The Oregon Ducks enter March Madness with a fairly easy Sportsbook contest against the Iona Gaels. The Ducks will be laying plenty of chalk, rightfully so, as they just narrowly lost to Arizona in the Pac-12 championship game. Oregon traditionally beats up on inferior opponents, with the Ducks winning 25 of their past 27 as favorites.
Oregon faces a difficult task in filling out the lineup without Chris Boucher, as the Montreal, Quebec native tore his ACL and is out for the season. Boucher led the Ducks in blocked shots, a big deal for a team that leads the nation in blocking percentage, and shot the second-most threes on the squad. Kavell Bigby-Williams did a good job filling Boucher’s role in the paint during the Pac-12 title game with six rebounds and two blocks but it remains to be seen if he can handle the full load.
Iona’s strategy isn’t hard to deduce. The Gaels want to beat you in a shootout. They play an uptempo brand of basketball that sees them average more than 60 shots per game while tallying 80.5 ppg. Don’t expect much defense, but damn if it isn’t fun to watch.
Iona Gaels vs Oregon Ducks Matchup
Team Betting Records & Power Rankings
The Oregon Ducks currently sport a 29-5 record overall in NCAA basketball action, and have posted a corresponding betting slate of 19-13-1 ATS. The Iona Gaels are 22-12 and 15-16-1 ATS. Betting totals have seen the Oregon Ducks produce a 16-17 OVER/UNDER record on the season, while the Iona Gaels have gone 17-13-2 against the totals betting line.
The Ducks - Gaels odds would favor the Ducks if the lines were set according to our power ranks. Oregon is rated No. 9 in the current Odds Shark poll, while Iona is at No. 74.
Statistical Matchup
Offensively, the game matches up Oregon's No. 43 nationally ranked offense (79.09 points per game) against a Iona Gaels defense that sits as the No. 211 at 76.35 PPG. The Oregon Ducks have been averaging 48.13% from the field, more than the Gaels have managed so far this season (45.48% on average).
Recent Outings Betting Recap
Iona got 21 points and 21 rebounds from Jordan Washington en route to a 87-86 victory over Siena on Monday at Times Union Center.
Oregon suffered a 83-80 loss against Arizona on Saturday, getting 25 points from Dillon Brooks in a losing effort at T-Mobile Arena.