The top quadrant of the West Region went according to plan, and we’ve got you covered with a free NCAA basketball pick for the Sweet 16 showdown between the top-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs and Arkansas Razorbacks.
Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs
Thursday, March 24, 2022 – 07:09 PM EDT at Chase Center
Carrying the mantle of the top No. 1 seed in the 2022 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, Gonzaga will be seeking its sixth trip to the Elite 8 after making it that far the last two tourneys. Seeded fourth, Arkansas is enjoying its 13th appearance in the Sweet 16 round and also made it to the Elite 8 a year ago as the Razorbacks look to advance that deep for the 11th time.
Carrying that top seed means the Bulldogs are the favorites on the NCAA basketball future odds board as well. Mark Few and Gonzaga have been so close before in search of the school’s first national championship, while Eric Musselman looks to add a second piece of hardware to go with the 1994 trophy for Arkansas.
Hogs Fail to Cover Last Four Madness Matchups
Thursday’s tussle tips off regional action from San Francisco, and BetOnline tipped off its action with the Bulldogs favored by 8½. Gonzaga and Arkansas have been trending to the ‘over’ in recent weeks, and the scoreboard target for this one is 154½.
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After sending a half-dozen schools to the NCAA Tournament, Arkansas is the lone SEC squad to make it to the second weekend. It certainly didn’t look good for the Razorbacks going into the dance after being whipped by Texas A&M in the conference semifinals, but they quietly took care of Vermont and New Mexico State in the Buffalo pod.
Arkansas failed to cover either win over the Catamounts or the Aggies – each game as a small favorite – and taking on Gonzaga is going to be a big step up in competition from playing the champions of the America East and WAC.
The 53-48 final in Saturday’s victory over New Mexico State is the second-lowest score of the tourney, and halted a string of seven consecutive Arkansas games going ‘over’ the totals. That Arkansas is still dancing after making just 14 field goals in an NCAA Tournament game is somewhat remarkable, and you can’t give all the credit to New Mexico State’s defense.
Gonzaga made more field goals than that in each half of its opening round win over Georgia State, just to put that into perspective.
Zags Last Three Games Go Past Totals
Unused to playing from behind, the Bulldogs looked out of synch when they went into the locker room on Saturday trailing Memphis 41-31. Gonzaga rallied behind a huge effort from Drew Timme for an 82-78 triumph to play on. Timme led all scorers with 25, and added 14 boards for his second consecutive double-double of the dance.
While the rally was enough to get the dubya on the court, it wasn’t enough to cover the college basketball odds, something the Bulldogs have done just once in their last eight games. The final was enough to go past the total, giving Gonzaga three ‘over’ winners in a row after going into the WCC Championship a couple of weeks ago on a 1-7 O/U run.
Crimson Tide a Common Opponent
Thursday’s meeting marks just the second time the Razorbacks and Bulldogs have met. The other clash came at the 2013 Maui Invitational, and thanks to some hot shooting on Kevin Pangos’ part, Gonzaga prevailed by a 91-81 count to cover as 7-point chalk at the best online betting sites.
Pangos canned seven of his eight tries from beyond the arc, and led all scorers in that game with 34. Gonzaga shot 54.5% overall and 60% (12-20) from 3-point range to send the game past a 166½-point total. That was the last time Arkansas faced a team from the West Coast Conference while Gonzaga is 4-4 against SEC teams since then.
Three of the Bulldogs’ four wins against SEC teams in that span came against Texas A&M, and the fourth was a 77-73 victory over South Carolina in the 2017 Final Four. Gonzaga and Arkansas had one shared opponent this year, each losing to Alabama.
The Bulldogs fell to the Crimson Tide 91-82 in Seattle in early December while the Razorbacks dropped a 68-67 decision in Tuscaloosa about five weeks ago.
Timme just looks like a guy who is ready to lay it all on the line to win a title, and you can never underestimate the value of an experienced player like the Gonzaga junior. Timme gets his third double-double of the tournament, and the Bulldogs win and cover to move to the Elite 8.
NCAAB Pick: Gonzaga -8½ (-115) with BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
