BYU vs Gonzaga College Basketball Predictions and Odds Jan 13
BYU vs Gonzaga Betting Preview
WagerTalk college basketball capper Tony Finn offers his BYU vs Gonzaga betting preview for Thursday, January 13. At the time of posting, the Bulldogs have opened as a 14.5-point home favorite over the road Cougars, with the total sitting at 151.5 points.
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| Thursday, January 13 | WCC Basketball Betting Notes |
|---|---|
| Point Spread: | Gonzaga Bulldogs -14.5 vs BYU Cougars |
| Total: | 151.5 Points |
| Game Time: | 11:00pm ET / 8:00pm PT |
| Arena: | McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, WA |
| TV: | ESPN2 |
BYU vs Gonzaga Analysis
The BYU Cougars (14-3, 2-0 WCC) and rival Gonzaga Bulldogs (12-2, 1-0 WCC) are set to meet in a Thursday night conference matchup in the Zags home gym. Tipoff from McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Washington, is scheduled for 11:00 pm ET. The West Coast Conference feature event is slated to air on ESPN. The Bulldogs have won four straight, with all four victories coming by 30-points or more. The Cougars were impressive in a 52-43 home win Saturday night over St. Mary’s, holding the Gaels to a minuscule 29 percent shooting from the field.
Gonzaga took the wood inside the McCarthey Athletic Center this past Saturday night for the first time since December 28. The result of the game, despite the Bulldogs’ pause, was a 117-83 rout of the Pepperdine Waves. It also allowed coach Few and his staff to continue building confidence and increasing the basketball IQ of their young players. The Zags top recruit, five-star freshman Hunter Sallis, continues to grow by leaps and bounds with his additional minutes in the games that more resemble a runaway train than a competitive hoops event.
Like the Zags, the Cougars are riding a four-game win streak. Circa Race and Sportsbook in downtown Las Vegas opened the Gonzaga Bulldogs as 15-point home favorites with a game total of 153.5 points. When this betting preview went to press, only one line move might suggest that sharp money was positioned on the Cougars. However, the change in the game total, from 153.5 to 151.5, wasn’t a money move but rather Circa making an overnight adjustment to align themselves with the rest of the marketplace.
Cougars Have Something to Prove
BYU has earned wins in their first two conference matchups. The win came against Pacific and above mentioned Saint Mary’s. The BYU game vs St. Mary’s was nothing short of an assault on the Gaels perimeter shooters. The Cougars defeated Saint Mary’s by a 52-43 final. The 43 points scored by the Gaels was the program’s lowest scoring output of the season. The Cougars were nothing special in the victory over the tradition-rich basketball program of St Mary’s.
However, the Cougars limited the Gaels to a mere 16 first-half points in large because of the pressure they applied to the St. Mary’s backcourt who committed 19 turnovers. All-American candidate Alex Barcello leads the Cougars in scoring averaging 16.6 points per game. Barcello is assisted by veterans Caleb Lohner and Gideon George. BYU’s second-leading scorer, transfer Te’Jon Lucas, was the only Cougar to register double-figures in the points column. However, leading scorer Alex Barcello (16.6 ppg) was all but invisible with his eight points misfiring most of the game and closing his stat-line with a 4-of-12 shooting performance.
Gonzaga Continues to Impress
Coach Few’s squad had the team’s first three conference games postponed due to COVID-19 issues. Those that believe the lag or pause damages a team cohesiveness should rethink the theory. The Bulldogs were uber-sharp in their destruction of Pepperdine. Six Zags registered double-digit points. Anton Watson scored 19 points, shooting 50-plus percent from the field. Zags’ head coach Mark Few has one prediction for Thursday night’s West Coast Conference home game against BYU in Spokane, Wash. “We’ll be tested on Thursday,” Few told the media earlier this week. “BYU always plays crazy, crazy hard.”
Few has handled the incoming recruits with tender loving care. In particular, the team’s top prospect Hunter Sallis. The Bulldogs coaching staff have gently issued the five-star recruit additional minutes as the first half of the 2021-22 campaign was being played out. Sallis received seven minutes or fewer court-time against Texas, Duke, Tarleton State, and Texas Tech during the school’s November and December events. Few issued the five-star hoopster a build-up of additional minutes over the last three games. Sallis has played at least 19 minutes in each of the team’s last three games, in which the freshman averaged 10 points and 3.7 rebounds. The best frontcourt in college basketball plays for Gonzaga. The dynamic duo of Drew Timme and his 16.8 points per game combined with 7-footer Chet Holmgren and his 13.4 ppg makes life and open looks from the perimeter a Sunday walk in the park for Julian Strawther (13.1 ppg) and Rasir Bolton (11.0 ppg).
BYU vs Gonzaga Prediction
Based on how the second-ranked Bulldogs responded from a long layoff in their first game back, it will take something crazy, even from a solid team like the Cougars, to end Gonzaga’s 60-game winning streak at McCarthey Athletic Center. Few was also impressed by Gonzaga’s defense. It held the Waves to 42.7 percent shooting from the field, forced 18 turnovers, and earned a 51-36 rebounding advantage. In addition, the Zags grabbed 35 defensive rebounds.
The Zags lead Division I in field goal percentage at 52.3 and rank second in points per game with 87.9. Gonzaga’s two losses are anything but badges of shame. The first loss came against a good Duke squad and an Alabama Crimson Tide team that is considered one of the favorites to win the SEC title this season. Don’t buy into or drink the Gonzaga Kool-aide that states style points or playing to earn the overall No. #1 college basketball ranking isn’t important. A Zags victory by margin tonight over a Cougars squad that is currently considered a Four Seed or better come March would go a long way in returning the Bulldogs to the top spot in the polls.
The WagerTalk pick to click is taking Gonzaga -14.5 against the Cougars.
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BYU vs Gonzaga Preview from GoldSheet
NCAAB Stat Sheet
Each day, WagerTalk handicapper Ralph Michaels puts together his College Basketball Stat Sheet, which offers a head-to-head comparison for how teams are performing in a number of key areas heading into a game. Check out Thursday’s sheet, with notes on tonight’s BYU vs Gonzaga contest.
Happy Hour Tip-Off Show
Get your daily fix of college hoops betting information with Joe Raineri and a rotating panel of handicapping guests. The Happy Hour Tip-Off Show will broadcast Monday through Friday at 1:45pm ET / 10:45am PT. Pull up a barstool and join us as we break down tonight’s college basketball card, including this BYU vs Gonzaga clash, from a sports betting perspective.
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