Gonzaga vs Connecticut Game Information

Gonzaga vs Connecticut Preview

No. 8 Gonzaga (7-2) gets in a dog fight with No. 18 Connecticut (7-3) at Madison Square Garden in the Big Apple on Saturday night in the Hall of Fame Series and a must-see College Basketball game on a day that has so many. The Bulldogs have gone 3-2 in their last 5 games, losing to Kentucky (90-89, OT) in a great game in Seattle, beating Davidson (80-65), Indiana (88-73), losing to West Virginia (86-78, OT), and topping Long Beach State (84-41). The Huskies have won 3 straight, beating Texas (76-65), Baylor (76-72), and UMES (99-45), and losing to Dayton (85-67) and Colorado (73-72). Gonzaga was No. 4 in the Ken Pomeroy Ratings with Connecticut at No. 13. The Bulldogs are 12/1 to win the 2025 NCAA Tournament (DraftKings) while the two-time defending national champion Huskies are currently priced at 19/1.

Gonzaga Looking to Rebound After Loss to Kentucky

No. 8 (AP) Gonzaga (6-3-0 ATS, 7-2-0 O/U) has been good against the betting number and also in the Totals market for Over bettors, and as always, Head Coach Mark Few has this NCAA Basketball team ready for March Madness three months before the Big Dance even tips off. The Bulldogs started the season off with wins vs Baylor (101-63), Arizona State (88-80), UML (113-54), San Diego State (80-67), and Long Beach State (84-41) before losing to West Virginia. After wins vs Davidson and Indiana, Gonzaga fell to Kentucky—who rallied from an 18-point deficit—before enjoying a bunch of days off to rest for this clash of titans. The Zags (Moneyline -182) are led by F Graham Ike (15.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg), G Khalif Battle (13.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg), F Braden Huff (12.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg), G Nolan Hickman (11.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg), and the electric G Ryan Nembhard (10.9 ppg, 10.7 apg) and Gonzaga has a nice Bench with G Michael Ajayi (7.2, 5.4 rpg), F Ben Gregg (10.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg) and G Dusty Stromer (6.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg).

Gonzaga Betting Trends

• Gonzaga is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games this season
• The Over is 4-0 in the Bulldogs last 4 games
• The Zags are #3 in NCAAB in Scoring Offense (90.2 ppg)
• The First Half Over is 21-15 in Gonzaga’s last 36 games (+2.75 Units, 7% ROI)
• Gonzaga ranks #7 in Assists per game (19.7)

Connecticut Facing Another Killer Opponent

No. 18 Connecticut (6-4-0 ATS, 5-4-1 O/U) is led by F Alex Karaban (16.5 ppg), G Solo Ball (12.9 ppg), F Liam McNeeley (12.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg), C Tarris Reed Jr. (11.0 ppg, 8.2 rpg), G Hasaan Diarra (7.9 ppg), 5.6 apg), C Samson Johnson (7.7 ppg), F Jaylin Stewart (5.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg), F Jayden Ross (5.0 ppg, 2.9 rpg), and Saint Mary’s transfer and G Aidan Mahaney (4.9 ppg). So can Head Coach Danny Hurley and the Huskies (Moneyline +150) make a run at a third straight national title? They will certainly give it a try, but without guys like Stephon Castle (San Antonio Spurs), Tristen Newton (Indiana Pacers), and Cam Spencer (Memphis Grizzlies) all headed to the NBA and the top four scorers, it definitely won’t come as easy this Hoops season in Storrs.

Connecticut Betting Trends

• UConn played 5 straight Overs after 11 straight Unders before a Push last game
• The Huskies are 60-27-1 ATS over their last 88 (69%)
• The Huskies are 12-0 SU/ATS in their last 12 games in the Big Dance
• Connecticut has played one true Road game this season (at Texas)
• UConn is 20-3 SU in its last 23 games overall

Gonzaga vs Connecticut Prediction

These two teams have played 5 times since 2007 with Connecticut going 3-2 SU/ATS and winning and covering ATS in the last 2, rolling to an 82-54 romp (UCONN -3) and winning 76-62 in the last meeting a year ago on December 15, 2023, covering as 3.5-Point Favorites. The team who won all 5 meetings also covered ATS and all 5 of these games were held at Neutral Sites—Climate Pledge Arena (Seattle), T-Mobile Arena (Las Vegas), Imperial Arena (Paradise Island, The Bahamas), Key Arena (Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle before the name change), and TD Banknorth Garden (Boston)—as will this one at MSG in New York City. After 3 straight Overs, the last 2 in this series have gone Under.

This Gonzaga vs Connecticut NCAAB pick is more of a lean with four reasons for backing the dogs from the East Coast: 1—If Kentucky could beat the Zags in Seattle, Connecticut Gonzaga should be able to beat them here in NYC; 2—The Huskies will have more fans at MSG than the West Coast Bulldogs; 3—If UConn could beat Texas in Austin, they should be able to zig the Zags here; and 4—The Huskies had a 3-game patch of black ice and seem to have recovered (and learned) from that stretch (Nov. 25-27) at the Maui Invitational.

Kevin’s Pick: Connecticut +4.5