Gonzaga vs San Diego 2020 College Basketball Spread & Game Preview.

Gonzaga vs San Diego 2020 College Basketball Spread & Game Preview

Written by on January 9, 2020

The No. 1 team in the country has already lost a handful of times this season. However, it’s very unlikely that happens to top-ranked Gonzaga on Thursday night in West Coast Conference action at San Diego. The Zags are sizable Mybookie NCAAB Betting favorites.

How to Bet Gonzaga vs San Diego College Basketball Spread & Game Info

Minnesota vs Michigan State 2020 College Basketball Betting Lines & Analysis

Gonzaga vs San Diego Last Season

The Zags won both pretty easily in the 2018-19 season, including 79-67 at San Diego. Rui Hachimura scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half and had 10 rebounds as the Zags pulled away. Zach Norvell Jr. added 18 points, Josh Perkins 15 and Brandon Clarke 14 for the Bulldogs. Gonzaga had only 30 points in the first half, but then scored 31 points in the first 9:59 of the second half to take control. Gonzaga shot 69 percent (20 of 29) in the second half to finish at 58.2 percent (32 of 55).

GU has won 10 straight versus the Toreros, 21 of the last 22, and 43 of the last 46 matchups.

Why Bet on Gonzaga?

Gonzaga is on top of both major Top-25 polls for the fifth time in program history. The Zags have climbed to nation’s top spot in four of the last eight seasons.

The Zags had a closer-than-expected 75-70 home win over Pepperdine on Saturday after going easily unbeaten through the West Coast Conference a year ago. It was the first time in nearly two years that they failed to win a regular season conference game by double digits. Their 18 straight such wins were the fourth-longest streak in conference play over the last 50 seasons.

Killian Tillie scored 20 points and blocked a potential tying shot in the closing seconds to help Gonzaga take its 32nd consecutive home win. Tillie hit 9 of 16 from the floor and added four rebounds and four assists, plus that key blocked shot on Pepperdine leading scorer Colbey Ross. The Waves have lost 38 straight games to Gonzaga since their last win in 2002.

Filip Petrusev scored 16 points and Joel Ayayi had 12 for Gonzaga (16-1, 2-0 West Coast). The Bulldogs have the longest home winning streak in the country. They have won eight consecutive overall since losing to Michigan. The Bulldogs are the only team in the nation with six players averaging double figures in scoring. They lead the nation in offense at 88.3 points per game, and are beating opponents by nearly 20 points per game.

Big Numbers

Gonzaga’s 29 straight regular season conference wins is currently the longest streak of its kind in the nation. The Bulldogs have won 33 straight conference road games, the longest streak by any Division I team over the last 30 seasons.

The Bulldogs’ 12 consecutive true road wins is currently the longest active streak in the country. Since the 2005-06 season, Gonzaga is 210-65 in road or neutral games. The Zags’ 76.3-win percentage in road or neutral games tops the nation over that span. The Zags have won 45 of their last 46 road games in conference play. Since 2014-15, GU is 43-1 in WCC road games. GU is first in the nation in scoring offense (87.5), second in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.63), third in scoring margin (18.9) and total rebounds (694).

Why Bet on San Diego?

San Diego lost 80-63 at Santa Clara on Saturday. The Broncos have won its last 15 home games, dating to last season. That streak is the third longest in school history and ranks first all-time during the Toso Pavilion/Leavey Center era (since 1975-76). Santa Clara has not lost at home since a 66-55 defeat to Saint Mary’s (Feb. 14, 2019).

USD (7-10, 0-2 WCC) trailed by 18 points at halftime – its biggest halftime deficit of the season – and surrendered a 58.6% shooting percentage to the Broncos (14-2, 1-0 WCC) in the opening 20 minutes. The Toreros bounced back in the second half, outscoring Santa Clara 36-35 and hitting half of its field goal attempts (11-of-22). The Toreros finished the game allowing the Broncos to shoot 53.7% (29-of-54) from the field, their second-worst shooting percentage allowed this season.

Some Numbers

Four Toreros finished in double-digit scoring led by Braun Hartfield’s 16 points. James Jean-Marie, Marion Humphrey and Joey Calcaterra all finished with 14. The four double-digit scorers combined for 10 of USD’s 11 three-pointers made, its most in a game this year. USD committed 19 turnovers, were outscored in the paint 36-16 and 17-2 off of the bench.

The Toreros, who are 0-2 to start the conference season, host the nation’s top-ranked team for the third time in program history and second time against a No. 1 Gonzaga team. USD is 2-26 all-time against Gonzaga when the Bulldogs are ranked in the AP Top 25. Thursday is the second time Gonzaga is ranked No. 1 in the country against the Toreros (Last: Feb. 23, 2017 at home). Of the Toreros’ 21 all-time wins against Gonzaga, 11 are at home (11-29).

Both times USD has faced a No. 1 team in school have been in San Diego. The Toreros played Kansas in 1995 at the San Diego Sports Arena. The Toreros are 6-61 all-time against teams ranked in the AP Top 25 poll, including 0-2 this season. Of the 67 top-25 matchups in USD’s history, 28 are against a ranked Gonzaga team. The Toreros are 2-26 when the Zags are ranked. The Toreros are 0-11 all-time against top-5 teams.

Gonzaga vs San Diego 2020 College Basketball Betting Trends

  • Bulldogs are 12-0 SU in their last 12 games on the road
  • Bulldogs are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games against an opponent in the West Coast conference
  • The total has gone UNDER in 13 of Gonzaga’s last 19 games played in January
  • Toreros are 5-1 SU in their last 6 games at home
  • Toreros are 6-3 ATS in their last 9 games played on a Thursday
  • The total has gone UNDER in 4 of San Diego’s last 5 games this season

Expert Final Score Prediction for Gonzaga vs San Diego

Gonzaga 80 – San Diego 67