In college sports, it’s all about the rankings at the end of the season. It’s definitely a little more important in football given that only 4 teams make it into the playoffs, but rankings are still huge in college basketball. The end gal for every team is to cut down the nets as the national champion, which usually happens when the path through the playoffs is as smooth as possible. A high ranking at the end of the regular season usually means a more forgiving seeding in the tournament, which is why landing in or near the top spots is considered a must for the teams who are serious about taking a run at a national title.
As it stands right now, the Gonzaga Bulldogs are getting a lot of love as the #2 team in the country, but they will still want to move up one more spot, which they might well do if they continue to play in the style that they are doing now. They will look to continue their strong play when they head to Santa Clara to face the Broncos on Thursday night. The Bulldogs are in as a 17-point favorite, with the point total set at 155 ½.
Gonzaga vs Santa Clara 2020 College Basketball Odds, Game Info & Pick
- When: Thursday, January 30 at 10:30 PM EST
- Where: Leavey Center, Santa Clara
- TV: CBSSN
- Radio: SiriusXM
- Live Stream: CBS Sports Live
- College Basketball Odds: Gonzaga -17 (Total 155.5)
Why bet on the Gonzaga Bulldogs?
The Gonzaga Bulldogs season record of 21-1 is certainly impressive, especially in a year where no-one is getting by totally unscathed, but it is the way in which they are winning that is so much fun to watch. They are totally blowing teams out of the water, particularly on their current 13-game winning streak that they began after taking their lone loss of the season to the Michigan Wolverines.The Bulldogs are averaging close to 90 PPG this season and recently dropped 104 points on Santa Clara in an absolute clobbering a couple of weeks back. The Bulldogs have won 20 straight games against the Broncos, so I don’t think the outcome is very much in doubt, it’s simply the margin of victory that needs to be seen to. Gonzaga is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 meetings with Santa Clara.
Team Stats
Offense- Total Score: 88.95
- Field Goal Percentage: 50.83
- Three-Point Percentage: 39.10
- Free Throw Percentage: 67.16
- Total Rebounds: 41.32
Defense
- Total Score: 66.41
- Field Goal Percentage: 41.11
- Three-Point Percentage: 32.18
- Free Throw Percentage: 66.89
- Total Rebounds: 31.68
Why bet on the Santa Clara Broncos?
It has been a very decent season for the Santa Clara Bulldogs, as they are coming into this one with a very respectable 17-5 record. The downside there is that the majority of their losses have come in conference play, where they are 4-3 SU in the WCC. The elephant in the room for the Broncos is their recent meeting with Gonzaga, a game where they lost by 50 points.
Santa Clara are 15-1 SU in their own building this season, so you would expect them to be a little more competitive here, but the fact of the matter is that we are likely talking about damage control more than anything else. The Broncos have gone 6-3 ATS in their last 9 games.
Team Stats
Offense- Total Score: 77.32
- Field Goal Percentage: 47.00
- Three-Point Percentage: 35.36
- Free Throw Percentage: 75.29
- Total Rebounds: 35.14
Defense
- Total Score: 69.41
- Field Goal Percentage: 40.60
- Three-Point Percentage: 34.44
- Free Throw Percentage: 70.71
- Total Rebounds: 35.59
Gonzaga vs Santa Clara 2020 College Basketball Betting Trends
- Bulldogs are 14-0 SU in their last 14 games on the road
- Bulldogs are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games against an opponent in the West Coast conference
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Gonzaga’s last 5 games played in January
- Broncos are 7-3 SU in their last 10 games this season
- Broncos are 6-3 ATS in their last 9 games
- The total has gone OVER in 7 of Santa Clara’s last 10 games
Expert Pick & Final Score Prediction for Gonzaga vs Santa Clara
While I’m not so sure that this one will be a blowout of the epic proportions that we seen when these two last hooked up, I do still think that Gonzaga will win an cover the spread rather comfortably.Score: Gonzaga Bulldogs 95 – Santa Clara Broncos 60
