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NCAA Basketball

SMU vs. Gonzaga: NCAA Basketball Game Preview, Prediction

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Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

The No. 22 SMU Mustangs come into the 2014-15 college basketball season ranked No. 22 in the nation, but have several opportunities to jump into the top 15 if they can get things going early. Their second game of the season will be against the No. 13 Gonzaga Bulldogs at 11 PM EST on Monday. SMU rolled over their first opponents, Lamar, behind two dominating performances by Ben Moore and Yanick Moreira.

The Mustangs’ opponents, Gonzaga, put up over 100 points in their first game against Sacramento State. Five separate players scored over 10 points and, most impressively, this team hit 12 threes in their first outing. The Bulldogs are extremely dangerous, especially to the teams from more mainstream conferences on their schedule, who are liable to overlook them.

This is a must-win game for the Mustangs. SMU plays no top-25 caliber teams until they play away at Michigan towards the end of their non-conference schedule. On the other hand, the Bulldogs face potentially four 2015 NCAA Tournament-caliber opponents before the start of conference play, so this game isn’t nearly as crucial for the WCC favorites.

My prediction for this game is a back-and-forth affair between two dark horses for the elite eight and, at least in terms of talent level, even the national title. SMU has more raw talent, but the young Mustangs will be overwhelmed by the coaching of Mark Few. Expect SMU to dominate in the paint, but the elite jump shooting of the Bulldogs will undo the Mustangs in the end.

Prediction: Gonzaga 76, SMU 69

Taylor Sturm is a Featured Basketball Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TSturmRS, like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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