T.M. Selection: Arkansas.

I like Arkansas to cover the spread against Gonzaga in this game on Thursday. Arkansas has looked good in their games lately and I think they can keep this game close enough to cover the spread here. Arkansas put together a really good season this year and they ended it going on a huge run where they won 6/7 of their final 7 games. They didn't play well in their conference tournament as they got stopped in their 2nd game by Texas A&M, who ended up in the finals anyway, but they have looked a lot better since then and I think they will challenge Gonzaga here. Both of Arkansas' wins in this tournament have been in closer games but they haven't played against bad teams either. They made it out of the round of 64 over a Vermont team that dominated their conference during the regular season, then they made it out of the round of 32 with another close win by 5 over New Mexico State who upset UConn in the 1st round. Arkansas has had to grind out their wins here but they have been able to put up points when needed and they have looked good on defense when the shots aren't going so i think they have some options here on how to defend Gonzaga in this game and I expect them to put up a very good fight here. Gonzaga may be the 1st ranked team heading into this tournament but they haven't looked great in their games and I think they will leave Arkansas plenty of opportunity to stay in this game. Gonzaga opened up their tournament with a 20+ point win over Georgia State in the round of 64 but they struggled in the 1st half of that game, only leading by 2 points at the half, and it wasn't until the 2nd half where they started to gain their footing. Even in their most recent game, they just escaped the round of 32 with a 4 point win over Memphis and they were losing that game by 10 points at the half. They had to throw together another big run in the 2nd half but this time they just barely had enough in them to make the comeback. I think this is going to be another game that they struggle in the 1st half and Arkansas plays defense a lot better than the 2 teams they have already seen. I think Arkansas will give them a very good challenge here and they should be able to stick around in this game with a good defensive effort. I don't see Gonzaga blowing anyone out with how they have looked in their games lately. I like Arkansas to cover the spread here.

T.M. Prediction: 84-78 Gonzaga.