Gonzaga Bulldogs vs Texas Tech Red Raiders Prediction, 12/18/2021 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Gonzaga Bulldogs vs Texas Tech Red Raiders

Date: Saturday, December 18, 2021

Location: Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ

TV: CBS

Footprint Center is the location where the Texas Tech Red Raiders (8-1) will take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs (8-2) on Saturday.

The Gonzaga Bulldogs took the court against Merrimack and walked away with a win by a score of 80-55 in their last game. Gonzaga wrapped up the game with a 50.8% field goal percentage (30 out of 59) and converted 5 of 22 shots from downtown. From the free throw line, the Bulldogs converted 15 of their 20 attempts for a percentage of 75.0%. In terms of hauling in boards, they earned a total of 53 with 16 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 17 assists for this game in addition to forcing the opposition into 8 turnovers and having 6 steals. When discussing defense, Gonzaga allowed the other team to shoot 31.7% from the field on 20 out of 63 shooting. Merrimack distributed 8 assists and had 12 steals for this contest. Additionally, Merrimack pulled down 18 rebounds (6 offensive, 12 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Merrimack finished shooting 81.8% from the free throw line by making 9 of their 11 attempts. They also converted 6 out of their 25 attempts from beyond the perimeter. In relation to fouls, the Bulldogs ended up with 10 and Merrimack accumulated 16 fouls.

Drew Timme is a player who was a factor in this game. He was able to score 22 points on 8 of 8 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 27 mins and grabbed 7 boards. He shot 100.0% from the field but had no assists when the time ran out.

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Gonzaga will enter this contest with a win-loss record of 8-2 on the year. They currently have an average of 85.6 pts per game (8th in Division 1) while shooting 53.0% from the field. The Bulldogs are shooting 32.9% on 3-point shots (73 of 222) and 68.8% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Gonzaga is collecting 42.8 boards per contest and has accounted for 182 dimes for the campaign, which ranks 25th in Division 1 in terms of passing. They are turning it over 13.3 times per game and as a basketball team they commit 16.0 personal fouls per game.

On the defensive end of the court, the Bulldogs are forcing their opponents into 12.3 turnovers every game while drawing 19.0 personal fouls. They are relinquishing 30.1% on 3-pointers and they are 98th in the nation in opponents points per game (64.6). The Bulldogs defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 38.4% (239 of 622) and they surrender 28.9 boards per game as a team. They are 68th in college basketball in allowing assists to their opponents with 105 conceded this season.

The last time they took the court, the Texas Tech Red Raiders walked away with a victory by a final of 75-62 against Arkansas State. The Red Raiders were able to pull down 27 defensive boards and 5 offensive rebounds totaling 32 in this matchup. They turned it over 13 times, while getting 6 steals in this matchup. Arkansas State committed 15 personal fouls for the matchup which took the Red Raiders to the free throw line for 16 attempts. They were able to convert 12 of them for a rate of 75.0%. In regard to 3-pointers, Texas Tech buried 7 of 18 attempts (38.9%). When all was said and done, the Red Raiders shot 28 for 50 from the floor which had them shooting 56.0%. The Red Raiders permitted Arkansas State to knock down 23 out of 53 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 43.4% for this game. They went 30.0% from beyond the perimeter by hitting 9 out of 30 and walked away from this one shooting 7 of 14 from the free throw line (50.0%). Concerning rebounding, Texas Tech permitted Arkansas State to pull down 18 in all (4 offensive).

Kevin McCullar ended up being a major contributor for the Red Raiders in this game. He accumulated 21 points in his 32 mins of playing time and accounted for 4 dimes for the contest. He converted 7 out of 12 in the game for a field goal rate of 58.3%, and had 5 rebounds.

Texas Tech has a record of 8-1 for the campaign. On the offensive side of the ball, the Red Raiders are shooting 47.8% from the field, which has them ranked 48th in college hoops. Texas Tech has scored 730 points for the year (81.1 per contest) and they pull down 42.1 boards per contest. They are assisting teammates 15.3 times per game (70th in college basketball) and they are giving up possession 13.8 times per game. The Red Raiders have committed 17.2 personal fouls every game and they hit 67.9% from the free throw line.

The Texas Tech defense allows 31.0% on 3-point shots (70 of 226) and opponents are converting on 61.0% of their shots from the free throw line. They have surrendered 10.7 dimes and 27.6 boards per contest, which has them ranked 78th and 4th in college hoops. The Red Raiders on the defensive end are ranked 24th in D-1 in points allowed per game with 58.9. They are forcing their opponents into 17.1 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 38.5% from the field (34th in Division 1).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Gonzaga

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