Gonzaga vs Grand Canyon Odds, Lines & Predictions – Bulldogs Huge 15.5-Point Favorites in First Round of NCAA Tournament

• Gonzaga plays Grand Canyon in an NCAA Tournament West Regional game Friday, March 17.
• Gonzaga is a whopping 15.5-point favorite over Grand Canyon at Ball Arena in Denver.
• Read below for Gonzaga vs Grand Canyon odds, analysis and prediction.

No. 3 seed Gonzaga (28-5, 14-2 West Coast) is a huge 15.5-point favorite over Grand Canyon in an NCAA Tournament West Regional game at 7:35 pm ET on TruTV. The Bulldogs are making their 24th consecutive NCAA appearance.

No. 14 seed Grand Canyon (24-11, 11-7 Western Athletic) won four games in five days to win the WAC Tournament in Las Vegas. The Antelopes capped the run with a one-sided 84-66 victory over Southern Utah in the title game.

Gonzaga vs Grand Canyon Odds

Gonzaga is a whopping 15.5-point favorite over Grand Canyon in the West Regional opener in the first meeting between the two schools. Grand Canyon began as a small, private Baptist-affiliated university and looked to Gonzaga as a model as their program reached Division I status.

Odds from FanDuel on March 17. See the best March Madness betting apps. 

Gonzaga is 13-18-1 ATS this season but has covered  eight of its last 12 after a horrible start against the number. Grand Canyon is 15-18 ATS this season,  6-3 as an underdog. The Antelopes have been the best play in Division I against “over,” going 25-8 in that spot. Gonzaga is 19-13 against the over.

The winner of this game will move onto face the winner of No. 6 TCU vs No. 11 Arizona State in the second round of the March Madness bracket.

Gonzaga Back in Town

The last time Gonzaga was not in the NCAA Tournament? You have to go back to 1998, two years before Mark Few was hired as head coach. But things are a little different this time. The Zags do not enter as No. 1 seed for the first time since 2018, when they were seeded fourth and lost to Florida State in the Sweet Sixteen.

This group does not have a top NBA draft candidate as previous iterations — Corey Kispert, Andrew Nembhard, Jalen Suggs, Chet Holmgren  — but it enters the tournament on a nine-game winning streak that includes two decisive wins over WCC co-champion Saint Mary’s.

🏆 AP All-America, Second Team:

🏀 Drew Timme
🏀 Azuolas Tubelis
🏀 Jalen Pickett
🏀 Jaime Jaquez Jr.
🏀 Oscar Tshiebwe pic.twitter.com/WIvmWRvqoK

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 14, 2023

A truly fine college player, 6’10” Drew Timme is averaging 20.9 points and 7.3 rebounds, the highest numbers in his four-year career. He combines solid footwork with the ability to use both hands around the basket, which makes him a very tough cover at this level.

Wing Julian Strawther (15.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 72 three-pointers), interior player Anton Watson (11.8 points,. 5.3 rebounds) and guard Rasir Bolton (10.4 pints) provide options, but Timme makes the offense run.

As usual, Gonzaga is at the top of Division I in shooting. The Zags led the nation in field goal percentage (52.9) and effective field goal percentage (59.2). The Zags are No. 6 in the NCAA Net Rankings and are 11-4 against Quad 1 and Quad 2 opponents.

Grand Canyon Finishes Strong

The Antelopes, the preseason coaches’ pick to win the WAC, seemed to suffer a devastating blow when preseason WAC Player of Year point guard Jovan Blackshear Jr.  went down with season-ending knee injury against Sam Houston on Jan. 5. Not to worry. The Antelopes split their next 10 games  to drop in the league standings but found another offensive option in 6’4″ sophomore guard Ray Harrison, a transfer from Presbyterian who started early and stepped up his game late.

Ray Harrison for @GCU_MBB in the WAC Tournament:

80 points
21 rebounds
23 assists

He's the first Division I player to have 80/20/20 in a conference tournament since Kemba Walker did so during UConn's run of 5 wins in 5 days to take the 2011 Big East crown.

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) March 12, 2023

Harrison (17.7 points per game) improvd his average to 19.9 points per game and 4.1 assists after Blackshear went down. Harrison led the WAC in scoring during concerence play and added an exclamation point with a pair of 30-point games in the WAC tournament en route to being named the Most Outstanding Player.

Forward Gabe McGlothan (12.8 points, 7.7 rebounds) had 21 points in the WAC title game, and 6’9″ Yvan Ouedraogo had 13 rebounds. Ouedraogo suffered a broken hand in mid-season has been back the last two months. The Angelopes are 18-8 when he starts.

Gonzaga vs Grand Canyon Prediction

These teams find a ways to put the ball in the basket. Grand Canyon led the WAC with an average of nine three-pointers per game and are shooting 38.l3 percent from distance, 14th in Division I. They have shot better than 50 percent from the floor in ever game during their six-game winning streak.

The Lopes are bucking history, though. Gonzaga is one of two teams (Kansas is the other) to win its first NCAA Tournament game in each of the last 13 seasons, and te Zags are the only team to appear in each of the last seven Sweet Sixteens. If this game does not cry out for a play on the other, nothing will.

• Pick: Over 155.5 (-115)
• Season CBK: 48-25 ATS

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