The No. 2 Gonzaga Bulldogs (+900 to win the national title) winning the West Coast Conference (WCC) appears to be a foregone conclusion, with no team in the conference capable of matching up with them apparently. The San Francisco Dons (+50000) surely want to prove that statement wrong. They will get their chance to upset the Bulldogs at home this coming weekend.
Betting on the Gonzaga Bulldogs (12-1 Overall/7-0 Conference)
The Bulldogs should move to a different conference. It doesn’t seem to be a bad idea as they continue to dominate in the West Coast Conference, staying undefeated in conference play after torching the Pacific Tigers at home last Saturday, 92-59. Chances are, the Bulldogs will take down the Santa Clara Broncos in their next game before facing the Dons on the road. Outside of the depth and overall talent of the Bulldogs, another thing that’s going to make it hard for San Francisco in this matchup is Gonzaga’s height. The Bulldogs have the second tallest roster in the nation with an average of 78.8 inches. Meanwhile, the Dons are 41st with 77.9. The Bulldogs are led by Filip Petrusev, who’s putting up 16.1 points and grabbing 7.6 rebounds per game. Gonzaga’s offense is seemingly going to be too much for the Dons, who are only 217th in the nation in scoring defense. Gonzaga is tops in Division I basketball with an average of 89.0 points per game. Even in terms of efficiency, the Bulldogs still lead everybody else, with 120.1 points per 100 possessions.
The Bulldogs are 6-2 against the spread in their last eight games against San Francisco.
Betting on the San Francisco Dons (15-7 Overall / 4-3 Conference)
The Dons are coming off a great win over the BYU Cougars at home last Saturday, 85-84. San Francisco also managed to cover the spread as 2.5-point home underdogs. Khalil Shabazz and Jamaree Bouyea waxed hot from the field, combining for 45 of San Francisco’s total points. Shabazz fired a game-high 32 points on a perfect 10-for-10 shooting from the field and 6-for-6 shooting from behind the arc. Bouyea, meanwhile, went 10 of 15 from the field and 3 of 6 from long range. The pair’s performance was enough to cover up the poor showing of Charles Minlend, who leads the Dons this season with 14.7 points per game. Minlend was held down to only six points against BYU, but had seven rebounds and three assists. The Dons can score and can get hot in a hurry. They have four players averaging at least 10 points per game and an offense that ranks 37th in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency and 16th in triples made per contest (9.7).
The Dons are 3-0 straight-up and -2-1 ATS in their last three home games.
