gonzaga/portland over 148
think this one is played in the high 150s. a couple reasons this one makes sense in my opinion:
*both teams great free throw shooting teams
(gonzaga 76% portland 72%)
*both teams shoot the 3 ball very well
(gonzaga 41% portland 40% -- both tms 40+% is rare)
*gonzaga falls into a good spot for a half-hearted defensive effort (at least in my opinion). they just clinched the wcc last saturday in a big game vs marys. and now theyre laying 20+ points to portland in a game where even a subpar defensive effort can produce a comfortable win. i think few will have a tough time convincing his guys to bring a lockdown effort against portland in a fairly meaningless game.
*first meeting this season was a run and gun affair that should have went well over, but portland hit a major lull in the final 8:00 to produce an 80-65 final in a game that was 39-38 at half. pilots scored just 8 pts in the final 8:30 of the game. im sure portland backers remember that collapse vividly, because they were down just 2 pts with under 8:00 left and lost by 15. they also shot an un-portland like 9-18 from the line. but the tempo of that game was definitely a fast one
i think this one turns out similar to the duke/virginia total from last week. one team is far superior, but the inferior dog can score and shoot it well enough to play at a quick pace and lose in the ballpark of 88-68 or 90-70.
number 8? we'll see.
think this one is played in the high 150s. a couple reasons this one makes sense in my opinion:
*both teams great free throw shooting teams
(gonzaga 76% portland 72%)
*both teams shoot the 3 ball very well
(gonzaga 41% portland 40% -- both tms 40+% is rare)
*gonzaga falls into a good spot for a half-hearted defensive effort (at least in my opinion). they just clinched the wcc last saturday in a big game vs marys. and now theyre laying 20+ points to portland in a game where even a subpar defensive effort can produce a comfortable win. i think few will have a tough time convincing his guys to bring a lockdown effort against portland in a fairly meaningless game.
*first meeting this season was a run and gun affair that should have went well over, but portland hit a major lull in the final 8:00 to produce an 80-65 final in a game that was 39-38 at half. pilots scored just 8 pts in the final 8:30 of the game. im sure portland backers remember that collapse vividly, because they were down just 2 pts with under 8:00 left and lost by 15. they also shot an un-portland like 9-18 from the line. but the tempo of that game was definitely a fast one
i think this one turns out similar to the duke/virginia total from last week. one team is far superior, but the inferior dog can score and shoot it well enough to play at a quick pace and lose in the ballpark of 88-68 or 90-70.
number 8? we'll see.
