Gonzaga Bulldogs vs BYU Cougars Prediction, 1/12/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Gonzaga Bulldogs vs BYU Cougars

Date: Thursday, January 12, 2023

Location: Marriott Center in Provo, UT

TV: ESPN

The Gonzaga Bulldogs (14-3) are en route to Marriott Center on Thursday where they will meet the BYU Cougars (13-6).

The Gonzaga Bulldogs faced Santa Clara and notched a win by a score of 81-76 in their last game. In reference to personal fouls, the Bulldogs walked away with 13 while Santa Clara accumulated 21 personal fouls. They converted 5 of 16 attempts from downtown. Santa Clara walked away from this one shooting 75.0% at the charity stripe by burying 3 of their 4 attempts. Additionally, Santa Clara collected 38 rebounds (13 offensive, 25 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Santa Clara distributed 16 dimes and had 6 steals in the matchup. When talking about the defense, Gonzaga allowed the other team to shoot 47.2% from the floor on 34 of 72 shooting. They also distributed 14 dimes for the matchup in addition to forcing 10 turnovers and getting 3 steals. In reference to getting rebounds, they earned 35 with 11 of them being of the offensive variety. At the charity stripe, the Bulldogs made 14 of their 22 tries for a rate of 63.6%. Gonzaga ended the game with a 46.9% FG percentage (30 out of 64) and buried 7 of their 19 shots from beyond the arc.

Nolan Hickman is one player who came through for the matchup. He ended up shooting 88.9% from the field and also dished out 2 assists. He played 32 mins and totaled 2 rebounds. He left the arena with 20 points on 8 out of 9 shooting.

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Gonzaga steps onto the hardwood with a win-loss record of 14-3 for the year. They turn the ball over 11.9 times per game and as a basketball team are committing 16.6 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Gonzaga is collecting 37.6 boards per contest and has racked up 281 assists this year, which has them ranked 18th in the country in terms of passing the rock. The Bulldogs are shooting 38.0% on shots beyond the perimeter (130 of 342) and 70.2% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 85.9 pts per contest (5th in college hoops) while shooting 51.8% from the floor.

On defense, the Bulldogs have forced 14.5 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 18.9 fouls. They rank 174th in college basketball in allowing assists to their opponents with 202 conceded so far this season. The Bulldogs defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 44.0% (459 of 1,042) and they relinquish 32.3 boards per game as a team. They are giving up 32.4% on shots from downtown and they are ranked 280th in college basketball in PPG allowed (72.9).

For their last game, the BYU Cougars went home victorious with a score of 68-48 against San Diego. When talking about cleaning up the glass, BYU permitted San Diego to get 26 in total (8 offensive). They shot 13.0% from 3-point land by shooting 3 out of 23 and walked away from this one shooting 9 of 10 from the free throw line (90.0%). The Cougars permitted San Diego to make 18 of 57 tries from the field which left them shooting 31.6% in this game. In all, the Cougars finished shooting 24 out of 48 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 50.0%. In the matter of shots from beyond the arc, BYU knocked down 4 of 15 attempts (26.7%). They were able to knock down 16 of those for a percentage of 88.9%. San Diego committed 18 personal fouls in the matchup which took the Cougars to the charity stripe for a total of 18 attempts. They also coughed up the ball 12 times, while getting 7 steals in the game. The Cougars snagged 28 defensive boards and 3 offensive rebounds totaling 31 in this matchup.

Fousseyni Traore ended up being a factor for the Cougars in the matchup. He knocked down 6 of 8 for this contest for a field goal percentage of 75.0%, and accounted for 5 rebounds. He recorded 15 points in his 18 minutes on the court, but didn't record an assist.

BYU has a win-loss record of 13-6 this year. The Cougars are responsible for committing 19.4 fouls every game and they connect on 70.2% from the charity stripe. Their rate of earning assists is at 15.6 times per contest (53rd in the nation) and they are giving up possession 15.6 times per contest. BYU has totaled 1,416 pts on the year (74.5 per game) and they average 40.2 boards per contest. On the offensive side of the court, the Cougars are hitting on 44.1% from the floor, which is 210th in the nation.

The BYU defense concedes 33.2% on 3-point shots (136 of 410) and their opponents are making 66.3% of their shots from the free throw line. They allow 11.7 assists and 32.1 boards per game, which is 119th and 71st in those categories on the defensive end. The Cougars on the defensive side of the court are 120th in college basketball in points per game surrendered with 66.7. They are able to force 14.5 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 41.1% from the field (84th in college basketball).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take BYU

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