Tournament picks: Gonzaga vs Norfolk State 03/20/21 College basketball picks, odds and predictions

In Thursday’s First Four clash against the Mountaineers, Norfolk State had a 36-20 lead at half-time, but had to hold on for the final 54-53 victory. At the top of the scoring team was Jalen Hawkins with 24 points and five rebounds.

On the side of Gonzaga, there is not much to complain about. Bulldogs have been rolling throughout the season, eliminating unnamed classified teams and opponents from the conference. In the last four games Gonzaga beat Santa Clara, Loyola Marymount, Saint Mary’s and BYU.

In the West Coast Tournament’s 88-78 victory over BYU on March 9, Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs led the team with 23 points, five rebounds and five assists. Corey Kispert had 17 points with five rebounds and two assists, and Joel Ayayi had 18 points with nine rebounds and one assist.

Gonzaga is 6-2 ATS in his last eight games on neutral sites and 6-2 ATS in his last eight as a favorite. Bulldogs are 3-1-1 ATS in their last five after an ATS loss and the over is 38-15 in the overall 53s.

Meanwhile, the Spartans are 4-0 ATS in their last four after an ATS victory and 6-0 ATS in their last six overall. Norfolk State is 4-1 ATS in its last five games on Saturday and the under is 6-1 in the last seven overall.

TO CHOOSE: I will probably stay with Gonzaga. It would seem strange to choose against a 26-0 team here in the first round, regardless of distribution, especially considering that the Bulldogs did not have many “difficult” games in any capacity this year. Gonzaga’s attack is a well-oiled machine and, for them, a low-scoring game is in the 70s – which does not happen often. Considering the offensive stoppage in the second half of Thursday for Norfolk State, I like the Bulldogs to gain a considerable advantage here and maintain it.