Gonzaga Favored Over UCLA As Nation’s Top Two Teams Meet

• The Gonzaga Bulldogs are favored by 6.0 points against the UCLA Bruins.
• UCLA comes back with (+200) betting odds on the moneyline as the underdog.
• The total is set at 154.5 with (-110) odds on both sides.

LAS VEGAS – The Gonzaga Bulldogs and UCLA Bruins will play on a neutral court in T-Mobile Arena as the top two teams in the country. Sportsbooks favor the Bulldogs, but history may favor the Bruins.

History Of No. 1 Vs. No. 2

At first glance, a game between the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country should be close, maybe closer than the spread set at legal sports betting sites currently. However, history shows that these games are often decided by larger spreads than expected.

The average margin of victory between top-ranked teams is 10.1 points per game and even kicks up to 11.2 points per game for regular-season meetings. The No. 2 team has a historical advantage on the moneyline in regular-season games (13-11) while the No. 1 team has the overall advantage including the postseason (22-20).

While the average margin shows games that aren’t too close, they’ve evened out over the years as the average score of the last 42 meetings is 75-75 with the No. 2 team scoring one single point more than the No. 1 team dating back to the first occurrence in 1951.

However, No. 2 teams may rely too much on home-court advantage as No. 1 teams are 5-3 SU on a neutral court.

Will History Hold True On Tuesday Night?

The Gonzaga Bulldogs and UCLA Bruins are the latest edition of the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country playing one another. Although the college basketball betting sites favor the Zags by six points, Mark Few has struggled in these spots in his career.

Few, the Bulldogs head coach, is just 2-7 against teams ranked either first or second in the country which may lead bettors to take a stab at the Bruins on the moneyline.

Given the odds, it may not be the worst play.

Both teams have similar records, 5-0 with one good ranked win and four against lesser opponents. Both are 3-2 ATS on the season, had games Monday and overall have pretty similar numbers for season averages. The Bulldogs’ big advantage will be their efficiency as they’re shooting 55.5% from the floor this season, well above the Bruins 48.7% shooting.

Betting The Total: 156.5 Points

Either of these teams can hit triple digits as Gonzaga averages 93.2 points and UCLA averages 90.8 points per game. However, they’ve both been solid on the defensive end as the Zags give up just 59.6 points per game while the Bruins allow 67.8 points per game.

Both Gonzaga and UCLA have had three of their five games go OVER the set total and more important both went OVER in their game against their ranked opponent. The Bulldogs totaled 160 points against Texas and the Bruins totaled 163 points against Villanova.

There’s simply too much offense in this matchup on ESPN that starts at 10 p.m. EST.

News tags: College Basketball | Gonzaga Bulldogs | UCLA Bruins