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On Saturday night the 5-2 Pacific Tigers travel up to Spokane to try and topple a basketball goliath in the undefeated No. 1 Gonzaga Bulldogs.
The Zags have been cruising right along to their 14-0 record so far this season. None of their contests have been particularly close. According to KenPom, the Bulldogs have the second-best offense in the nation and the 13th best defensive unit. They’re scoring nearly 95 points per game, led by Corey Kispert who averages 20+ points each time he hits the floor. They also have three other players averaging double figures each night. They’re also hitting well over 50% of their FGs, which is pretty insane. Defensivley the Zags give up just 72 points to opponents and they usually win each game by around 20 points.
Pacific hasn’t played a whole lot of games because of various cancelations and postponements, but they’ve been solid when they do hit the court. Still, they’re not as consistently elite as Gonzaga, so this will be a tough test for them. The Tigers average three players in double figures each game, but they’re on the lower end of 10 while the Zags’ scorers are all closer to 20. KenPom has them ranked as the 73rd best team in the nation with the offense ranked all the way up at 173. They’re averaging just 70 points each time out, so there’s no wonder KenPom gives Gonzaga a 98% chance to win this one.
Game Time/TV Channel/Streaming
You can watch Pacific vs. Gonzaga on Saturday, January 23rd at 10:00 p.m. ET only on either Channel 6 KHQ in Spokane, or on Root Sports in the Northwest.
Point Spread, Totals, Odds, Trends
Point spread: Gonzaga -26
Point Total: 149.5
Money line:
The Best Bet
The Zags tend to hit a boredom doldrum with WCC play in January, and that’s what we’re in the midst of here. They haven’t covered in any of their last three, and we think that extends to four tonight as the Tigers can both limit pace (68.7 per game) and not turn the ball over (16.9% of possessions).
Pick: Pacific +26
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