The BYU Cougars will be the latest team looking to hand the top-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs their first loss of the season when the two rivals square off on Thursday night in the Great Northwest.
Gonzaga was originally scheduled to face conference rival Santa Clara on Thursday, but the game has been postponed because of COVID-19 protocols in the Santa Clara program. BYU’s originally scheduled game against Pacific on Thursday was also postponed due to COVID-19-related protocols within the Pacific program.
Now, with BYU looking to extend its own winning ways and Gonzaga looking to avoid the huge upset loss, let’s find out which team is offering the best value against their College Basketball odds in this contest.
College Basketball Predictions – BYU at No. 1 Gonzaga
Why Bet On BYU
The Cougars have won four straight and come into this contest fresh off an 87-79 home win over Weber State in their last contest on Dec. 23. 7’3″ senior center Matt Haarms scored a team-high 15 points to lead the way to victory while four of his teammates all reached double figures in scoring in the win. The Cougars have gone 2-0 on the road this season and have an offense that ranks inside the top 100 nationally across the board. BYU has played Over the Total in five straight games.
Offense:
- Points/G: 78.9
- Field Goal %: 47.8
- 3-Point %: 36.1
- Free Throw %: 67.8
- Rebounds/G: 37.2
Defense:
- Points/G: 67.4
- Field Goal %: 40.5
- 3-Point %: 33.3
- Free Throw %: 67.6
- Rebounds/G: 30.2
Why Bet On No. 1 Gonzaga
The Bulldogs remained unbeaten by pounding San Francisco relentlessly en route to a commanding 85-62 home win on Saturday.
Senior forward Corey Kispert scored a team-high 26 points on 9-of-11 shooting and the Bulldogs turned up their defensive effort in the second half to get the win. Junior guards Joel Ayayi and Andrew Nembhard added 18 and 14 points for Gonzaga in the win respectively.
“It was a great second half of defense against a pretty potent offense,” Few said. “We held them to 25% (shooting) in the second half.”
Gonzaga held the Dons to just 38.9 percent shooting for the game while draining a blistering 52.6 percent of their own shots. The Bulldogs have won 44 consecutive home games which is the longest streak in the country. Gonzaga leads the nation in scoring and field goal shooting percentage while ranking 41st nationally in rebounding. The Bulldogs have gone 5-0 at home this season.
Offense:
- Points/G: 95.1
- Field Goal %: 55.4
- 3-Point %: 34.5
- Free Throw %: 70.4
- Rebounds/G: 37.9
Defense:
- Points/G: 72.4
- Field Goal %: 42.6
- 3-Point %: 33.5
- Free Throw %: 71.3
- Rebounds/G: 27.7
BYU Cougars (9-2) Vs Gonzaga Bulldogs (10-0)
- When: Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021 at 8:30 PM ET
- Where: McCarthey Athletic Center, Spokane, WA
- TV: ESPN
- NCAAB Odds: TBD
Expert Analysis and Prediction
While BYU has a very solid offense, Gonzaga is downright great when it comes to scoring. The Cougars have three players that average double figures in scoring, but the Bulldogs have four and another just under 10 points per game. Gonzaga’s top four scorers all shoot at least 53.8 percent from the field with leading scorer Corey Kispert shooting a blistering 63.4 percent.
More importantly, Gonzaga will be looking to extract some revenge for their stunning 91-78 upset road loss to BYU last season which snapped a six-game winning streak. BYU has failed to cover the spread in two straight while Gonzaga has gone 3-1 ATS over its last four. The Bulldogs won’t lose at home, making the final score the only thing the only question surrounding this affair. I’m going with Gonzaga to get it done by at least 10 points, and likely, by somewhere closer to 20 points.
Pick: Gonzaga 91 BYU 75
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