West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs Odds, March Madness Betting Pick

Gonzaga is one of the best bets in college basketball this season, going 22-9 against the spread, including 6-1 ATS when favored by single digits. The Bulldogs are short favorites for their West Regional semifinal against press-happy West Virginia on Thursday night in San Jose.

Point spread: The Bulldogs opened as three-point favorites; the total is at 146.5, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. Line updates and matchup report.

March Madness betting pick, via OddsShark computer: 73.2-63.8 Bulldogs (College basketball picks on every game)

Why West Virginia can cover the spread

Coach Bob Huggins' shock troops began their Big Dance last Thursday by beating Bucknell 86-80, then knocked off Notre Dame on Saturday 83-71. So West Virginia is back in the Sweet 16 for the second time in the last three seasons.

The Mountaineers bolted to a 10-0 lead on the Irish and never trailed from there. They let Notre Dame get within four points a couple of times in the second half but hung on.

West Virginia put on one of its best shooting performances of the season Saturday, hitting at 50 percent from the field, making eight of 14 shots from beyond the arc and 21-of-26 free throws. And defensively the Mountaineers held the Irish to 41 percent field-goal shooting.

So West Virginia is 8-2 over its last 10 games, and 12-5 SU and 10-6 ATS this season against teams that qualified for the NCAA tournament.

Why Gonzaga can cover the spread

Coach Mark Few's team opened this NCAA tournament with a 66-46 victory over South Dakota State last Thursday, then held off Northwestern on Saturday 79-73. So the Bulldogs are back playing on the second weekend of the Big Dance for the third season in a row.

Gonzaga led the Wildcats by 21 points with about 18 minutes to go Saturday, let that lead dwindle to five (and almost three), but staved off disaster from there. On the afternoon the Zags only shot 44 percent from the floor, but held Northwestern to just 41 percent shooting.

The Bulldogs, at +650 (bet $100 to win $650) on the odds to win the NCAA tournament, are now 5-0 since suffering their only loss of the season back on February 25. Gonzaga is also now 8-0 SU, 5-3 ATS this season against teams that made the NCAA tournament.

Smart betting pick

Gonzaga turned the ball over 13 times against Northwestern, and the Wildcats don't play anything close to the type of pressure defense West Virginia plays. The smart money here on the Vegas odds rides with the Mountaineers.

March Madness betting trends

West Virginia is 0-3 SU and ATS in its last three games against Gonzaga.

Gonzaga is 20-7-1 ATS in its last 28 games as a favorite.

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

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.