Baylor Bears vs Gonzaga Bulldogs Prediction, 4/5/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Baylor Bears vs Gonzaga Bulldogs

Date: Monday, April 5, 2021

Location: Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN

TV: CBS

Odds/Point Spread: Baylor (+4.5)

Lucas Oil Stadium is the venue where and the Gonzaga Bulldogs (31-0) will play the Baylor Bears (27-2) on Monday in the National Championship. Gonzaga opens this game as 4.5-point favorites. The O/U is set at 160.

Baylor will take the court with a mark of 27-2 this season. The Bears are connecting on 41.2% from downtown (289 of 701) and 70.1% from the free throw line. They average 82.8 pts per game (6th in Division 1) while connecting on 48.8% from the field. They cough up possession 11.6 times per game and as a squad they commit 17.0 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Baylor is grabbing 35.9 rebounds per game and has accounted for 489 assists for the campaign, which has them ranked 7th in the country in terms of passing the ball. On the defensive end, the Bears are able to force 17.1 turnovers every game and they draw 16.4 fouls. They concede 33.0% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 50th in D-1 in PPG from their opponents (65.3). The Bears defensively are allowing a FG percentage of 43.1% (686 of 1,593) and they surrender 32.0 boards per contest as a team. They rank 263rd in the country in giving up assists to the opposition with 352 conceded on the year.

The Baylor Bears took the court against the Houston Cougars and notched a win by a score of 78-59 in their last game. Baylor ended the game having earned a 52.7% FG percentage (29 of 55) and buried 11 of their 24 3-pointers. At the free throw line, the Bears made 9 of 13 shots for a percentage of 69.2%. Concerning grabbing boards, they earned 28 with 11 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 23 assists in this matchup as well as forcing the other team into 10 turnovers and getting 6 steals. In regard to defending, Baylor allowed the other team to go 38.2% from the floor on 21 out of 55 shooting. Houston earned 10 dimes and had 4 steals for this game. Moreover, Houston collected 25 rebounds (13 offensive, 12 defensive) and had 5 rejections. Houston ended up shooting 68.8% when shooting free throws by burying 11 of their 16 shots. They made 6 of their 19 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Jared Butler is one guy who was a major contributor in the game. He scored 17 points on 6 out of 9 shooting. He played 33 mins played and also grabbed 5 boards. Butler went 66.7% from the field and also distributed 4 dimes. One more player that was a major contributor in the matchup for the Bears was Davion Mitchell. He grabbed 2 rebounds in his 36 min played. He finished the game at 36.4% from the floor for this game by shooting 4-of-11 (12 points). When all was said and done, Mitchell collected 11 assists.

Gonzaga has a mark of 31-0 for the season. The Bulldogs are responsible for committing 16.3 fouls per contest and they go 73.1% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 18.9 times per contest (2nd in the country) and they are losing possession via turnover 12.0 times per contest. Gonzaga has tallied 2,841 points so far this season (91.6 per game) and they pull in 37.6 boards per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Bulldogs are hitting on 55.0% from the field, which ranks 10th in the nation. The Bulldogs on the defensive side of the court are 141st in college basketball in points allowed per contest with 69.2. They give up 11.6 dimes and 30.1 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is 78th and 16th in Division 1. The Gonzaga defense gives up 32.3% from downtown (207 of 640) and their opponents are connecting on 69.6% of their free throw attempts. They are forcing their opponents into 14.6 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 42.1% from the floor (107th in college basketball).

When they last stepped on the court, the Gonzaga Bulldogs took home the win by a final score of 93-90 on a buzzer beater in OT by Jalen Suggs when they played the UCLA Bruins. The Bulldogs collected 19 defensive boards and 4 offensive rebounds totaling 23 in this matchup. They also turned the ball over 10 times, while earning 8 steals for the contest. The Bruins earned 16 personal fouls in this contest which got the Bulldogs to the free throw line for 20 shots. They were able to make 12 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 60.0%. Regarding shots from 3-point land, Gonzaga converted 7 of 21 tries (33.3%). When the final whistle blew, the Bulldogs shot 37 for 63 from the floor which had them shooting 58.7%. The Bulldogs permitted the Bruins to convert 34 of their 59 tries from the field which had them shooting 57.6% in this matchup. They wrapped up this game 47.1% from distance by going 8 out of 17 and finished the contest at 14 of 21 from the free throw line (66.7%). When discussing rebounding, Gonzaga allowed UCLA to grab 31 in all (7 on the offensive glass).

Drew Timme ended up having an impact for the Bulldogs in this matchup. He converted 11 out of 15 for this game giving him a rate of 73.3%, and accumulated 4 rebounds. Timme had 25 points in his 38 minutes on the court and accumulated 2 dimes in this game. One more player who came through for Gonzaga was Joel Ayayi. He ended up with 2 assists in his 42 minutes on the court, and he put in 9 out of 12 from the floor. Ayayi walked away from this one going 75.0% from the floor while also earning 22 points and 6 rebounds.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Baylor (+4.5)

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