Santa Clara Broncos vs Gonzaga Bulldogs Prediction, 2/19/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Santa Clara Broncos vs Gonzaga Bulldogs

Date: Saturday, February 19, 2022

Location: McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, WA

TV: ESPN+

McCarthey Athletic Center is where the Gonzaga Bulldogs (22-2) will attempt to beat the Santa Clara Broncos (17-9) on Saturday.

The Santa Clara Broncos played San Francisco and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 74-58 in their last game. When discussing fouls, the Broncos ended up walking away with 14 while San Francisco finished the game with 16 fouls. They converted 7 of their 26 shots from long range. San Francisco finished the game at 77.3% at the charity stripe by burying 17 of 22 tries. Additionally, San Francisco grabbed 40 boards (11 offensive, 29 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. San Francisco earned 13 assists and had 10 steals for the contest. When talking about defense, Santa Clara allowed 43.1% from the floor on 25 out of 58 shooting. They also dished out 13 dimes for the matchup while forcing the other team into 13 turnovers and having 8 steals. In terms of grabbing rebounds, they compiled 35 with 10 of them being offensive. When they shot from the free throw line, the Broncos converted 13 of 18 tries for a percentage of 72.2%. Santa Clara ended the game with a 36.2% field goal percentage (21 of 58) and made 3 of their 14 three-point shots.

Jalen Williams is a guy who was a factor in this contest. He shot 46.2% from the floor and totaled 3 assists. He was on the hardwood for 34 mins and also collected 4 rebounds. He ended up with 16 points on 6 out of 13 shooting.

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Santa Clara will enter this matchup with a record of 17-9 on the year. They are averaging 76.7 points per game (55th in the nation) while shooting 48.5% from the floor. The Broncos are hitting 37.5% on shots from beyond the arc (184 of 491) and 75.5% from the charity stripe. As a team, Santa Clara is pulling down 35.2 boards per contest and has accounted for 396 dimes for the year, which has them ranked 42nd in the nation in terms of passing the rock. They are losing possession via turnover 11.8 times per contest and as a team they commit 14.4 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

Defensively, the Broncos are forcing 12.5 turnovers every game while drawing 16.3 personal fouls. They are 294th in Division 1 in allowing assists to their opponents with 361 surrendered for the campaign. The Broncos are allowing a shooting percentage of 42.8% (704 of 1,646) and they relinquish 34.8 boards per game as a team. They surrender 34.3% on shots from downtown and they rank 237th in college basketball in PPG from their opponents (71.0).

In their last game, the Gonzaga Bulldogs went home victorious with a score of 86-66 when they faced Pepperdine. In reference to how they cleaned up the glass, Gonzaga allowed Pepperdine to collect 23 overall (5 on the offensive side). They finished 30.0% from downtown by connecting on 6 of 20 and finished the contest at 12 of 16 from the free throw line (75.0%). The Bulldogs permitted Pepperdine to make 24 of their 64 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 37.5% in this contest. In all, the Bulldogs finished 34 out of 66 from the field which had them sitting at 51.5%. Concerning shooting from 3-point land, Gonzaga made 4 out of 18 tries (22.2%). They were able to make 14 of the free throw tries for a rate of 93.3%. Pepperdine committed 14 fouls in this contest which got the Bulldogs to the charity stripe for 15 tries. They also turned the ball over 14 times, while earning 7 steals for the contest. The Bulldogs were able to corral 31 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive rebounds for a total of 42 in this game.

Chet Holmgren ended up being important for the Bulldogs for the contest. He knocked down 6 out of 11 for this game giving him a rate of 54.5%, and accounted for 17 rebounds. He scored 18 points in his 31 mins on the hardwood and tallied 1 assist for the game.

Gonzaga has a mark of 22-2 this year. As an offensive unit, the Bulldogs are shooting 53.5% from the field, which is ranked 1st in Division 1. Gonzaga has tallied 2,157 points for the year (89.9 per contest) and they pull down 42.8 boards per game. They are assisting teammates 19.1 times per game (2nd in the country) and they turn it over 11.9 times per game. The Bulldogs have committed 15.3 fouls per contest and they go 71.9% from the charity stripe.

The Bulldogs defensively are ranked 52nd in college basketball in points allowed per game with 64.4. They are able to force 12.8 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 37.1% from the floor (3rd in Division 1). The Gonzaga defense allows 29.1% from downtown (155 of 532) and opponents are making 69.3% of their free throw attempts. They give up 9.9 assists and 32.5 boards every game, which ranks them 15th and 75th in the nation.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Santa Clara

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