Take Gonzaga In Battle Of Big Name Schools

Gonzaga vs. UConn, 8:00 ET

This is probably one of my favorite times of the year. We have College Football Bowl games approaching, the NBA is going, the NHL is in full swing, baseball’s winter meetings and hot stove still generate news, the NFL is wrapping up into the playoffs, and now College Basketball puts great matchups on Saturday. Today we have a matchup between two top 20 teams both looking to establish themselves further in the rankings as Gonzaga takes on UConn in New York.

Gonzaga is 7-2 for the season and is coming off the second loss of their season. They stared the year with a win over Baylor, the eighth ranked team at the time. Baylor may have been a bit overrated, but they still are a capable team. Gonzaga handled them with ease, winning by almost 40 points. This was a home game for the Bulldogs, and they took care of business. Their first loss was against West Virginia in a Thanksgiving tournament matchup. They lost that game by eight in overtime. They faced Indiana and Davidson in the next two games and won both of them. Their next, and most recent, game was against Kentucky, ranked 4th in the nation at the time. They lost by one, on a neutral court, in overtime again. That means Gonzaga has lost two games this season, and both were overtime losses. Both were also on a neutral court. Now they need to travel across the country to play a team that has won the past two National Championships. 

UConn coach Dan Hurley revealed he evaluates a player's parents during the recruiting process. What did he say? (Credit: Getty Images)

UConn may have won the past two years, and while they still look good, they don’t look like a surefire winner this season. At least not to this point. Maybe that is a bit harsh of an assessment, but UConn dropped three straight games, all of them to what I would consider inferior opponents. They dropped their opener to Memphis in the Thanksgiving tournament, falling 99-97 in overtime. Then they lost the next night against Colorado, losing 73-72. The final game of the matchup was against Dayton and they once again fell to them, 85-67. They’ve played three games since then and won all three. The first was a get right game against Maryland Eastern Shore, then they beat a still raked Baylor team, and finally lost to Texas. They don’t have the matchup advantage here. 

The thing that UConn does have here is that this will essentially be a home game for them. Gonzaga is a talented team with a lot of continuity from last season. UConn looks a bit better, but has been inconsistent this season. I am going to lay the points with Gonzaga. Until the Huskies show me they are fully back on track, I won’t trust them against a good team. 

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