The last time we saw the Gonzaga Bulldogs (+900 to win the 2020 Tournament) worry about whether they can keep their conference record clean was in a matchup against the San Francisco Dons, who gave them a big fight a couple of weeks ago. Will the Dons step up even more and down Gonzaga? Or will the Bulldogs beat San Francisco in a more convincing fashion this time around?
Betting on the San Francisco Dons (17-10 Overall / 6-6 Conference)
The Dons gave Gonzaga a scare in the first meeting with Mark Few’s team this season, easily covering their 10-point spread as the home underdogs. However, they didn’t put up the same kind of fight in the two games that followed, losing to the Pacific Tigers at home (60-48) and to the BYU Cougars on the road (90-76). San Francisco prevented a four-game losing skid by defeating the Santa Clara Broncos on the road last week, 70-61, a great boost for their confidence heading into a rematch with the Bulldogs. The Dons nearly beat Gonzaga despite shooting a horrible 7 of 28 from deep and 40.9 percent from the field. Their defense caused Gonzaga to lose possession of the leather 15 times to just eight turnovers by San Francisco. If the Dons could replicate the same defensive effort and shoot better, Gonzaga could find itself sweating again.
The Dons are averaging 74.9 points per game.
The over is 4-2 in the Dons’ last six home games.
Betting on the Gonzaga Bulldogs (26-1 Overall / 12-0 Conference)
The Bulldogs…you guessed it — won again. In their last game, Gonzaga scored an 89-77 win over the Pepperdine Waves on the road last Saturday. The Waves made things interesting in some stretches in the fourth quarter, but it was abundantly clear that between the two teams, Gonzaga’s offense and poise were superior to that of Pepperdine’s. Filip Petrusev was a one-man wrecking crew against Pepperdine, pumping out a game-high 27 points, while four other Bulldogs starters scored in double figures. The Bulldogs–who are averaging 88.6 points per game — the best in college basketball–didn’t even need Killian Tillie to take care of business in the Waves game. Tillie, who’s the Bulldogs’ second-leading scorer sat out the contest against Pepperdine because of an ankle issue. Tillie also missed the first meeting with San Francisco earlier this month, but Petrusev led the team with 23 points and 11 rebounds in an 83-79 road win. The Bulldogs shot 54 percent from the field in that game and went 25 of 32 from the foul line.
The Bulldogs are 6-4 against the spread (ATS) in their last 10 games overall.
