The No. 9-seed Georgia Bulldogs and No. 8-seed the Gonzaga Bulldogs square off in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Georgia (20-12, 8-10 SEC) and Gonzaga (25-8, 14-4 West Coast) are in the Midwest Region of the bracket and will play on Thursday, March 20 at approximately 4:35 p.m. ET in Wichita, Kansas.
Georgia enters the Gonzaga game as underdogs and most experts are picking Gonzaga to win. Gonzaga has a more experienced team and has superior guard play, but they have some notable weaknesses and have not been playing in the best conference in college basketball, the SEC.
Georgia has played its best basketball recently and has been in desperation mode trying to make March Madness. Gonzaga has made nine straight Sweet Sixteen appearances, but that streak is about to end. Georgia is going to upset Gonzaga and advance to the next round play the winner of No. 1-seed Houston versus No. 16-seed SIU Edwardsville.
Georgia star center Asa Newell
Georgia Bulldogs freshman center Asa Newell leads Georgia in scoring (15.3 points per game) and rebounding (6.8 rebounds per game). Newell is the only player in the Georgia-Gonzaga game that is projected as a lottery pick in the 2025 NBA draft and he’s going to play like it.
Newell has scored in double digits in all but three games this season and is coming off an impressive 21-point, 17-rebound (career-high) performance against Oklahoma. Newell is going to come out aggressive.
Superior defense
The Georgia Bulldogs have a superior scoring defense (69.3 points allowed) than Gonzaga (69.9 points allowed) despite facing a much tougher schedule. UGA played the No. 57 most difficult schedule in the country while Gonzaga played the No. 82 toughest schedule.
Georgia holds opposing teams to just 40.9% shooting and has an interior defensive presence (5.2 blocks per game, No. 14 in the country) that will disrupt the Gonzaga offense.
Nine-seeds tend to upset eight-seeds
There’s something about nine seeds in the NCAA Tournament. They’ve upset at least two eight seeds in five of the last six NCAA Tournaments.
Nine seeds have won 16 of the last 24 meetings against eight seeds and are by far the most likely team to earn an upset in the first-round. Georgia will be the latest nine-seed to win their March Madness opener.
Better rebounding
Gonzaga was outrebounded in seven of their eight losses this season. Georgia has the No. 58 rebounding margin in the country and is outrebounding opponents by 4.1 rebounds per game. UGA has the interior depth to give Gonzaga trouble. The Dawgs have to dominate on the glass.
