The Gonzaga Bulldogs face the Creighton Bluejays Sunday in college basketball NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 action from Lucas Oil Stadium Indianapolis.
Coming into this NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 matchup, Creighton sits at 22-8 overall. The Bluejays beat Ohio in their tournament game on Monday. As for Gonzaga, they’re rolling along at 28-0 so far. The Bulldogs took out Oklahoma in their Second Round matchup on Monday. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Creighton has been a pretty consistent team for most of the season, and they’ve only lost consecutive games twice. Since their conference tourney loss to Georgetown, the Bluejays have beaten UC Santa Barbara and Ohio in the NCAA Tournament so far.
In the Second Round matchup Monday versus Ohio, Creighton jumped out to a 39-24 edge at the break and cruised from there on a 72-58 victory. Tops in scoring was Marcus Zegarowski with 20 points, three rebounds and two assists. Christian Bishop added 12 points with 15 boards as well.
Over on the Gonzaga side, there’s not really a lot to complain about this year. The Bulldogs have been charging right along, and they’ve really only had a couple of “close” games. After cursing through the conference tournament, the Bulldogs have beaten Norfolk State and Oklahoma in the national tourney.
In Monday’s 87-71 win over Oklahoma, Gonzaga jumped out to a nice 46-34 lead at the break and only increased it from there in a dominant 87-71 effort. Leading the way for the Bulldogs was Drew Timme, who doubled up on 30 points, 13 rebounds and four assists.
The Bluejays are 4-1 ATS in their last five as an underdog and 6-2 ATS in their last eight after a straight-up win. Creighton is 3-12-2 ATS in their last 17 NCAA Tournament games and 2-5 ATS in their last seven neutral-site games as an underdog.
Meanwhile, Gonzaga is 5-1 ATS in their last six neutral-site games and 4-1 ATS in their last five Sunday games. The Bulldogs are 5-11-1 ATS in their last 17 after an ATS win and the over is 4-1 in their last five Sunday games.
PICK: I’m likely sticking with Gonzaga. The Bulldogs just don’t stop this season. They shot a nice 49.1 percent from the field on Monday, carrying edges in free throw percentage (88.5 to 66.7), rebounds (36-29), assists (12-10) and turnovers (10-12) against Oklahoma. The Gonzaga offense is a well-oiled machine when it’s on, and a “down” game still scores in the 70s. This one may be close initially but I still like the Bulldogs on an eventual cover.