The Gonzaga Bulldogs (+550 to win the national title) are virtually locked to win the WCC regular season title. They have been annihilating the competition in their conference like no other team in their respective conference. Up ahead for them is a rematch with a minnow in the form of the Pacific Tigers, who will have to play a near-perfect brand of basketball to take down Mark Few’s team. The sportsbook favors Gonzaga well into the double-digits, but will Stockton California’s UoP basketball program keep this one close enough to garner interest from bettors? They just might, so keep reading.
Betting on the Gonzaga Bulldogs (27-2 Overall / 14-0 Conference)
The Bulldogs continue to eat wins off easy competition in the WCC. In their most recent game, the Bulldogs demolished the BYU Cougars, 102-68, in Spokane on Saturday. Rui Hachimura, who’s ripe enough to be in the NBA today, led Gonzaga with 23 points to go with 10 rebounds, while Josh Perkins had 21 points to go with seven assists. The Bulldogs had 36 field goals on 18 assists. It’s been a trademark of Gonzaga’s offense: a sweet ball movement that often leads to a man with plenty of space to shoot. The Bulldogs are tops in the nation with 90.3 points per game on 53.1 field goal percentage – also best in Division I basketball. They didn’t shoot well in their first meeting with Pacific this season last month, but the Bulldogs still ended up with an easy 67-36 home win.
Gonzaga is 9-1 straight up (SU) and 5-5 against the spread (ATS) in its last 10 road games.
Betting on the Pacific Tigers (13-16 Overall / 3-11 Conference)
The Tigers crashed again, losing their fifth game in a row by way for a 63-56 setback at the hands of the Loyola Marymount Lions at home on Saturday. It’s hard to make a case for Pacific winning – or even covering the spread – in the rematch with Gonzaga, but guard Roberto Gallinat will look to make the game more interesting. Gallinat, the Tigers’ leading scorer, dropped 31 points on 10-for-18 shooting from the field in the Loyola Marymount game. He only had nine points in the first meeting with Gonzaga, but the fact that he’s coming off a good performance could also mean he’s in for a better outing against the Bulldogs. He’s going to need help, though – plenty of it. No Tiger scored in double figures against Gonzaga. They Tigers also had 22 turnovers in that game, so cutting down on their errors is going to be one of Pacific’s top priorities. One positive takeaway from that game for Pacific is the fact that the Tigers equaled the Bulldogs’ rebounding total, 34-34.
The under is 3-0 in Pacific’s last three home games.
