NCAA Sweet 16 – Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. Creighton Blue Jays – injuries, odds, and more
PNWS presents what you need to know for the NCAA Sweet 16 contest between Gonzaga and Creighton.
ZagsNation will have to catch this game at an early time as this is the first of Sunday’s four-game tournament slate.
Who: Creighton Blue Jays (22-8) vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs (28-0)
Where: Hinkle Fieldhouse (Butler University) – Indianapolis, IN.
When: Sunday, March 28, 2021 – 11:00 a.m. PDT.
TV: CBS. Announcers: Ian Eagle, Jim Spanarkel, Jamie Erdahl.
Line: Gonzaga -13.5. Over/Under: 158.5 (Odds Shark).
Injuries: Gonzaga – No injuries reported. Creighton – Out: Rati Andronikashvili. Questionable Modestas Kancleris.
Interesting Trends: Gonzaga is undefeated this year (28-0) but only slightly over .500 against the spread (14-12-2). They have won 20 of their last 24 and 11 straight on neutral courts. The Zags have gone over in seven of their most recent nine. They’ve also won eight of the last nine against Big East opponents.
Creighton is on a roll, winning five of their last six and 12 of 16. They are also 3-2 against ranked teams in 2020-21. The Blue Jays scored 73 points or less in six of their last eight games.
So far in the Tournament
Round of 64: Gonzaga 98 – Norfolk State Spartans 55
The Spartans came out fierce and, for maybe two minutes, held the lead. Corey Kispert lit a fire under his teammates as his three-pointers rained all over the court. He finished the game with 23 points and five boards.
Round of 32: Gonzaga 87 – Oklahoma Sooners 71
Where Kispert was the first-round hero, Drew Timme wore the cape for the second round as the Zags defeat Oklahoma He had 14 points in the first half on his way to a career-high 30. Timme was everywhere, and the Oklahoma Sooners could do nothing with him.
As a side note, this was the first time all season that Gonzaga shot below 50 percent from the floor this season. They still scored 87 points.
Outlook
Welcome to the Sweet 16. After winning the West Coast Conference Championship and their first two NCAA Tournament games, the Zags face a tough challenge from Creighton. The Blue Jays finished second in the Big East regular season, just a half-game behind Villanova.
They were not only upset in the conference tournament finals, but Creighton was also embarrassed by the eighth-seeded Georgetown Hoyas 72-48. In their two tournament games, the Blue Jays haven’t been world-beaters. As a matter of fact, Creighton almost got KO’d in the first round. The Blue Jays came back on a pair of Christian Bishop free throws with 16 seconds left to pull out a one-point win.
The Zags can’t get lulled by Creighton’s recent struggles. They defend well, especially on the perimeter. Gonzaga can’t afford to get sloppy because the Blue Jays can and will take advantage.
The winner of this game faces the winner of USC – Oregon, played at 6:45 PDT.