Akron vs Gonzaga: NCAA Tournament Preview & Odds
Written March 17, 2009 by Jordan Haimowitz
The Gonzaga Bulldogs are the West Coast regular season and conference tournament champions. They are a well rounded team who has strengths all over the court. Starting with their senior leader, combo guard Jeremy Pargo. He averages 10 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5 assists per game. Pargo is the vocal leader of this team. Josh Heytvelt is their big time presence down low averaging 15 points and 7 rebounds per game. Matt Bouldin is a 6′5 guard who puts in 14 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists per game. Bouldin has really picked up his game this year. He has exceeded expectations and has been a major contributor for the Zags. Gonzaga is loaded with talent, while I broke down Gonzaga’s big three they have several others who contribute such as Austin Daye, Steven Gray and Micah Downs. This is a deep Bulldogs team with tons of experience. They also took care of business out of conference this year beating Oklahoma State, Maryland and Tennessee all on a neutral site. They also won @ Washington State and again @ Tennessee. The Zags average 79 points per game and shoot a stellar 49% from the field. With all this said, If I were Coach Few I’d keep my boys focused on this first round match up vs The Zips from Akron. While I fully expect Gonzaga to advance, it may not be a complete walk in the park. Bet on the Gonzaga/Akron game.
The Akron Zips are the champions of the Mid-American Conference. They defeated Buffalo in the championship game 65-53. The Zips certainly challenged themselves this year out of conference. They played @ Pittsburgh, vs Dayton, @VCU and @ Rhode Island. While they lost all four of those games, it gave them great experience playing in A hostile environment. The Zips are led by forward Brett McKnight who averages 11 points and 4 rebounds per game. McKnight is a very athletic forward who has good size. He will be able to match up against Gonzaga’s G/F Matt Bouldin. The key for Akron to stay competitive in this game and to have any chance at a miraculous upset is for forward Nate Linhart to have a career game. If Linhart is able to get Heytvelt into foul trouble it may be able to keep Akron in the game throughout and give them a chance at a stunning first round upset. Akron is not a flashy team and certainly not a high powered offensive attack averaging only 66 points per game. It is Akron’s defense that is impressive more often giving up only 60.5 points against. I do expect Akron to be in this game come halftime. While most people feel Gonzaga will have a cake walk, I do not. So while you’re either at work or on the road and trying to figure out which games you feel will be boring and blowouts, do not put this one on your list. IF Gonzaga ends up covering it’ll be due to them pulling away late.
Haimo’s Hot Notes: Gonzaga is stacked with pure talent. They have experience and a great coach to boot. The Zags will look to stay sharp in this matchup. Bouldin vs McKnight I do believe will be a wash. If Linhart is able to get Heytvelt in foul trouble or play him tough, Akron will be competitive in this game. If Akron lets Gonzaga run up and down the court in transition it will be a long long day for the Zips. The spread is currently Gonzaga -12.5. This spread is very tricky as I see distinct possibilities for each team covering. So this game I will lay off. However, for everybody who will be putting some cash on this game, whichever side you will be taking think about these two points made for both sides. Gonzaga is 5-3 ATS when they are favored by 13 points or more in their last eight games. Akron, does have the right players in the right positions to make this game an unexpected first round battle for the Bulldogs. This is one of those wildcard games. It can go either way. The line is currently Gonzaga -12.5 over Akron. If I had to choose, id take the points with Akron. However, I don’t have to, so I won’t.
Gonzaga is 15-13 ATS this year
Akron is 16-13-1 ATS this year
I will be giving preview’s for all the South first round match ups. I will have half of them with predictions as well with as always my one best bet. If their is no prediction at the end of the article to me it was not one of the first round match ups that looked the best. Post all of your comments, opinions and requests down low and lets go make some money.
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- 2009 Akron Zips NCAA Football Predictions
- North Carolina Odds to Win the NCAA Tournament
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