Baylor vs. Gonzaga NCAA Tournament Prediction, Game Preview

By Pete Fiutak | March 21, 2019 11:44 pm

NCAA Tournament: Baylor vs. Gonzaga fearless prediction and game preview.

Broadcast

Date: Saturday, March 23
Game Time: 7:10 ET
Venue: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, UT
Network: TBS

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All You Really Need To Know About Baylor (20-13)

(Big 12), NCAA NET Rank: West. 9-seed

The Bears average close to eight three pointers per game. They jacked up 34 in the 78-69 win over Syracuse and hit 16 of them. They didn’t get to the line – only taking nine free throws – but they shot over the zone over and over and over again. Passing the ball around well, they took care of the ball in a gut-check performance to move on.

Can they really do it again?

Now they’re going against a Gonzaga team that’s amazing at stuffing the three, allowing teams to hit just 31% of their tries. They’ll be great on the boards – they out rebounded the Orange – and they’re going to fight, but those threes had better be falling, because they can’t hit free throws.

All You Really Need To Know About Gonzaga (31-3)

(WCC), NCAA NET Rank: 2. West 1-seed

You think Gonzaga was ready to make a point from the start? After losing the West Coast Conference final to Saint Mary’s, the Bulldogs came out and hit the two-foot putt against Fairleigh Dickinson 87-49.

The offense came out roaring with 53 first half points, with Rui Hachimura finishing with 21. They owned the boards, were strong from three – hitting 9-of-21— and moving the ball around well to get a whole slew of easy shots.

Yeah, it was a 1-16, but it was still a statement performance. It’s going to be hard to keep up with their scoring punch, they’re going to always keep things moving, and the only way they’re getting tripped up is by someone who can control the tempo and hang around in the assist battle – they won 22-7 against FDU.

What’s Going To Happen

Gonzaga is going to stop the threes that Syracuse couldn’t do. But the real difference will be the Bulldogs’ ability on the boards. They’re going to be all over the glass, they’ll crank up the tempo, and they’re going to score inside and out.

Baylor has the ability, the athleticism, and the toughness, but they’re not deep enough and they can’t just gut it out in a firefight like this. Gonzaga has the offense Syracuse doesn’t.