NCAA Basketball Gonzaga vs BYU Betting Analysis & Pick

Just a little over two weeks ago, the Gonzaga Bulldogs hosted one of their top West Coast Conference rivals, the BYU Cougars. Many thought that Mark Pope would have his Cougars ready for everything that the Zags would throw at them. On the bright side, the Cougars scored 84 points. However, they gave up 110 and lost by a score of 110-84. Let’s take a look at our College Basketball Betting analysis for the upcoming match between Gonzaga and BYU.

College Basketball Betting Analysis for Gonzaga Bulldogs vs BYU Cougars

Gonzaga vs BYU | A Closer Look

The #2 ranked Bulldogs will now head to Provo to take on the Cougars once again. BYU is hoping that they won’t see a repeat of the last game. Gonzaga was on fire to start the game, hitting 10 of their 15 3-point attempts in the first half. Gonzaga shot 69% for the game and shot 52% from behind the arc. BYU is hoping that they don’t replicate that on Saturday night.

If we’re looking for positives from the first game, BYU did score 84 points, and they hit 13 3-pointers on the night. They shot the ball well, but their defense just couldn’t find any way to stop Mark Few’s squad. Pope had numerous schemes to try and slow them down, but nothing seemed to work that night.

Gonzaga had four players score in double figures in their first meeting. Player of the Year candidate Drew Timme led the way with 30 on 13-14 shooting. Andrew Nembhard was next with 22, while Julian Strawther had 20, and freshman phenom Chet Holmgren chipped in with 12.

Things haven’t been going well for the BYU Cougars as of late. After just missing being ranked in last week’s AP Top 25 poll, the Cougars have lost two straight. They lost a tough one at Santa Clara last Thursday night, and then they lost an inexcusable one on Saturday to Pacific. That win was Pacific’s first conference win of the season.

Things don’t get any easier either, as this Thursday night they play San Francisco, who is one of the top teams in the WCC, and then their date with Gonzaga. The Cougars now sit in fourth place in the WCC standings with a 17-6 overall record. The Cougars are 5-3 in the WCC heading into Thursday night’s game with San Francisco.

Gonzaga will also play on Thursday night, as they will meet up with the San Diego Toreros in San Diego. Gonzaga will head into that one with a 17-2 overall record, and a 6-0 WCC record. No team in the WCC has been able to give Gonzaga much of a contest this season, but BYU thinks that they will be the team to give them their biggest challenge on Saturday.

We do know that the Marriott Center crowd will be fired up for a Saturday night affair with one of the top teams in the country. The Cougars will need all the help that they can get in this one. While we don’t see BYU being able to beat Gonzaga, we think that this game will be much lower scoring, and BYU will keep it close until the end.