Which team is the best out West this season? That could be somewhat answered on Saturday in a terrific non-conference game when No. 6 Gonzaga visits No. 15 Arizona. The Wildcats should be slight home favorites on the MyBookie NCAAB odds.
How to Bet Gonzaga vs Arizona College Basketball Odds & Game Info
- When: Saturday, 10 PM ET
- Where: McKale Center, Tucson
- TV: ESPN2
- Live Stream: WatchESPN
- Radio: SiriusXM
- Opening NCAAB Lines: TBA
Gonzaga vs Arizona Last Meeting
Schools met last year with the Zags winning 91-74 in Hawaii when Gonzaga was ranked No. 3 and Arizona was unranked. Rui Hachimura scored 24 points, and Zach Norvell Jr. added 20. The Zags were down eight at the half but went on early 15-2 run in the second. Justin Coleman had 28 points for Arizona, which had three assists on 21 made field goals.Overall, the schools have met nine times in eight locales: Tucson, Arizona, (twice), Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Seattle, San Diego, Spokane, Los Angeles and Maui, Hawaii. The Zags are yet to win in Tucson in those two tries, dropping thrillers in both.
Why Bet on Gonzaga?
The Zags (10-1) have only lost to a good Michigan team. They come off an 83-76 win at No. 22 Washington last Sunday. Killian Tillie hit a key 3-pointer as the shot clock expired with 2:55 remaining and finished with 15 points, and Joel Ayayi hit another 3 with 24 seconds left that served as the clincher.Five Bulldogs including Tillie scored in double figures. Filip Petrusev finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds, Ryan Woolridge had 16 points, including two key baskets in the final 2 1/2 minutes. Corey Kispert added 15 points and Ayayi finished with 12. Gonzaga never trailed after falling behind 5-4, but the lead never got bigger than nine.
Petrusev, a sophomore, has been named to the initial watch list for the Oscar Robertson Trophy, presented to the men’s national player of the year. Petrusev averages a team-best 15.8 points per game, which ranks fifth in the West Coast Conference. He tops the conference in rebounds per game (8.5) and blocked shots per game (1.2). He is second in the league averaging 3.0 offensive boards per outing. Petrusev already has three double-doubles in 2019-20.
The Bulldogs have the second longest true road game win streak in the nation with 10 straight victories. The Zags are second in the nation in total assists and total rebounds, fifth in scoring margin and scoring offense, eighth in rebound margin, and 11th in assist-to-turnover ratio. The Zags are shooting 55.7% from two-point range and are fifth nationally in defensive rebounding percentage, allowing opponents to pick up their missed shots just 20.8% of the time.
Under Mark Few, Gonzaga is 112-42 all-time in December games. The Zags also have won their past seven overall against the Pac-12.
Team Stats
Offense- Total Score: 85.91
- Field Goal Percentage: 49.93
- Three-Point Percentage: 38.26
- Free Throw Percentage: 65.99
- Total Rebounds: 41.82
Defense
- Total Score: 65.00
- Field Goal Percentage: 41.13
- Three-Point Percentage: 34.93
- Free Throw Percentage: 69.78
- Total Rebounds: 31.36
Why Bet on Arizona?
Arizona trashed Nebraska-Omaha 99-49 on Wednesday. Josh Green and Chase Jeter had 15 points each, helping No. 15 Arizona bounce back from its first loss of the season. The Wildcats (10-1) returned to McKale Center for the first time in 17 days with a dominating performance. Arizona shot 58%, had 25 assists on 38 field goals and had a 44-20 advantage in the paint. Arizona’s Nico Mannion had 13 points and 11 assists, and Dylan Smith scored all 14 of his points in the first half.Despite winning by 50, Arizona owned only a 47-33 rebounding margin. More worrisome was that the Wildcats were outrebounded 14-12 on the offensive glass, which resulted in 11 second-chance points for the Mavericks. The Wildcats rank 113th in the country in offensive rebounding percentage and 155th in defensive rebounding percentage. Baylor, the best team Arizona has played, outrebounded UA 40-33 last Saturday including 13 offensive rebounds, which they turned into 12 second-chance points.
“Our Achilles heel is rebounding,” Arizona coach Sean Miller said after the Omaha game. “We’re not good enough defensive rebounding. We’re not a team that gets a lot of second shots. We’ve been at this for a while, but we have to block out. That’s up to us as a coaching staff.”
Good Numbers
Arizona had 25 assists for its 38 made field-goals on Wednesday after posting seven on 14 makes last Saturday at Baylor, when Miller complained of a lack of ball movement. Shooting just 26.7% at Baylor, Arizona shot 57.6% on Wednesday while also making 12 of 26 (46.2%) from 3-point range.“We’ll take it,” Miller said. “We were able to do a number of things that we’re trying to be better at. And, obviously, we have a big test on Saturday and that’s where we’re at now.”
Arizona is 101-8 in the last 109 games they have played in the McKale Center, tied for the third-fewest losses in the country. Arizona is also 54-1 in its last 55 non-conference home games and 7-0 this year.
Team Stats
Offense- Total Score: 85.55
- Field Goal Percentage: 51.23
- Three-Point Percentage: 40.75
- Free Throw Percentage: 73.18
- Total Rebounds: 36.91
Defense
- Total Score: 63.18
- Field Goal Percentage: 36.68
- Three-Point Percentage: 32.22
- Free Throw Percentage: 72.15
- Total Rebounds: 32.27
Gonzaga vs Arizona College Basketball Betting Trends
- Bulldogs are 10-0 SU in their last 10 games on the road
- Bulldogs are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games played in December
- The total has gone OVER in 13 of Gonzaga’s last 18 games played on a Saturday
- Wildcats are 7-0 SU in their last 7 games at home
- Wildcats are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games played on a Saturday
- The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Arizona’s last 12 games played in December
