 percent from the free throw line. The Gonzaga Bulldogs are allowing 33 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 35.5 rebounds per game.

The Bruins are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games and 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The Bulldogs are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 neutral site games and 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games overall. The under is 6-2 in Bruins last 8 NCAA Tournament games. The over is 39-18 in Bulldogs last 57 overall.

The PAC-12 deserves serious credit for their success in this tournament and it’s hard to bet against the UCLA Bruins in particular, a team that’s bounced Alabama and Michigan in back to back games. UCLA has proven it can win games with its offense and defense, and the Bruins just shutout a ridiculously talented Michigan team down the stretch to pull off one of the bigger upsets of the tournament. With all that said, the Gonzaga Bulldogs are a different beast and they’ve done nothing but slaughter their opponents up to this point. Gonzaga just played one of the better defensive teams in the tournament in USC and shot 50 percent from the field, and the game was over before halftime. You’d like to see competitive games at this point, but Gonzaga consistently shows its not to be played with and is levels above the competition.

Big number, but I have no choice but to lay it.