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The Georgia Bulldogs and the Gonzaga Bulldogs square off in the first round of March Madness. Georgia and Gonzaga play on Thursday, March 20 at approximately 4:35 p.m. ET in Wichita, Kansas. Georgia enters the Gonzaga game as underdogs despite playing in the most difficult conference in the country.
The majority of experts are picking Gonzaga to beat Georgia in a NCAA Tournament battle of the Bulldogs. There's a lot of things to like about Gonzaga basketball, which is among the top programs in the country. Gonzaga has made nine straight Sweet Sixteen appearances, which is the most in the nation.
There's a lot of reasons why experts are taking Gonzaga. Six of Gonzaga's top seven scorers are seniors while just two of Georgia's top seven scorers are seniors.
Gonzaga has much more NCAA Tournament experience than Georgia. Gonzaga has secured a bid to March Madness in 26 straight years. Gonzaga has advanced to at least the second round of every NCAA Tournament since 2008.
Georgia on the other hand has very little March Madness experience. UGA is in their first NCAA Tournament since 2015. Georgia basketball coach Mike White has coached in 10 career NCAA Tournament games, but that's nothing compared to Gonzaga coach Mark Few, who has coached in 67 March Madness games.
The Gonzaga offense did not have to play against elite competition like Georgia did in the SEC, but Gonzaga still leads the nation in assists per game at 19.7 and assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.09.
Gonzaga star guard Ryan Nembhard ranks first in the nation with 9.8 assists per game, which is the most in the country by a significant margin. Georgia averages just 12.5 assists per game as a team and averages more turnovers (12.9) than assists per game.
Gonzaga has the No. 2 scoring offense in the country at 86.6 points per game. Georgia has the No. 125 offense in the nation and averages 75.6 points per game. Of course, Georgia played a tougher conference schedule, but Gonzaga still played an excellent nonconference slate and has proven they can win in March Madness despite playing in one of the weaker conferences in the country.
Gonzaga does not exactly have elite shooting. They shoot 34.4% from three-point territory (No. 160 in the country), which is better than Georgia, who shoots 33.5% on three-point attempts (No. 201 in the country). Gonzaga has a slight three-point shooting edge, but they have a bigger advantage at the charity stripe.
Gonzaga shoots 80.1% from the free-throw line, which is No. 4 in the nation. Georgia gets to the free throw line more, but is much less efficient (71.7%) and ranked No. 203 in the nation in free throw percentage. March Madness games often come down to free throws and Gonzaga has a clear advantage in that category.
Gonzaga has the No. 8 NET ranking in the country, which is significantly better than Georgia (No. 33). Gonzaga has more wins over Quad 1 opponents (five) than Georgia (four) despite playing fewer Quad 1 games. Gonzaga went 5-5 against Quad 1 teams while Georgia went 4-11.
Based on Gonzaga's coaches poll ranking (No. 23), they would be a No. 6 seed. And based on their NET ranking, they would be a No. 2 seed. Gonzaga's conference schedule was much easier than Georgia's, but conference strength of schedule has not stopped Gonzaga in the past, so why would it end their season this year?
This article originally appeared on UGA Wire: Why Gonzaga basketball will beat Georgia in March Madness
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The majority of experts are picking Gonzaga to beat Georgia in a NCAA Tournament battle of the Bulldogs. There's a lot of things to like about Gonzaga basketball, which is among the top programs in the country. Gonzaga has made nine straight Sweet Sixteen appearances, which is the most in the nation.
There's a lot of reasons why experts are taking Gonzaga. Six of Gonzaga's top seven scorers are seniors while just two of Georgia's top seven scorers are seniors.
5 reasons why Gonzaga will beat Georgia basketball
More NCAA Tournament experience
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Gonzaga has much more NCAA Tournament experience than Georgia. Gonzaga has secured a bid to March Madness in 26 straight years. Gonzaga has advanced to at least the second round of every NCAA Tournament since 2008.
Georgia on the other hand has very little March Madness experience. UGA is in their first NCAA Tournament since 2015. Georgia basketball coach Mike White has coached in 10 career NCAA Tournament games, but that's nothing compared to Gonzaga coach Mark Few, who has coached in 67 March Madness games.
Better point guard play
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The Gonzaga offense did not have to play against elite competition like Georgia did in the SEC, but Gonzaga still leads the nation in assists per game at 19.7 and assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.09.
Gonzaga star guard Ryan Nembhard ranks first in the nation with 9.8 assists per game, which is the most in the country by a significant margin. Georgia averages just 12.5 assists per game as a team and averages more turnovers (12.9) than assists per game.
Good offense beats good defense
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Gonzaga has the No. 2 scoring offense in the country at 86.6 points per game. Georgia has the No. 125 offense in the nation and averages 75.6 points per game. Of course, Georgia played a tougher conference schedule, but Gonzaga still played an excellent nonconference slate and has proven they can win in March Madness despite playing in one of the weaker conferences in the country.
Gonzaga has better shooting
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Gonzaga does not exactly have elite shooting. They shoot 34.4% from three-point territory (No. 160 in the country), which is better than Georgia, who shoots 33.5% on three-point attempts (No. 201 in the country). Gonzaga has a slight three-point shooting edge, but they have a bigger advantage at the charity stripe.
Gonzaga shoots 80.1% from the free-throw line, which is No. 4 in the nation. Georgia gets to the free throw line more, but is much less efficient (71.7%) and ranked No. 203 in the nation in free throw percentage. March Madness games often come down to free throws and Gonzaga has a clear advantage in that category.
Gonzaga is battle tested and probably under-seeded
Gonzaga has the No. 8 NET ranking in the country, which is significantly better than Georgia (No. 33). Gonzaga has more wins over Quad 1 opponents (five) than Georgia (four) despite playing fewer Quad 1 games. Gonzaga went 5-5 against Quad 1 teams while Georgia went 4-11.
Based on Gonzaga's coaches poll ranking (No. 23), they would be a No. 6 seed. And based on their NET ranking, they would be a No. 2 seed. Gonzaga's conference schedule was much easier than Georgia's, but conference strength of schedule has not stopped Gonzaga in the past, so why would it end their season this year?
This article originally appeared on UGA Wire: Why Gonzaga basketball will beat Georgia in March Madness
Continue reading...
