Gonzaga Bulldogs vs Santa Clara Broncos Prediction, 1/15/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Gonzaga Bulldogs vs Santa Clara Broncos

Date: Saturday, January 15, 2022

Location: Leavey Center in Santa Clara, CA

TV: ESPN+

The Santa Clara Broncos (11-5) will play the Gonzaga Bulldogs (12-2) at Leavey Center on Saturday.

The Gonzaga Bulldogs faced off with Pepperdine and walked away with a win by a score of 117-83 in their last game. In regard to fouls, the Bulldogs ended up finishing with 17 and Pepperdine finished the game with 23 fouls. They buried 10 of 27 attempts from distance. Pepperdine shot 75.0% at the free throw line by making 9 of 12 shots. Additionally, Pepperdine grabbed 30 rebounds (7 offensive, 23 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Pepperdine recorded 19 assists and had 9 steals in this matchup. In reference to defense, Gonzaga allowed their opponent to shoot 42.7% from the floor on 32 of 75 shooting. They also recorded 26 assists in the game as well as forcing the other team into 18 turnovers and getting 12 steals. Concerning rebounding, they earned 47 with 15 of them being on the offensive end. From the free throw line, the Bulldogs converted 17 of 23 attempts for a rate of 73.9%. Gonzaga wrapped up the contest with a 54.2% FG percentage (45 of 83) and made 10 out of their 25 shots from beyond the arc.

Anton Watson is a guy who was a major factor in this contest. He finished shooting 58.3% from the floor and recorded 1 assist. He was on the hardwood for 25 minutes and also totaled 6 rebounds. He accumulated 19 points on 7 out of 12 shooting.

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Gonzaga steps onto the hardwood with a mark of 12-2 for the year. They are giving up possession 12.1 times per game and as a basketball team are committing 15.0 personal fouls per contest. As a unit, Gonzaga is grabbing 42.9 boards per contest and has racked up 255 dimes for the year, which ranks 36th in D-1 in terms of passing. The Bulldogs are shooting 35.0% from downtown (113 of 323) and 69.6% from the free throw line. They have an average of 87.9 points per contest (2nd in the nation) while going 52.3% from the field.

Defensively, the Bulldogs have forced 13.4 turnovers per game while drawing 19.1 fouls. They give up 30.0% on 3-point attempts and they rank 71st in the country in opponents PPG (64.0). The Bulldogs defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 37.8% (336 of 889) and they concede 31.6 boards per contest as a group. They are currently ranked 53rd in college hoops in giving up assists to the opposition with 148 surrendered so far this season.

In their last game, the Santa Clara Broncos got the victory with a final of 84-70 against Pacific. The Broncos corralled 26 defensive boards and 6 offensive boards for a total of 32 for the matchup. They also turned the ball over 13 times, while getting 4 steals for the game. Pacific committed 12 personal fouls in this matchup which got the Broncos to the charity stripe for a total of 9 tries. They were able to knock down 8 of them for a rate of 88.9%. When discussing 3-point shots, Santa Clara buried 12 of their 26 tries (46.2%). In all, the Broncos shot 32 for 60 from the field which had them shooting 53.3%. The Broncos permitted Pacific to knock down 27 of their 57 tries from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 47.4% for this contest. They went 43.8% from three-point range by going 7 out of 16 and finished the contest at 9 out of 17 at the free throw line (52.9%). In relation to rebounding, Santa Clara allowed Pacific to collect 25 in all (6 on the offensive side).

Jalen Williams was important for the Broncos for this game. He scored 22 points in his 37 minutes of playing time and totaled 5 dimes for the matchup. He buried 9 out of 16 for this contest for a field goal rate of 56.3%, and earned 8 rebounds.

Santa Clara has a record of 11-5 for the year. In terms of offensive execution, the Broncos are shooting 49.1% from the field, which is ranked 17th in the nation. Santa Clara has accumulated 1,231 points for the year (76.9 per game) and they pull down 34.7 rebounds per contest. They are assisting teammates 15.8 times per contest (57th in Division 1) and they turn it over 11.9 times per contest. The Broncos are responsible for committing 14.6 personal fouls per contest while shooting 78.2% from the charity stripe.

The Broncos on the defensive side of the court are 168th in the nation in PPG given up with 68.0. They are forcing 12.3 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 41.2% from the field (110th in college hoops). The Santa Clara defense allows 32.2% from downtown (102 of 317) and their opponents are connecting on 76.0% of their shots from the free throw line. They have allowed 13.9 assists and 34.8 rebounds per game, which is ranked 275th and 191st in those defensive categories.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Santa Clara

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