Teams looking for another significant early-season resume builder will square off on Friday when the No. 8 Gonzaga Bulldogs will take on the Michigan Wolverines in the championship of the 2019 Battle 4 Atlantis at 2 p.m. ET at Imperial Arena in the Bahamas. It's the first all-time meeting between the two proud programs and Michigan is 4-2 against the spread this season while Gonzaga is 4-3-1. The Bulldogs are 3-point favorites, while the over-under is 144 in the latest Gonzaga vs. Michigan odds. Before making any Michigan vs. Gonzaga picks or college basketball predictions, you'll want to see what the SportsLine Projection Model is saying.
This model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has crushed its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread the past three years, returning $2,770 to $100 players. Anybody who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, it has simulated Gonzaga vs. Michigan 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning over, and it's also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in well over 50 percent of simulations. Head to SportsLine here to see the picks.
The model knows that Gonzaga is coming off one of its most impressive defensive performances of the season in a win on Thursday in the semifinals over No. 11 Oregon. The Bulldogs limited Oregon to 33.8 percent shooting from the field and 28.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc and did it despite going to overtime in a game where they were down to a seven-man rotation with Anton Watson (foot/ankle).
Filip Petrusev continued his dominance on the inside with 22 points and 15 rebounds while Corey Kispert continued his strong tournament with 17 points and seven rebounds. With Killian Tillie still battling a sore knee and Ryan Woolridge and Admon Gilder also suffering injuries during the quarterfinal win over Southern Miss, look for Petrusev and Kispert to continue to be the focal point of the offense.
Meanwhile, Michigan is coming off an upset win over No. 6 North Carolina as 3.5-point underdogs in the semifinals. It was a huge win for Juwan Howard in his first season after taking over for John Beilein. The Wolverines ran the Tar Heels off the 3-point line, allowing them to hit just 2 of 13 from beyond the arc, while shooting 42.3 percent from deep on the other end of the floor.
Michigan is shooting 44.7 percent from the 3-point line in this tournament and is shooting 40.8 percent from distance for the season. Eli Brooks, Isaiah Livers and Jon Teske give Howard one of the most talented point guard-wing-post trios in the nation, and you can expect those three to be the keys against Gonzaga's stingy defense.
So who wins Gonzaga vs. Michigan in the Battle 4 Atlantis 2019 championship game? And which side of the spread is hitting well over 50 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine right now to see which side of the spread to back on Friday, all from the advanced model that has crushed its college basketball picks.
