Don’t Get Caught Picking The Trendy Underdog, McNeese State
Line Movement Favors Bulldogs After Reviewing McNeese State vs Gonzaga Odds
McNeese State vs Gonzaga Final Score
McNeese State vs Gonzaga Preview
The 5-12 matchup in the Midwest has everyone talking. People couldn’t wait for the March Madness dates and times to be announced when this game was announced.
The game is the No. 5 Gonzaga Bulldogs against the No. 12 McNeese State Cowboys. Be prepared for an epic showdown in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
These two teams have combined for just ten losses all season long. But someone has to lose this matchup.
The Cowboys are currently on an 11-game winning streak. That’s the third-longest active streak in the nation. On the other hand, Gonzaga won nine straight games before losing to Saint Mary‘s in the WCC Championship Game.
Although Gonzaga has made the NCAA Tournament every year since 1999, Mark Few and the Bulldogs haven’t won the NCAA Tournament and have had many early exits after thrilling regular seasons.
Can we expect another early exit out of Gonzaga this time around?
The books aren’t banking on it. Oddsmakers have the Bulldogs at -6.5 (-105), with the total at 148.5. However, the Under is currently juiced to -115.
Let’s take a closer look at the McNeese State vs Gonzaga odds for this Midwest Region NCAAB matchup.
McNeese State Cowboys vs Gonzaga Bulldogs 
Day/Time:
Location: Delta Center; Salt Lake City, Utah
Streaming: TBS
McNeese State vs Gonzaga Odds & Trends
The McNeese Cowboys won the Southland Conference after going 30-3 in the regular season. The Cowboys also went 16-12-1 against the spread and also hit the Over in 16 games this season.
The Cowboys were 18-0 at home, and the three losses came on the road. But this game will be held on a neutral court. Gonzaga will still have more fans in the arena, especially since the game is being played in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The Bulldogs weren’t profitable against the spread. Gonzaga went 15-16 against the spread this season and hit the Under in 16 of its 31 games.
Gonzaga and McNeese have no NCAA basketball scores head-to-head.
A Turnaround for The Ages
The McNeese State Cowboys went 11-23 last season under John Aiken. The squad went 6-12 in the Southland regular season and even won two games in the conference tournament. However, the Cowboys made the move to hire former LSU head coach Will Wade.
Wade made a promise in his introductory press conference. He told the media and fans that this would be one of the most remarkable turnarounds in college basketball history.
And he was right.
The Cowboys went from 11-23 to 30-3 in one season. Now they’re in the NCAA Tournament with a chance to pull off an upset against one of the most consistent teams in college basketball history.
Will Wade is a legend for this.
Was Gonzaga Rewarded?
Although many bracketologists had Gonzaga as a seven or eight-seed, the NCAA committee put Gonzaga as a five-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Not only did the Zags get a five-seed, but they were also put into Salt Lake.
Head coach Mark Few believes the reward came because Gonzaga plays many challenging opponents in the non-conference slate.
The Bulldogs played Yale, Purdue, Syracuse, UCLA, USC, Washington, UConn, San Diego State, and Kentucky in the non-conference slate. Although Gonzaga didn’t win against the top teams in that group, they were rewarded for playing in those games.
Is McNeese State a Trap?
Both NCAAB teams are gifted offensively heading into this game.
The McNeese State Cowboys have shot 39.4% from deep and 52.8% from inside the arc. They’ve also gotten to the foul line at a high rate, earning 32.1% of offensive rebounds.
The Cowboys can’t do much wrong on the offensive end except hitting foul shots. McNeese State has only nailed 69.5% from the foul line this season, which is troubling heading into Tournament play.
Meanwhile, Gonzaga has held teams to 34% from three and 45.1% from inside the arc. The Cowboys likely won’t have success inside the arc. They’ll have to rely on their three-point shooting. However, McNeese doesn’t take a ton of threes per game. They’ll either have to adjust or find a way to score inside. But that’s, again, unlikely.
The Cowboys are great at forcing turnovers. They’ve added 23.1% of turnovers per game this season. While they can gang up on Southland competition, ganging up on Gonzaga might be a little more difficult.
The Bulldogs have only turned the ball over 14% of the time and are typically good at limiting turnovers. If McNeese State can’t get turnovers, the Cowboys will give up many second-chance points instead.
This season, McNeese gave up 30.4% of offensive rebounds. That’s not ideal, knowing Gonzaga Bulldogs earns 33.3% of offensive rebounds per game this season.
Gonzaga is better at the foul line and has hit 35.5% from three and 58.3% from two. That two-point percentage is good for 7th in the nation.
If McNeese can’t earn high turnovers and struggles to shoot inside the arc, the Bulldogs will escape and get the win. McNeese is a trendy upset pick. It’s for good reason. However, the Bulldogs match up well enough against the Cowboys to escape disaster.
Therefore, we’ll add the Gonzaga Bulldogs at -6.5 (-105) to our NCAAB picks and parlays after reviewing the McNeese State vs Gonzaga odds.
For NCAAB betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
