The Gonzaga Bulldogs are 6-0 straight up and 5-0-1 against the spread in their last six games as a favorite of nine points or less. The Bulldogs hope to continue that trend of success against the Xavier Musketeers this Saturday.
Elite Eight odds 2017: Gonzaga, Kansas strong betting favorites for Saturday’s games
The Elite Eight begins on Saturday with matchups of Gonzaga vs. Xavier and Kansas vs. Oregon, with the Bulldogs and the Jayhawks the clear betting favorites at the sportsbooks.
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No. 1 Gonzaga is an 8-point favorite in the opening game of the Elite Eight at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. Despite scoring just 61 points against West Virginia’s tough press defense on Thursday, Gonzaga came away with a 61-58 win to advance into the Elite Eight.
The Bulldogs are still looking for their first spread cover of the tournament after pushing as 3-point favorites against the Mountaineers and failing to cover as double-digit favorites on the college basketball point spreads against Northwestern and San Diego State.
The No. 11 Musketeers have had the look and feel of a team of destiny through the first three rounds of the NCAA tournament. With its upset 73-71 win over No. 2 Arizona on Thursday, Xavier improved to 6-1 SU and 7-0 ATS over its last seven games since going 0-6 SU and ATS over its previous six games.
The Musketeers have been an underdog in all three of their tournament games so far, topping No. 6 Maryland 76-65 as a 2-point underdog and Florida State 91-66 as a 7.5-point underdog.
The UNDER is 6-2 in Gonzaga’s last eight games and 6-1 in Xavier’s last seven per the OddsShark College Basketball Database.
In a postseason that has produced plenty of surprises so far, the No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks have left no room for drama. Kansas has coasted to a 3-0 SU and ATS record in the NCAA tournament with a 100-62 win over UC Davis, a 90-70 win over Michigan State, and a 98-66 win over Purdue.
Saturday night’s game against the No. 3 Oregon Ducks looks like a test on paper for the Jayhawks as a 7-point favorite. But so far on the court, they’ve just blown the competition away. The Jayhawks are 22-2 SU in their last 24 games against the Pac-12.
Oregon survived one of the most entertaining games of March Madness so far on Thursday with a 69-68 win over the No. 7 Michigan Wolverines. The Ducks have advanced to the Elite Eight for the second time in two seasons and are 14-2 SU and 10-6 ATS in their last 16 games played in the month of March.
