I don’t think any team has owned a conference the way the Gonzaga Bulldogs have owned the West Coast Conference over the last few decades. They haven’t lost more than one league game in any of the previous six seasons and opened this campaign with four straight WCC victories, though a sign that the rest of the league is catching up could be in the recent results. The Zags are used to destroying opponents however their last two wins were by a combined seven points at San Francisco and Santa Clara. The Zags close out the three-game road trip in Provo taking on the BYU Cougars on Thursday night.
This NCAA men’s basketball game will air live on ESPN at 9:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, January 12, 2023 from Marriott Center in Provo, UT.
Gonzaga vs BYU Odds
Gonzaga Bulldogs (Check Back Later)
BYU Cougars (Check Back Later)
Over/Under (Check Back Later)
Season Story
Since becoming a dominant hoops program and regular NCAA Tournament participant in the 1990s, the Zags have routinely drafted a tough non-conference schedule to offset the perception of a weaker conference slate. They played five games against ranked foes beating Kentucky and Alabama while losing to Texas, Baylor and Purdue, their only three losses through their first 17 games. While they haven’t been as dominant as in past seasons, the Zags have won nine in a row and are 14-3 SU but just 4-11-1 ATS in games with a betting line. The Zags have won the last five meetings with payouts in the last two.
After splitting their first 10 games that included losses to ranked San Diego State and unranked South Dakota and Utah Valley, the Cougars put together a nice seven-game run starting with an 83-80 upset of Creighton as a 10-point dog. BYU was 5-1 ATS in those games with a 97-64 win over Western Oregon not having a posted line. The streak ended with a loss to LMU but the Cougs rebounded with perhaps their best game of the year in a 20-point win over San Diego. Four players scored in double figures and the Cougs held the Toreros to their lowest output of the season in the 68-48 decision. The Cougs have cashed the UNDER in five straight games.
Gonzaga Bulldogs
The names change but the offense remains the same. The Zags have always been an efficient offensive machine under Mark Few and that trend has continued again this season. They had an off-night shooting the basketball against Santa Clara hitting just 47 percent of their shots yet they overcame a late deficit to post an 81-76 win. The guy always in the middle of everything was at it again. Drew Timme scored 20 points against SCU reaching that mark for the 11th time this season. He leads the Zags averaging 21.8 points while playing more than 33 minutes per game.
Timme shoots 61.5 percent from the field and Gonzaga leads the country knocking down 51.8 percent of their shots. The percentage is bolstered by the accuracy of Anton Watson, who shoots 59 percent from the floor. As a result the Zags average nearly 86 points hitting triple digits five times already this season. They averaged 91.2 points during their five-game winning streak over BYU covering a double-digit spread in the last two meetings.
BYU Cougars
With a move to the Big 12 imminent the Cougars are running out of chances to upend the WCC’s best hoops team. BYU has consistently been among the best in the WCC but they’ve failed to take down the top dog dropping five straight and 11 of the past 12 meetings with Gonzaga. The lone victory in that stretch came in Provo in 2020 and BYU is typically strong on its home court. The Cougs are 8-1 SU inside the Marriot Center this season but just 4-4 ATS, though they have payouts in three of the last four home games.
Slowing down Gonzaga’s offensive machine is key to the Cougs’ success. And they’ve defended well during a stretch that’s produced eight wins in nine games. Over the last eight games they yielded an average of 58.4 points with no opponent scoring more 66 points in that span. As a result the UNDER is 5-1 in the last six games. They have balanced scoring with four players averaging more than 10 points led by Fousseyni Traore at 12.8 and Rudi Williams at 12.3.
Gonzaga vs BYU Prediction
BYU always seems to get the benefit of the doubt when playing at home and they likely need plenty of help to thwart the Zags. BYU has certainly played better of late and their balance and depth should make this a close game since that’s what the Zags have played in the first two games of the road trip. However, GU is where it is a for a reason and will overcome whatever adversity they face to pull away for the victory.
Our Prediction: Gonzaga Bulldogs and OVER
