Northern Arizona Lumberjacks vs Gonzaga Bulldogs Prediction, 12/28/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks vs Gonzaga Bulldogs

Date: Monday, December 28, 2020

Location: McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, WA

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Northern Arizona (+39)

The Gonzaga Bulldogs (7-0) host the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (1-5) at McCarthey Athletic Center on Monday. Northern Arizona opens this matchup as 39-point dogs. The over/under is set at 158.

Northern Arizona will enter this game with a mark of 1-5 for the season. They are turning it over 11.8 times per contest and as a group are committing 17.2 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Northern Arizona is snagging 26.5 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 58 assists this season, which ranks 282nd in D-1 in terms of passing. The Lumberjacks are shooting 26.1% on 3-pointers (31 of 119) and 68.7% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 58.7 points per contest (323rd in D-1) while hitting 37.6% from the field. On the defensive end, the Lumberjacks are able to force 11.7 turnovers every game while drawing 19.7 personal fouls. The Lumberjacks defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 56.5% (179 of 317) and they surrender 34.8 boards per game as a squad. They currently rank 248th in Division 1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 104 surrendered on the year. They are conceding 46.3% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 306th in college hoops in points per game allowed (79.3).

The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks played the Denver Pioneers and notched a win by a score of 68-65 in their last contest. Northern Arizona finished the game with a 40.4% FG percentage (23 out of 57) and converted 3 of their 15 shots from downtown. From the charity stripe, the Lumberjacks buried 19 of 23 shots for a rate of 82.6%. When talking about hauling in rebounds, they collected 32 with 10 of them being of the offensive variety. They also distributed 8 assists in this game while earning 4 steals and 2 blocked shots. With respect to defense, Northern Arizona allowed the other team to go 40.4% from the field on 23 of 57 shooting. Denver earned 12 dimes and had 5 steals in the game. In addition, the Pioneers pulled down 25 boards (2 offensive, 23 defensive) and earned 2 blocked shots. Denver ended up going 64.7% when shooting free throws by knocking down 11 of 17 attempts. They converted 6 of 18 attempts from beyond the arc.

Cameron Shelton is someone who was a major contributor in this game. He ended up with 27 points on 8 out of 19 shooting. He was on the court for 39 minutes and grabbed 5 boards. Shelton finished the game shooting 42.1% from the floor and earned 2 assists. Another guy that had an impact in the matchup for the Lumberjacks was Jay Green. He pulled down 7 boards and also collected 2 dimes. He finished the game shooting 50.0% from the floor in this matchup by shooting 6-of-12 (15 points). When all was said and done, Green played 36 min.

Gonzaga has a mark of 7-0 for the season. The Bulldogs are committing 16.9 fouls per contest and they hit 71.2% from the free throw line. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 21.6 times per contest (6th in Division 1) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 12.9 times per contest. Gonzaga has totaled 666 pts for the season (95.1 per contest) and they grab 39.4 rebounds per contest. When it comes to offense, the Bulldogs are connecting on 55.7% from the field, which ranks 24th in Division 1. The Bulldogs on the defensive end are ranked 278th in college hoops in points given up per game with 76.7. They have surrendered 12.7 dimes and 30.7 boards per game, which is 166th and 43rd in the country. The Gonzaga defense gives up 34.3% on shots from beyond the perimeter (57 of 166) and their opponents are connecting on 71.2% of their foul shots. They are able to force 15.9 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 44.1% from the floor (230th in college basketball).

For their last game, the Gonzaga Bulldogs went home victorious with a score of 98-75 when they faced the Virginia Cavaliers. The Bulldogs were able to collect 22 defensive boards and 8 offensive boards totaling 30 for the matchup. They also blocked 2 attempts while getting 8 steals in this matchup. The Cavaliers committed 20 personal fouls for this contest which got the Bulldogs to the free throw line for 23 attempts. They were able to make 18 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 78.3%. Concerning shooting from beyond the arc, Gonzaga made 10 out of their 20 attempts (50.0%). When the final whistle blew, the Bulldogs ended up going 35 out of 58 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 60.3%. The Bulldogs allowed the Cavaliers to knock down 26 out of their 54 attempts from the field which had them sitting at 48.1% for this game. They finished 40.0% from distance by shooting 10 of 25 and ended up shooting 13 of 16 from the charity stripe (81.3%). In the matter of cleaning up the glass, Gonzaga allowed Virginia to pull down 25 in total (7 offensive).

Drew Timme ended up being a major contributor for the Bulldogs for the game. He knocked down 9 out of 15 for this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 60.0%, which had him sitting at 29 points. Timme snagged 8 boards in his 28 mins and had 3 dimes in the matchup. Another guy that ended being a contributor for Gonzaga was Corey Kispert. He was able to score 32 points in 30 minutes on the court by going 11 out of 15 shooting for this game. Kispert ended the game having shot 73.3% from the floor while collecting 3 dimes and 2 rebounds.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Northern Arizona (+39)

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