The No. 1 Gonzaga Bulldogs are two wins away from a perfect regular season. Up next for them is a showdown with the Santa Clara Broncos, who will try to pull off a shocker this Thursday in Spokane. Check out our preview of this game below.
Santa Clara knows it has a tough assignment ahead against arguably the best team in the nation from Day 1 of the season, so at least the Broncos have something to feel good about heading into the showdown with Gonzaga. Santa Clara is coming off an 86-82 home win over the Pepperdine Waves last Saturday, which stopped the Broncos’ two-game losing skid. The win over Pepperdine was a mild upset for the Broncos, who entered that game as a four-point underdog. Santa Clara can’t engage the Bulldogs in a shootout, but aggressiveness will be a key for the Broncos. They are third in the nation in drawing fouls, as Santa Clara opponents are committing 22.0 fouls per game, so it;s no surprise that the Broncos are 16th overall with 23.2 free-throw attempts per game. That’s how the Broncos upset Pepperdine, as the Waves committed 28 fouls, resulting in 36 free-throw attempts for Santa Clara.
Santa Clara is 3-1 against the spread in its last four road games.
Gonzaga is so dominant that the Bulldogs have become boring to follow for some. What’s not boring, however, is the Bulldogs’ offense that continues to smother opposing teams. The Bulldogs, who scored a 106-69 win at home over the San Diego Toreros last Saturday, are averaging 93.4 points per game, the highest in the nation, as of this writing. Although Santa Clara’s defense is 15th nationally in shooting efficiency, the Broncos have not faced an offense this season that is anywhere near the quality of what Gonzaga brings to the table. Gonzaga is shooting 55.4 percent from the field and owns a 61.1 effective field goal percentage, both the highest marks among all Division I teams. Against San Diego, Gonzaga shot 55.6 percent from the field despite going only 5 of 19 from deep — a rare off night from long range for the Bulldogs, who are No. 1 in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency (121.8).
Gonzaga is 3-0 against the spread in its last three games overall.
