ATHENS — Georgia basketball knows the underdog role well having faced Top 10 teams eight times — the most of any team in the nation.
Gonzaga — a West Region superpower that owns the longest streak of Sweet 16 appearances (nine) — isn’t a Top 10-ranked team, but the Zags are No. 8 in the NET metrics ranking.
No doubt, No. 9-seeded Georgia (20-12) drew one of the toughest No. 8 seeds in the Zags (25-8) and one of the tougher brackets with Midwest Region No. 1-seed Houston (30-4) likely awaiting them in the next game in Wichita should they upset Gonzaga.
Gonzaga opened as a 7-point favorite in the teams’ 4:35 p.m. game on Thursday (TV: TBS) in Wichita, Kans., but per Draft Kings the spread had shrunk to 5.5 at press time.
The Bulldogs are one of a record-14 SEC teams in the NCAA tournament, 12 of which have betting lines on their opening games.
Two teams — Auburn and Ole Miss — don’t have betting lines yet, as they will face the winner of play-in games.
Here are the betting lines for all of the SEC teams opening NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament games:
Wednesday
No. 11 seed Xavier -3.5 vs. No. 11 seed Texas 9:10 p.m., truTV, Dayton
Thursday
No. 16s Saint Francis/Alabama State winner vs. Auburn (No line), 2:50 p.m., CBS, Lexington, Ky.
No. 9 seed Georgia vs. No. 8 seed Gonzaga -5.5 4:35 p.m, TBS, Wichita, Kans.
No. 15 seed Wofford vs. No. 2 seed Tennessee -18.5, 6:50 p.m., TNT, Lexington, Ky.
No. 10 seed Arkansas vs. No. 7 seed Kansas -4.5, 7:10 p.m., CBS, Providence, R.I.
No. 13 seed Yale vs. No. 4 seed Texas A&M -7.5, 7:25 p.m., TBS, Denver
No. 11 seed Drake vs. No. 6 seed Missouri -6.5, 7:35 p.m., truTV, Wichita
Friday
No. 9 seed Baylor vs. No. 8 seed Mississippi State -1.5, 12:15 p.m., CBS, Raleigh, N.C.
No. 15 seed Robert Morris vs. No. 2 seed Alabama -22.5, 12:40 p.m., truTV, Cleveland
No. 10 seed Vanderbilt vs. No. 7 seed Saint Mary’s -3.5, 3:15 p.m., truTV, Cleveland
No. 11 seed North Carolina/No. 11 SDSU winner vs. No. 6 seed Ole Miss, 4:05 p.m., TNT, Milwaukee
No. 16 seed Norfolk State vs. No. 1 seed Florida - 28.5, 6:50 p.m., TNT
No. 14 seed Troy vs. No. 3 seed Kentucky -10.5, 7:10 p.m., CBS, Milwaukee
No. 9 Oklahoma vs. No. 8 UConn -4.5, 9:25 p.m., TNT, Raleigh
