Gonzaga Bulldogs vs Virginia Cavaliers Prediction, 12/26/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Gonzaga Bulldogs vs Virginia Cavaliers

Date: Saturday, December 26, 2020

Location: Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, TX

TV: CBS

Odds/Point Spread: Gonzaga (-8)

The Gonzaga Bulldogs (6-0) travel to Dickies Arena on Saturday where they'll meet the Virginia Cavaliers (4-1). Gonzaga opens this game as 8-point favorites. The total opens at 138.

Gonzaga enters this one with a mark of 6-0 on the campaign. They are losing possession via turnover 13.8 times per contest and as a squad are committing 16.8 personal fouls per contest. As a unit, Gonzaga is pulling down 40.8 boards per game and has totaled 125 dimes so far this year, which is 61st in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Bulldogs are hitting 34.2% on shots from 3-point land (41 of 120) and 70.0% from the charity stripe. They average 94.7 pts per game (3rd in Division 1) while connecting on 55.1% from the floor. On defense, the Bulldogs are forcing 16.0 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 19.8 fouls. They are relinquishing 33.3% on 3-point attempts and they rank 284th in college hoops in points per game allowed (77.0). The Bulldogs are giving up an opponent FG percentage of 43.5% (167 of 384) and they relinquish 31.7 boards per contest as a group. They are ranked 128th in college hoops in giving up assists with 75 relinquished on the campaign.

The Gonzaga Bulldogs took the court against the Northwestern State Demons and took home the win by a score of 95-78 in their last contest. Gonzaga wrapped up the game having earned a 58.2% FG percentage (39 of 67) and made 4 of their 18 shots from beyond the arc. From the free throw line, the Bulldogs buried 13 of 20 attempts for a percentage of 65.0%. Concerning getting rebounds, they earned 34 with 7 of them being of the offensive sort. They also dished out 20 assists for this contest while earning 13 steals and 7 blocked shots. Regarding the defense, Gonzaga allowed 58.2% from the floor on 39 out of 67 shooting. Northwestern State distributed 14 dimes and had 9 steals for the game. Moreover, the Demons grabbed 30 boards (6 offensive, 24 defensive) and earned 7 blocked shots. Northwestern State finished the game at 50.0% from the free throw line by burying 4 of their 8 attempts. They also made 12 out of their 24 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Jalen Suggs is one guy who was a factor in this contest. He walked away with 19 points on 8 of 12 shooting. He played 30 minutes played and also totaled 6 rebounds. Suggs went 66.7% from the field and distributed 5 assists. One more player that was a factor in this contest for the Bulldogs was Drew Timme. He had 9 rebounds and also accounted for 3 assists. He finished the game shooting 66.7% from the field in the game by hitting 10-of-15 (25 points). When the final whistle blew, Timme played for 29 minutes.

Virginia has a mark of 4-1 for the year. As an offensive team, the Cavaliers are hitting on 49.8% from the field, which ranks 59th in the nation. Virginia has accounted for 372 points so far this season (74.4 per contest) and they snag 35.0 rebounds per game. They are getting an assist 14.0 times per game (156th in college basketball) and they turn it over 8.4 times per game. The Cavaliers are committing 12.6 fouls every game and they connect on 80.8% from the free throw line. The Cavaliers on defense are ranked 6th in the country in points allowed per game with 54.0. The Virginia defense concedes 33.3% from downtown (39 of 117) and their opponents are knocking down 74.5% of their shots from the charity stripe. They concede 10.2 assists and 28.4 boards every game, which is 52nd and 15th in D-1. They are forcing 11.4 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 36.3% from the floor (16th in college basketball).

When they last stepped on the court, the Virginia Cavaliers took home the win by a final score of 76-40 when they played the William & Mary Tribe. The Cavaliers were able to collect 20 defensive boards and 10 offensive boards for a total of 30 in this contest. They rejected 5 tries while earning 8 steals in this contest. The Tribe committed 16 fouls in the matchup which took the Cavaliers to the charity stripe for 14 shots. They were able to bury 11 of them for a clip of 78.6%. In the matter of 3-point attempts, Virginia converted 9 of their 26 tries (34.6%). When all was said and done, the Cavaliers finished the game shooting 28 for 55 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 50.9%. The Cavaliers permitted the Tribe to knock down 14 of their 50 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 28.0% for the game. They shot 17.6% from 3-point land by connecting on 3 of 17 and ended up shooting 9 of 10 at the free throw line (90.0%). Regarding how they rebounded, Virginia permitted William & Mary to pull down 23 in all (11 on the offensive side).

Trey Murphy ended up being a major contributor for the Cavaliers in this game. He buried 6 out of 9 in this matchup for a field goal percentage of 66.7%, which had him finishing with 15 points. Murphy totaled 4 rebounds in his 32 mins played and added 3 dimes for this game. An additional guy that was pivotal for Virginia was Sam Hauser. He racked up 9 points in his 32 minutes on the court via 3 of 7 from the floor for the matchup. Hauser walked away from this one going 42.9% from the field in addition to contributing 2 assists and 3 rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Virginia (+8)

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