Gonzaga is an astounding 27-1 this season, but has not faced a ranked opponent since mid-December… until now. While the Bulldogs beat a then-unranked BYU team about a month ago at home, they travel to Provo on Saturday, where the Cougars are 13-1 and are intent on revenge.
- Date/Time: February 22, 10:00 p.m. ET
- Arena: Marriott Center
- TV Coverage: ESPN2
- Sportsbook Odds: Gonzaga -4.5 | O/U 158.5
- Gonzaga vs BYU Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
BYU is 13-1 at home but has not defeated a ranked team this season, including a 23-point loss at Gonzaga last month, so it opened as 4.5-point home underdogs against the second-ranked Bulldogs for Saturday’s contest. The total opened at a whopping 158.5 points, considering the country’s second and 17th-ranked offenses are squaring off, which average a combined 168.1 points per game — and totaled 161 points in their previous meeting this season.
Gonzaga News & Notes
Gonzaga may have trailed at halftime against San Francisco on Thursday, but it blitzed its opponents in the second half to secure a 71-54 victory, notching its 19th straight win and moving its record to 27-1 on the season.
It was the Bulldogs’ 40th straight win within the West Coast Conference and their 37th straight home victory as Gonzaga exploded for 49 second-half points, which isn’t surprising considering the school is the second-highest scoring program in the nation and has seen the total go OVER in nine of its last 10 games.
Filip Petrusev leads an offense that has seven different players averaging in double-figures this season and it’ll need to be firing on all cylinders Saturday, against an equally-potent BYU offense, if Gonzaga wants to extend its five-game ATS win streak and six-game win streak overall against the Cougars.
BYU News & Notes
BYU has won seven straight games following its 85-75 win over Santa Clara on Thursday, but despite having a 22-7 record and moving into the top-25 national rankings, it finds itself as home underdogs on Saturday in its biggest matchup of the season.
The Cougars win with offense; they’re 17th in the country in scoring and 161st in defense, as they lead the nation by shooting 42.2 percent as a team from behind the three-point line and are third in the country with 727 threes attempted this season.
That has led to the total going OVER in nine of their last 13 games, but it hasn’t equaled in victories in their limited action against ranked teams — they’re 0-2 SU and ATS this season in losses to Kansas at home and at Gonzaga.
The Cougars will look to get revenge on Saturday against their WCC rivals, but while they’re 13-1 at home this season, it hasn’t been an advantage lately against the Bulldogs: the Cougars have lost five straight at home to Gonzaga.
Betting Pick: OVER 158.5
These are two of the highest-scoring programs in the country — and neither possesses a truly elite defense. I’m expecting lots of points on Saturday.
- The OVER is 5-0 in each of Gonzaga's last 5 road games.
- BYU is 13-6 ATS in its last 19 games.
- The OVER is 6-0 in each of BYU's last 6 home games.
