Gonzaga +1.5 (-110)
Fri Mar 21 ’08 12:25p
The Davidson Wildcats are popular NCAA Tournament sleepers this season, but we actually feel that they are overrated as slight favorites in this spot vs. a Gonzaga Bulldogs team that has played a tougher schedule.

Yes, Davidson has the longest winning streak in the country at 22 straight, but all but one of those win came inside the weak Southern Conference, and the other victory came vs. a Winthrop team that got blown out by 31 points yesterday. Sure, they had close losses vs. great competition early in the year (North Carolina, UCLA, Duke), but the fact remains that they did not actually win any of those games, which we feel works against them in the favorite role here.

Now Gonzaga does not play in the best of conference either in the West Coast Conference, but St, Mary’s and San Diego are both better than any team that Davidson has beaten this season, and Gonzaga beat those clubs a combined three times. More importantly, Gonzaga’s wins over Connecticut, St. Joseph’s and Utah gives them three more quality non-conference victories than Davidson possesses.

Davidson may be hot, but we feel the better quality of the Bulldogs’ competition has toughened them enough to triumph today.

CBB Free 2008 NCAA Tournament Pick: Gonzaga +1.5