Gonzaga Bulldogs vs BYU Cougars Prediction, 2/8/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Gonzaga Bulldogs vs BYU Cougars

Date: Monday, February 8, 2021

Location: Marriott Center in Provo, UT

TV: ESPN

Odds/Point Spread: Gonzaga (-11.5)

Marriott Center is the venue where and the BYU Cougars (15-4) will take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs (18-0) on Monday. BYU opens this matchup as 11.5-point underdogs. The total opens at 157.

Gonzaga will play this contest with a win-loss record of 18-0 so far this season. The Bulldogs are shooting 34.9% on 3-point shots (128 of 367) and 73.0% from the free throw line. They are averaging 93.3 pts per game (1st in Division 1) while connecting on 55.1% from the floor. They lose possession via turnover 12.0 times per game and as a squad are committing 17.1 personal fouls per contest. As a unit, Gonzaga is snagging 38.9 boards per game and has accounted for 352 dimes for the season, which has them ranked 4th in the nation in terms of passing. On defense, the Bulldogs are forcing 15.2 turnovers per contest while drawing 20.3 personal fouls. They are relinquishing 34.0% on 3-point shots and they are ranked 165th in the nation in opponents points per game (69.7). The Bulldogs defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 41.0% (453 of 1,104) and they relinquish 30.5 boards per game as a squad. They rank 202nd in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 214 conceded for the season.

The Gonzaga Bulldogs took the court against the Pacific Tigers and went home with a win by a final score of 76-58 in their last contest. Gonzaga finished the contest having earned a 50.0% FG percentage (25 out of 50) and converted 4 of their 17 three-point shots. From the free throw line, the Bulldogs buried 22 of 29 attempts for a rate of 75.9%. With respect to getting rebounds, they compiled 29 with 4 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 10 assists for the game in addition to earning 6 steals and 3 rejections. In regard to the defense, Gonzaga allowed 50.0% from the field on 25 of 50 shooting. Pacific doled out 9 assists and had 7 steals for the game. In addition, the Tigers had 28 boards (8 offensive, 20 defensive) and got 3 rejections. Pacific finished the game at 46.7% from the free throw line by knocking down 7 of their 15 shots. They also made 3 of their 13 attempts from beyond the arc.

Drew Timme is a guy who was a major contributor for the contest. He ended up with 21 points on 8 out of 12 shooting. He played 32 minutes played and pulled down 5 rebounds. Timme finished shooting 66.7% from the floor and also recorded 2 dimes. One more player that was a major factor in this matchup for the Bulldogs was Jalen Suggs. He grabbed 9 rebounds and also earned 3 assists. He went 50.0% from the field in this contest by hitting 6-of-12 (19 points). When the final whistle blew, Suggs was on the court for 39 minutes.

BYU has a record of 15-4 so far this year. BYU has accounted for 1,504 pts so far this season (79.2 per contest) and they collect 40.6 rebounds per game. The Cougars commit 17.4 fouls per game and they go 71.8% from the free throw line. As an offensive team, the Cougars are shooting 48.1% from the field, which ranks 39th in the nation. They are assisting teammates 16.9 times per contest (21st in college basketball) and they turn it over 13.5 times per contest. The Cougars defensively are ranked 114th in D-1 in PPG allowed with 67.7. They have allowed 11.6 assists and 33.0 rebounds every game, which has them ranked 87th and 86th in those categories. The BYU defense gives up 33.4% on shots from beyond the arc (132 of 395) and opponents are knocking down 69.3% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have forced 11.9 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 40.2% from the floor (42nd in college basketball).

When they last played, the BYU Cougars got the win with a final of 105-60 against the Portland Pilots. The Cougars earned 32 defensive rebounds and 13 offensive rebounds totaling 45 in the matchup. They stuffed 2 shots while recording 6 steals for this contest. The Pilots earned 12 personal fouls for this contest which got the Cougars to the free throw line for 7 shots. They were able to bury 6 of the free throw tries for a rate of 85.7%. In reference to shots from downtown, BYU converted 15 of their 24 attempts (62.5%). When the final whistle blew, the Cougars walked away from this one shooting 42 out of 67 from the field which gave them a rate of 62.7%. The Cougars permitted the Pilots to convert 23 of 56 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 41.1% in the matchup. They finished 52.4% from three-point range by going 11 out of 21 and ended up going 3 out of 6 from the charity stripe (50.0%). When it comes to rebounding, BYU allowed Portland to collect 11 in all (2 on the offensive glass).

Gideon George was important for the Cougars for the game. He made 8 out of 12 for the contest for a rate of 66.7%, which had him finishing with 19 points. George collected 13 rebounds in his 21 mins and had 3 assists for this game. One more player that ended up playing a role for BYU was Brandon Averette. He was able to score 15 points in his 31 minutes played via 6 of 12 from the floor in the matchup. Averette ended up shooting 50.0% from the floor as well as earning 5 assists and 3 total rebounds.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take BYU (+11.5) and over 157 points

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