Syracuse has a neutral court advantage traveling just 592 miles, compared to 1505 for the Zags. It is corroborated by our power line which has Gonzaga winning by just two. While the power line is great, it does not take into account the intangible of a significant difference in travel, the most underrated yet so-simple facet of neutral courts and fields handicapping.

A lot of not zone teams this season switched to zones to try to neutralize the Bulldogs skill edge. However this is different. Syracuse is built on the zone and has better athletes than Gonzaga has generally seen.

Gonzaga lost its first game against the BYU this season at home, then won close games on the road and in the WCC Tournament as the season wound down. But Syracuse is significantly better on defense.