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NCAAB Handicapping: Santa Clara vs. Gonzaga (Jan. 15)

The Santa Clara Broncos and the Gonzaga Bulldogs will both be trying to pick up a win on Thursday when they battle at McCarthey Athletic Center…

College Hoops Underdog Action – Santa Clara at Gonzaga

BetUS NCAA Basketball Sports Betting Odds: GONZAGA -19.5

Here are some of the NCAA basketball sports betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

* SC has won seven of its last nine games SU
* SC is 2-5-1 ATS in its last eight games  * SC has played six of its last eight games OVER the total
* SC has lost its last four road games SU
* SC has played three of its last four road games OVER the total   
* GONZ has covered one of its last six games
* GONZ has won 13 of its last 15 home games SU
* GONZ has covered six of its last nine home games
* GONZ has played four of its last six home games OVER the total

Also….

* GONZ has won 17 of the last 18 meetings SU
* Ten of the last 11 meetings have gone OVER the total
* GONZ has won 11 of the last 12 meetings SU as the home team
* GONZ has covered five of the last 12 meetings as the home team
* Six of the last seven meetings in Spokane have gone OVER the total * GONZ has had the shooting edge in nine of the last ten meetings
* GONZ has had the rebounding edge in four of the last six meetings
* SC has made more three-pointers in four of the last six meetings

Gonzaga appears to be a real Jekyll-and-Hyde case. The Bulldogs started out hot, winning their first seven games, and maneuvered themselves into the top five. Then the roof kind of caved in. The loss at Arizona was not a shocker, since the Wildcats are talented and tough at home. U-Conn was #2 in the country when they beat the ‘Zags at the Key Arena on December 20, but it was an overtime heart-breaker in which Gonzaga blew a lead. The next two games, a home loss to Portland State and a road defeat at Utah, come without excuses.

Mark Few’s team rebounded in a big way, however, as it went to Knoxville and knocked off the Tennessee Volunteers in an overtime thriller. The game involved a comeback, as well as 26 points from Matt Bouldin, who is normally not part of the Gonzaga “Big Three” of Josh Heytvelt, Austin Daye and Jeremy Pargo. 

The ‘Zags shot 52.5% against Tennessee, as opposed to just 35.5% against Utah, a road game against a weaker opponent.

So would the real Gonzaga team please stand up?

One thing is for sure – Santa Clara has stood up pretty well for the most part over the last year against them. In the first meeting of the 2007-08 season, Gonzaga was lucky to come out of Santa Clara with an 87-82 overtime win. They came back and destroyed the Broncos by 34 points a month later, but in the conference tournament just five days subsequent to that, Santa Clara hung tough all the way, gave the ‘Zags some very anxious moments, and fell by a 52-48 margin.

Santa Clara is having some difficulty putting points together, averaging just 58.5 over their last four. You must take note, however, that they were able to slow the pace enough to stay close with both San Diego (55-50) and nationally-ranked Saint Mary’s (63-62), which won only after Patrick Mills hit a three-pointer with 2.6 seconds left. Also note that Saint Mary’s was the top scoring team in the WCC coming in, and shot just 33% from the field, and 20% from beyond the arc.

Josh Bryant, Santa Clara’s 6’10”, 300-pound center, may be a problem for Heytvelt to deal with. Bryant would love to atone for his performance last year against the ‘Zags, when he scored 22 points in the first meeting but only 22 in the next two combined. Freshman guard Kevin Foster has been a huge find for this team, scoring 31 in the Saint Mary’s game, averaging 13 points for the year and hitting 40% from three-point range.

It wouldn’t surprise us if this feisty team was able to generate enough of an inside-outside thing to keep this game well within reach, well into the second half. We’ll take the points with Santa Clara, the 19.5-point underdog in the BetUS Sportsbook NCAA college basketball betting odds.

Our PLAY: SANTA CLARA +19.5 **

By Cappers Picks

Articles on CappersPicks.com are written by Q (the Head Honcho) at Cappers Picks or by our resident "in house" handicapper Razor Ray Monohan! Enjoy the free picks folks! "Pad that bankroll one day at a time!"