Gonzaga has a tough matchup tonight against their conference rivals on the road at Santa Clara. The Bulldogs and Broncos are both having solid seasons and each are potential NCAA Tournament teams even if Gonzaga may not have the national championship expectations they have had over the past several seasons.
An 11-4 start that includes close defeats against teams like Purdue and UConn shows the Bulldogs still have enough firepower to compete with anyone on the right night. Their 6-9 spread record shows they have underachieved some. Gonzaga may be turning the corner, though, winning their last two and covering the spread in each contest. Santa Clara has been similar against the spread this season at 7-10 but has been at their best recently. The Broncos have won and covered the spread in their last two games.
Here are the live odds for the Gonzaga road trip to Santa Clara, as the two teams will fight to maintain first place in the WCC. TV coverage will be on ESPN with a scheduled 9:30 p.m. ET tipoff. Here's the Gonzaga vs. Santa Clara betting news, game props and a betting prediction.
Live odds for Gonzaga vs. Santa Clara
Here are the spread, moneyline and total points live odds for Gonzaga vs. Santa Clara at the top online sportsbooks.
More college hoops betting: College Basketball Odds: NCAAB Betting Lines, Spreads and Futures | March Madness Betting Sites
Gonzaga Bulldogs betting news
The Bulldogs are a strong team, and their offense has been steadily improving and is approaching an elite level. They have the 20th-ranked adjusted offensive efficiency metric on Kenpom, and their adjusted defensive efficiency ranks 40th. They also play fast, ranking 66th for adjusted tempo, which has been rising in the rankings after their last few games.
Gonzaga had some of college hoops's biggest stars over the past several seasons, surrounded by excellent supporting casts. This version of Gonzaga did not have a star player who would have been easily identified before the season. That narrative may be changing as Wyoming transfer Graham Ike has been improving every night and has become the first option on offense for Mark Few.
Ike is averaging 15.2 PPG and 8 RPG and ranks top 25 in the country in field goal percentage at 61.4%. The junior does not shoot many threes, with only 11 attempts on the season, but he has been fantastic in the paint, and his high-level rebounding helps him get a lot of easy baskets. Ike only scored 18-plus points once in his first eight games but has now done it in five of his last seven.
If Ike can continue his current trajectory and become a consistent 20-point scoring threat, Gonzaga could again be a national championship contender by NCAA Tournament time. The Bulldogs have a strong supporting cast with players like Anton Watson (13.8 PPG, 7.3 RPG), Nolan Hickman (12.7 PPG) and Ryan Nembhard (12.5 PPG, 6 APG). Finding a star in Ike could be what Mark Few needed to be one of the country's best teams like Bulldog fans have become accustomed to.
Santa Clara Broncos betting news
The Broncos' up-and-down season has been frustrating for their fans at times, and their inconsistent offense has a lot to do with it. Santa Clara ranks only 120th for adjusted offensive efficiency on Kenpom, and their adjusted defensive efficiency is slightly worse at 122nd. The Broncos only have two players averaging double figures, and they could use more help from the supporting cast.
Even those two players, Adama Bal (15.9 PPG) and Carlos Marshall Jr. (14.2 PPG) have had some rough nights with season lows of two and zero points, respectively. However, a lot of that is not their fault, as they are a strong duo, and without a consistent third scorer opponents have been able to focus on limiting the guards.
When Santa Clara has a player score at least 19 points, they are 9-2. In contests where their leading scorer is under 19 points, the Broncos are 2-4. The struggle is that there has only been one game all season where a player who was not Adama Bal or Carlos Marshall Jr. scored at least 19 points.
Gonzaga vs. Santa Clara game props at FanDuel Sportsbook
FanDuel provides excellent value odds and many player props markets. Check out a few of our favorite game prop markets for tonight's WCC first-place battle.
- 1st half spread: Gonzaga -4.5 (-104) vs. Santa Clara +4.5 (+118)
- 1st half moneyline: Gonzaga (-220) / tie (+1800) / Santa Clara (+210)
- 1st half total: 74.5 points OVER (-120) / UNDER (-104)
- Santa Clara 75.5 total points OVER (-106) / UNDER (-114)
- Gonzaga 83.5 total points OVER (-105) / UNDER (-115)
- two or more threes made in the first three minutes of the game YES (+162) / NO (-210)
- Both teams to score in the first two minutes YES (-330) / NO (+235)
Gonzaga vs. Santa Clara prediction: Gonzaga pulls away in second half
Gonzaga has found their star player and has started to play their best basketball of the season. Santa Clara still needs to find more scoring outside of their top two, and Mark Few will have his Bulldogs ready to limit Bal and Marshall. Gonzaga could easily extend their lead to double digits in the last 10 minutes of the game.
Pick: Gonzaga
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