Northwestern Wildcats vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs Odds, March Madness Betting Pick

Two teams with very different expectations heading into the 2017 NCAA tournament will square off in a West Region round of 32 matchup Saturday when the top-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs (33-1) meet the eighth-seeded Northwestern Wildcats (24-11) as double-digit favorites.

The Wildcats are coming off their first-ever victory in the Big Dance while the Bulldogs also overcame a slow start to win en route to what they hope will be their first Final Four appearance.

Point spread: The Bulldogs opened as 10.5-point favorites; the total is at 134.5, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. (Line updates and matchup report)

March Madness betting pick, via OddsShark computer: 76.0-55.6 Bulldogs (College basketball picks  on every game)

Why Northwestern can cover the spread

The Wildcats proved they are not just happy to be in the NCAA tournament by knocking off the ninth-seeded Vanderbilt Commodores 68-66 as two-point underdogs Thursday. Sure, they benefited from a silly foul by the Commodores in the final seconds to pull off the win, but they did lead for most of the game.

Northwestern has now covered the spread in seven of its last nine games during the month of March, according to the OddsShark College Basketball Database.

Why Gonzaga can cover the spread

Gonzaga was 20-5-1 against the spread in its previous 26 games as a favorite before topping the 16th-seeded South Dakota State Jackrabbits 66-46 on Thursday. That number fell to 20-6-1 ATS because the Bulldogs were favored by 23 points and fell just short of beating the number after trailing with less than two minutes in the first half.

While Northwestern will be a tougher opponent than South Dakota State, Gonzaga—who entered March Madness at a solid +900 (bet $100 to win $900) in NCAA tournament futures—should be able to ride that second-half momentum to an easier win here.

Smart betting pick

The Bulldogs have dropped five of their last six games versus Big Ten opponents, but the conference was definitely down this season, so that is not really a worthy betting trend in this instance. Gonzaga always hears about the West Coast Conference being weak as well, so this is the perfect chance for the school to step up and flex its muscles against a foe not accustomed to being in this spot.

The Wildcats were routed by the Wisconsin Badgers 76-48 after earning a couple wins in the Big Ten tournament, and they will get a harsh reality check again as the Bulldogs blow them out.

March Madness betting trends

Gonzaga is 20-6-1 ATS in its last 27 games as a favorite.

The total has gone under in five of Gonzaga's last six games.

Northwestern is 7-2 ATS in its last nine games in March.

All college basketball lines and betting trends courtesy of Bleacher Report’s official odds partner, OddsShark. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line-movement updates and the OddsShark YouTube page for picks and analysis, or download the free odds tracker app.