The Gonzaga Bulldogs are arguably the best team in the nation. What’s not up for debate is their status as the No. 1 team in the West Coast Conference. But will the Santa Clara Broncos pull off a miracle at home this Thursday and beat the Bulldogs? Check out our preview of this game below.
Barring a huge upset loss to the BYU Cougars this Monday, Gonzaga will enter Thursday’s meeting with the Santa Clara Broncos still undefeated this season. The Bulldogs are simply head and shoulders above the competition in the WCC. Following their journey in conference play has honestly become boring because of their dominance. In their most recent game as of this writing, the Bulldogs destroyed the Pacific Tigers in a 76-58 road win on Feb. 4. Gonzaga made 50 percent of its shots against Pacific. The Bulldogs have shot 50 percent or better in all but three of their 18 games, so far this season. Gonzaga has the best offense in the nation, at least on paper. It is averaging 93.3 points per game on 55.1 percent shooting from the field and 60.7 effective field goal percentage. Stacked with talent, Gonzaga can overpower opponents with its depth and efficiency.
The under is 7-3 in Gonzaga’s last 10 games overall.
Santa Clara is about to face its biggest challenge of the season, and the Broncos made sure that they are going to play Gonzaga with some semblance of momentum by beating Loyola Marymount on the road on Jan. 23, 72-69. Santa Clara had to deal with game postponements due to COVID-19-related issues, and if anything, they will come into the Gonzaga game with very fresh legs. Santa Clara relies on its defense that is allowing 65.8 points per game. The Broncos do not have the firepower to keep up with Gonzaga in a possible shootout, so they will have to look for another way to make life at least a bit harder for the Bulldogs. Santa Clara can use its size to its advantage, as the Broncos are the fourth-tallest team in the nation. It’s a big reason why the Broncos are second in the conference with 4.0 blocks per game. They swatted away six shots against Loyola Marymount.
Santa Clara, which is averaging 63.8 points per game, is 2-1 against the spread in its last three contests.
