The Ohio State Buckeyes have been a great story in the Big Ten this season, outperforming all expectations under the national coach of the year. Having gotten past a pesky foe in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, they will now collide with last year’s national runner-up, the Gonzaga Bulldogs, in West regional action that begins at 7:45 PM ET at the Taco Bell Arena in Boise. Keep in mind that VietBet customers will have the opportunity to place wagers after this game begins, as they take advantage of what is available through Live Betting Ultra.
2018 March Madness Betting – Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs:
The 2018 March Madness Betting Line has been posted on this game by the folks at VietBet and Gonzaga is the slight favorite:
Gonzaga Bulldogs -3
Ohio State Buckeyes +3
Over 143.5 points -110
Under 143.5 points -110
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2018 March Madness Betting – CJ’s Take on Ohio State vs. Gonzaga in Round 2:
When we say Ohio State really surprised some people, we mean it. They were picked by some publications to be as low as 12th in the conference, but here they are as a #5 seed, and Chris Holtmann, who was hired away from Butler and wasn’t even the school’s first choice, has led the team to a 25-8 straight-up record, with all those losses to quality teams. The bugaboo this year was losing three times to Penn State, which can even make the NCAA field, but that’s okay.
Gonzaga is one of those extremely efficient offensive teams, ranked 12th in the nation in Adjusted Offensive Efficiency, in fact, and while they are not a team that goes “three-point crazy,” they are extremely dangerous inside the arc, as they’ve made 58.7% of their shots there, ranking fifth in the country. The ‘Zags, of course, went all the way to the championship game last year, before losing to North Carolina. But they got a scare in their first round game from North Carolina-Greensboro finally emerging with a four-point victory.
Perhaps what happened in the opener was not all that unexpected, as the Bulldogs are now 0-7 ATS in their last seven games as a double-digit favorite in this tournament. But Gonzaga leads the nation in scoring margin, and there is no question about their ability to grind down opponents. Yes, they lost some talent off last year’s team, and most people truly figured that Zach Collins, the seven-foot center, would come back for his sophomore season. But he did not, so 6-9 Johnathan Williams and 6-10 Killian Tillie have to pick up the slack. Tillie has done a little of everything; he has averaged 13.4 points and six rebounds, and he can be deadly from beyond the arc, hitting 49% for the season.
As far as Ohio State is concerned, their go-to guy is Keita Bates-Diop, the 6-7 forward from Normal, Illinois was the Big Ten player of the year. Bates-Diop averaged 19.4 points and 8.8 rebounds this year, and he had 24 points and 12 rebounds (including five on the offensive boards) in the tougher-than-expected 81-73 victory over South Dakota State. He was supported ably by Kam Williams, who only made two triples but is 44% from long distance this year. One area of concern, however, was that the Buckeyes were only 38% overall on the evening.
Gonzaga wasn’t itself either in their 68-64 victory, making just five out of 23 shots from beyond the arc. At their best, this is a team that has exquisite balance and can really hit the boards. They usually seal off its opponents from second-shot opportunities, ranking 15th in Defensive Rebounding Percentage, with a +9 rebounding margin, which is fifth-best in the nation.
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