Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs: Odds, March Madness Betting Pick

The fourth-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs (31-4) will look to move on from a scare in their opening game of the NCAA tournament when they face the fifth-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes (25-8) as small favorites for Saturday's round of 32 matchup in the West Region.

The Bulldogs held on for a 68-64 win over the 13th-seeded UNC Greensboro Spartans but failed to cover the spread as 12.5-point favorites in Thursday's round of 64 game at Boise.

March Madness point spread: The Bulldogs opened as 2.5-point favorites; the total is at 143, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. (Line updates and matchup report)

March Madness betting pick, via OddsShark computer: 76.9-65.5, Bulldogs (March Madness picks on every game)

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Why Ohio State can cover the spread

Like Gonzaga, Ohio State also had a tough task on Thursday and fell just short of the closing number in an 81-73 victory against the 12th-seeded South Dakota State Jackrabbits as an 8.5-point favorite.

After they were tied 43-43 at halftime, the Buckeyes slowed down the tempo and relied on their defense to get the job done, as the Jackrabbits shot just 38.1 percent from the field (24 of 63).

While Ohio State shot even worse at 37.5 percent (27 of 72), the team held a 47-39 rebounding advantage.

Otto Kitsinger/Associated Press

Why Gonzaga can cover the spread

The Bulldogs crushed the Buckeyes 86-59 as five-point favorites on November 24 in the Phil Knight Invitational to cap a 4-0 start, and they are riding a 15-game winning streak regardless of the recent close call.

Gonzaga did not play particularly well early on during last year's run to the national title game, going 0-2-1 against the spread before blowing out the Xavier Musketeers 83-59 to get to the Final Four.

The team got a wake-up call on Thursday and should be much more focused versus the Buckeyes.

Ted S. Warren/Associated Press

Smart betting pick

Revenge will be on the minds of the Ohio State players coming into this one after how poorly they played in the first meeting earlier this season.

The Buckeyes were terrible defensively and will need to play much differently from the start to keep this one closer. That is possible, especially because the Bulldogs struggled while playing at a much slower pace than they would have liked against the Spartans.

Ohio State has lost its last two games straight up and against the spread as an underdog, but went 5-2 SU and ATS in its previous seven under that scenario.

Bet the Buckeyes to avenge the first loss with an upset win.

March Madness betting trends

Gonzaga is 14-0 SU in its last 14 games as a favorite.

Ohio State is 0-5 ATS in its last five games against teams with winning records.

The total has gone over in four of Ohio State's last five games.

All college basketball odds and betting trends courtesy of Bleacher Report's official odds partner, OddsShark. Check out OddsShark on Twitter and Instagram or head to YouTube for more betting picks and analysis on this week's top games. You can also download the free odds tracker app.