BYU vs. Gonzaga Pick
Is No. 14 Gonzaga going to be able to cover a lofty spread at home when the Bulldogs take on BYU tonight at 10PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at YouWager, Gonzaga is the clear favorite in this game, as the Bulldogs are getting odds of -11.5 points against BYU. The over/under total for the contest has been set at 146.5 points. Tonight’s game takes place from McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Washington and will air live on ESPN2.
BYU is coming off a 76-69 loss at LMU this week, suffering its second loss in three games. The Cougars are 18-6 overall, 7-4 in conference play and 11-10 against the spread. BYU averages 75.2 points per game this season while allowing 65.8 per game. Elijah Bryant has been the team leader this year with 18.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Yoeli Childs is adding 17.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.
Gonzaga has won four straight since a 3-point loss at home to St. Mary’s. However, the Bulldogs have failed to cover in six straight games. Zaga is now 20-4 overall, 10-1 in the West Coast Conference and 9-11-1 against the spread. Gonzaga is averaging 87.4 points per game on offense while allowing 69.3 per contest. Johnathan Williams is averaging 13.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game while Josh Perkins is adding 13.2 points and 5.1 assists per contest.
Gonzaga has won three of its last four meetings with BYU, but this has been a competitive series. Today’s game is a tough call. The Cougars have failed to cover in three of their last four on the road while Gonzaga is just not covering at all. Still, the Bulldogs have won their last four by 9 or more. The spreads have simply been pretty big. I think because of that, the spread for this game is down a little bit. While BYU is a good WCC team, it doesn’t have the horses to beat Gonzaga on the road. The public betting likes Gonzaga in this one and I think the Bulldogs will look strong at home tonight as well.
CBB DAILY PREDICTION: GONZAGA -11.5