Gonzaga Odds to Win the NCAA Tournament
Written March 26, 2009 by Anthony Moretti
2009 marks the 11th straight and 12th overall NCAA tournament appearance for the Gonzaga Bulldogs. The Zags’ overall record in the tournament is now 14-11. They’ve yet to win a championship or even make the Final Four, however they have advanced to the Sweet 16 this year and face the dubious task of squaring off against the North Carolina Tar Heels. Prior to this year the Bulldogs had lost in the first round of the tournament in the past two seasons so a Sweet 16 appearance can be considered a victory for the team, but you can bet that they don’t want their season to end any time soon. Looking at the college basketball odds to win the 2009 NCAA Tournament, Gonzaga is currently listed at +3500. Keep in mind that these odds will be updated on Friday since the field will be shortened by the teams eliminated Thursday night. Check the updated odds at BetUS to see what odds for the Bulldogs are now.
Gonzaga opened up their 2009 tournament campaign against Akron, who stuck with the Bulldogs early, then faded in the second half to an eventual 77-64 Gonzaga win. In their second round game the Bulldogs were faced with a Western Kentucky team that many people had marked as a Cinderella in this year’s big dance. In the end the Zags held onto a 83-81 victory, but their poor play in the second half does not bode well with a match up against the #1 seeded Tar Heels on Friday night. Everyone likes to root for an underdog, but the task ahead of the Bulldogs is a difficult one to say the least. What Gonzaga does have going for them is consistent play up and down their roster, and a history against the Tar Heels, which means they will not be intimidated like many teams from a mid-major conference would be. If you’ll remember two seasons ago, the Bulldogs beat the Tar Heels in an early season game in Madison Square Garden. Three players from that team return to face UNC again with a lot more on the line. The reason I bring that game up is that Tyler Hansbrough was outplayed by Gonzaga’s Josh Heytvelt, and he will need to have similar, if not better, success against Hansbrough if the Zags want a chance to upset the heavily favored Tar Heels.
The Bulldogs can win against North Carolina, but they’ll need to be sharp in several aspects of their game. They need to avoid making stupid mistakes and turning the ball over, and they need to play the game at a slower pace as the Tar Heels are much better in transition than the Zags. As I mention previously, they need Heytvelt to have a strong performance, as well as Matt Bouldin. Gonzaga will likely stick in a zone against the Tar Heels and try to force them to beat them from the outside. They’ll need great perimeter defense in that case, but they can’t ignore Hansbrough inside and they cannot afford their big men to get into early foul trouble. You can bet Gonzaga to win the NCAA tournament at 35-1 odds right now, but I must repeat that these odds will likely have changed by the time you read this.
Betfirms offers the best NCAA basketball picks for your college basketball betting during the NCAA tournament.
If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:
- Akron vs Gonzaga: NCAA Tournament Preview & Odds
- Gonzaga vs North Carolina: Sweet 16 Predictions
- Gonzaga v. Western Kentucky NCAA Basketball Betting
- North Carolina Odds to Win the NCAA Tournament
- 2009 NCAA Tournament Predictions: South Region
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