Bulldogs battle Utes in Salt Lake City

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

12/31/2008 - Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 16th-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs will try to get back on track tonight, as they close out 2008 with a non-conference bout against the Utah Runnin' Utes at the Huntsman Center.

The Bulldogs have been idle for over week now and the break couldn't have come at a better time. After starting off the season 7-0, Gonzaga has hit a bit of rough patch, dropping three of its last four outings, including two straight. Two of those setbacks came to elite programs in Arizona and UConn, but the team's most recent loss was a shocking one, as Gonzaga was upended by Portland State, 77-70, on its home floor on December 23rd. It was just the Bulldogs' third home loss since the McCarthey Athletic Center opened in 2004, and it was also Portland State's first victory against a ranked foe since its basketball program was reinstated for the 1996-97 campaign.

As Utah, it wrapped up a short two-game road trip with a 60-52 triumph at UC Irvine on Saturday. The victory was the second in three games, as the team improved to 7-5 on the year. The Utes are now set to play three straight games at the Huntsman Center, where they have gone a modest 3-2 thus far.

Utah and Gonzaga met last New Year's Eve as well, with the Bulldogs notching a 61-59 victory in Spokane.

With four players averaging in double figures and the team shooting a solid 47.8 percent from the field, Gonzaga has been able to generate a hardy 77.7 ppg on the year. Josh Heytvelt currently tops the roster in scoring at 15.4 ppg and he is tied with Austin Daye for the team-lead in rebounding, with 6.1 rpg. Daye ranks second to Heytvelt with 12.9 ppg, while Matt Bouldin contributes 11.5 ppg and 4.0 rpg. Steven Gray has provided the team with a spark off the bench and he rounds out the double-digit scorers, with 10.1 ppg. In the team's prior outing, Bouldin tallied 18 points and registered four steals, but that wasn't enough for Gonzaga in a loss to Portland State. Heytvelt posted 13 points and eight boards, and Daye finished with 12 points and nine rebounds in the losing effort. The Bulldogs were outscored from long distance, 36-21, and outrebounded, 39-30, in the defeat.

Much like Gonzaga, Utah has four players scoring in double figures and is shooting 47.8 percent from the floor, only it is netting a little less 71.7 ppg. Luke Nevill paces the team in both scoring (16.9 ppg) and rebounding (8.3 rpg) and he is also making 61.4 percent of his attempts from the floor. Lawrence Borha is next in order at 10.8 ppg and he is trailed by Shaun Green and Tyler Kepkay, whom contribute 10.5 and 10.4 ppg, respectively, off the bench. On Saturday. Borha netted 18 points and Nevill notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds to power the Utes over UC Irvine. The Utes drained 41.5 percent of their field goal tries and limited UC Irvine to just a 35.7 percent shooting effort from the floor.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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