College Basketball Betting: Gonzaga vs. Utah

Interesting matchup between Big West Champions Gonzaga and the University of Utah out of the Pac 12. The Utes had no problem with Fresno State in their opening round game while Gonzaga beat vastly overrated Big East tournament champions Seton Hall. Now the two teams will play for the right to advance to the ‘Sweet Sixteen’. NBA fans will remember that Gonzaga University gave the state of Utah one of their ‘basketball gods’ in the person of Utah Jazz point guard John Stockton. There’s not a point guard of Stockton’s skill on the floor tonight (though, for that matter, there’s likely not a point guard of Stockton’s skill on the planet at the moment) but both teams are very capable and well coached.

The thing we really like about Utah here is the same thing we liked about them in their opening round matchup–they’re a ridiculously versatile team where it seems that every player on the team is also lethal from long range. If anything bad can be said about the Utes it’s that they have a tendency to over rely on the three point shot and particularly when they’re in trouble. That means if the shots aren’t falling it can get ugly. It’s also a concern that they might revert to the ‘throw up a bomb hope for the best’ strategy if they get in trouble against the Zags. But if the Utes are hitting their shots they are as dangerous of a matchup as any team in basketball. Utah has four double digit scorers one is 7 foot center Jacob Poeltl who is a very tough interior matchup *and* a three point threat. That’s a hard combination to counter but Utah has a roster full of tough matchups.

Gonzaga is a very similarly constructed team and might even have more ‘size that can shoot’ than Utah. Kyle Wiltjer is 6’10” and shoots 42.4% from downtown. Domantas Sabonis is 6’11” and a very high percentage shooter as well. But Utah has more versatility up and down throughout their lineup. Gonzaga went on a nice run to win their conference but the reality is that they might not have otherwise made the field. We think this Utah team isn’t getting the respect they deserve against one of the ‘big name darlings’ of college hoops. We’ll take the Utes.

BET UTAH +1.5 OVER GONZAGA