The next speed bump in Gonzaga’s road not just to another WCC title but to a (hopefully) deep run in the men’s college basketball tournament comes on Saturday, when the Tigers of the College of the Pacific come to town. The Bulldogs (14-0, 5-0 WCC) have won their conference games by 14 points or more, taking down the closest thing they have to a rival in conference play with a 73-59 win at St. Mary’s on Saturday. Pacific (5-2, 2-1 WCC) has had their schedule ravaged by COVID-19 cancellations and postponements, having gone from December 20 until January 14 without any action. Since returning to play, they have beaten Santa Clara and Loyola Marymount before falling at Pepperdine on Thursday.
While this matchup won’t offer a lot of college basketball betting value, let’s take a look at this West Coast Conference showdown.
NCAAB: Pacific at Gonzaga (January 23)
When: Saturday, January 23, 2021, 10:00 pm ET
Where: McCarthey Athletic Center, Spokane, WA
TV: No National Broadcast
Radio: No National Radio
Live Stream: WCCSports.com
Why should you bet on the Tigers?
Pacific’s defense could not keep up with Pepperdine’s Kessler Edwards, who went off for a career best 37 points to go along with 11 rebounds in the win, going 6 of 9 from behind the three-point arc. Pacific was led by Pierce Crockrell II, who had 19 points. Jahbril Price-Noel joined him in double figures, scoring 15 points. Jordan Bell led the team with seven rebounds.
It did not help that Pacific coughed the ball up 20 times over the course of the game; their ball security had been much more effective during their four-game winning streak. If you like Pacific to pull off a cover here, then you think that they will be able to manage their turnovers better, and that Gonzaga’s offense will get stuck in the same sort of morass that saw them only put up an uncharacteristically low 73 points at St. Mary’s.
Why should you put your money on the Bulldogs?
Two games ago, Gonzaga beat Pepperdine by 25…the same Pepperdine team that routed Pacific. In Gonzaga’s last game, they visited the St. Mary’s Gaels, the closest thing the Bulldgos have to a conference nemesis. The Gaels jumped out to a 22-12 lead after the first 11 minutes, but then Gonzaga started the comeback. Corey Kispert led Gonzaga with 17 points, and he was joined in double figures by Joel Ayayi (16), Jalen Suggs (14) and Drew Timme (14). Gonzaga jumped on a 20-3 run to go into the locker room up by seven at halftime.
The momentum continued after the intermission, as Suggs put up 10 points in the first four minutes of the second half to push Gonzaga’s lead into double figures. Gonzaga turned the ball over 11 times, but once they were able to adjust to the slower pace that St. Mary’s had established, they were able to get their own ball movement going and establish their offense. If you like Gonzaga against Pacific, then you see them establishing their own pace from the get-go, as they have all season long, and taking advantage of a defense that is not as opportunistic as that of St. Mary’s.
Final Score and Prediction
The only likely risk for Gonzaga here is that Pacific will be able to stay close enough to get a last-second cover. Given how Gonzaga has been rolling through their schedule, though, and given how poorly Pacific played against Pepperdine, it’s hard to justify taking Pacific here. I predict a final score of Gonzaga 94, Pacific 70.
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