It’s time to continue our College Basketball odds series with a Gonzaga-San Francisco prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Gonzaga-San Francisco.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs are not where they want to be right now. They got swept by Saint Mary’s this season. They did not win the West Coast Conference regular season championship. They now face the prospect of not making the WCC Tournament semifinals, or at the very least, they might not gain direct entry into the semifinals. In 2003, the WCC began allowing multiple byes into the semifinals, with the top two seeds getting that reward so that they wouldn’t have to play and win extra conference tournament games to clinch the automatic bid for the NCAA Tournament. The WCC has adjusted its tournament format at times over the past 22 years, but since 2003, Gonzaga has never failed to earn the bye into the semifinals whenever that bye has been in effect as part of the tournament structure.
Guess what? If Gonzaga loses this game to San Francisco, the Zags will not get a bye into the semis. It would be the first time ever for GU to have to play a quarterfinal while another team gets that semifinal bye. The stakes are huge for this contest.
Here are the Gonzaga-San Francisco College Basketball Odds, courtesy of FanDuel
College Basketball Odds: Gonzaga-San Francisco Odds
Gonzaga: -9.5 (-118)
Moneyline: -490
San Francisco: +9.5 (-104)
Moneyline: +365
Over: 156.5 (-110)
Under: 156.5 (-110)
How to Watch Gonzaga vs San Francisco
Time: 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT
TV: ESPN, ESPN Plus
*Watch college basketball LIVE with fuboTV (Get Access | Save $30)*
Why Gonzaga Will Cover The Spread/Win
Gonzaga does not want to play a WCC Tournament quarterfinal. The Zags need that bye to get proper rest heading into tournament play. You know this team is going to make a stand and put up a fight. This is a point of pride for GU, and given how much this team has outclassed San Francisco in important games over the years, it’s entirely reasonable to think the Zags can not only win this game, but completely dominate it on the road. This one is personal for GU.
Why San Francisco Will Cover The Spread/Win
San Francisco wants to be the team that makes WCC history on Saturday. The implications are obvious: San Francisco and the other non-Gonzaga, non-Saint Mary’s teams in the WCC have annually had to play preliminary-round games at the WCC Tournament. The two non-GU, non-SMC teams that play their way into the WCC Tournament semifinals and face Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s are less rested than the Zags and Gaels. Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s always have had a rest advantage so that when the semifinals arrive, they are able to look at game film of their opponent’s quarterfinal and can get a better scouting report on their foe while also being the more rested team. This is why Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s usually meet in the WCC Tournament final for the autobid to the NCAA Tournament.
San Francisco has a chance to flip the script here and get the rest advantage on the Zags. USF and Gonzaga are going to be on the same side of the bracket as the 2 seed and the 3 seed. It’s just a matter of which team gets the bye and which one doesn’t. San Francisco, if it can win here, would get the bye into the semis and would therefore need just two wins, not three, at the WCC Tournament to get direct entry into the NCAA Tournament. That would reduce the size of the bubble by one spot and have national implications. It’s an enormous incentive for the Dons, who are playing at home in their regular-season finale. USF doesn’t even have to win the game to cover, either; it can lose by nine and still cover. That’s very attractive.
Final Gonzaga-San Francisco Prediction & Pick
We think the spread is way too big here. It should be 5.5 points and not 9.5. Yet, we know Gonzaga is capable of playing really well in a big spot. Our lean is to San Francisco, but just in case Gonzaga opens the game on a 10-2 run (in which case you might be able to get San Francisco plus-13.5 points live), we advise you to wait at least 10 minutes for a possible live play and not make a pregame bet.
Final Gonzaga-San Francisco Prediction & Pick: San Francisco +9.5
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