It will be a battle between West Coast opponents when the Pacific Tigers (6-12) welcome the Gonzaga Bulldogs (14-5) to Spanos Center. The game starts at 4:00 pm ET on Saturday, Jan. 23.
The Tigers beat Portland 70-61 on Thursday. Ray Bowles led all scorers on the team with 19 points on 5-for-7 shooting. The Bulldogs are coming off a tough 70-67 loss at the hands of Saint Mary’s on Thursday. Eric McClellan had a game-high 23 points.
Kyle Wiltjer has been on fire over the last five games for the Bulldogs, averaging 25.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 0.8 steals, and 2.6 three-pointers.
The Over/Under (O/U) for this game is 142 points and Pacific is a heavy 10-point underdog. The Tigers are looking to improve on their records of 6-12 Straight Up (SU) and 8-8 Against The Spread (ATS).
On the other side, the Bulldogs have a 14-5 SU record, but have struggled ATS with a 6-10-1 record. They sport the 23rd-ranked scoring offense in the country, averaging 79.4 points per game. Gonzaga is one of the top three-point shooting teams in the nation, hitting .382 of their shots from three-point range. The Bulldogs are a force on the boards, grabbing an average of 40.8 rebounds per game. Switching gears to the Gonzaga defense, teams seem to consistently miss shots against the Bulldogs, who are the 42nd-best team in the nation in terms of opponent field goal percentage allowed at .397. Gonzaga may be taking trips to the free throw line early and often with the Tigers averaging 22.7 fouls per game, one of the highest marks in Division I.
These conference rivals will be facing off in their first head-to-head contest of the season. When they last met the Bulldogs were winners, moving their SU record against Pacific to 5-0 in their most recent head-to-head meetings. The Bulldogs also hold the advantage ATS with a record of 3-2. Gonzaga held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers once in the last five game, while Pacific wasn’t able to do so in that span.
Predictions: SU Winner – Gonz, ATS Winner – Gonz, O/U – Over
Notes
Pacific is 6-14 SU in its last 20 games.
Pacific is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home.
Pacific is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Gonzaga.
Pacific averages 71.6 points per game, placing the team just 221st in the nation. Gonzaga ranks 58th in points allowed, giving up 66.4 points per game.
Gonzaga is one of the top-scoring teams on the road, averaging 79.4 points per game (ranked 23rd). Pacific, on the other hand, allows 66.1 points per home game (ranked 130th).
The Gonzaga Bulldogs have a defensive rating of 95.8 (ranked 44th), while the Pacific Tigers have an offensive rating of 104.2 (ranked 211th).
Pacific averages 68.7 possessions per game, scoring 1.042 points on each possession. While Gonzaga averages fewer possessions per game with 68.5, they score more points per possession with 1.161.
Gonzaga has an average effective field goal percentage of 55.5% (ranked 19th in the nation). Pacific is a losing 1-4 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, Pacific attempts 20.0 three pointers and Gonzaga attempts 18.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, the Pacific Tigers have a 3-7 record while the Gonzaga Bulldogs have a winning 6-3 record.
Pacific ranks 229th in offensive rebounds, while Gonzaga ranks sixth in defensive rebounds.
On average, Pacific forces a turnover rate of 18.4%. When Gonzaga turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a winning 6-3 record.
