San Diego State Aztecs vs Gonzaga Bulldogs Prediction, 12/29/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: San Diego State Aztecs vs Gonzaga Bulldogs

Date: Friday, December 29, 2023

Location: McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, WA

TV: ESPN

The Gonzaga Bulldogs (9-3) will try to beat the San Diego State Aztecs (10-2) at McCarthey Athletic Center on Friday.

The San Diego State Aztecs faced Stanford and went home with a win by a final score of 74-60 in their last game. In the matter of personal fouls, the Aztecs walked away with 20 while Stanford recorded 17 personal fouls. They knocked down 3 of 20 attempts from long range. Stanford went 89.5% when shooting free throws by burying 17 of their 19 shots. Furthermore, Stanford grabbed 30 rebounds (5 offensive, 25 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Stanford doled out 11 assists and had 3 steals in this game. In terms of defending, San Diego State let their opponent shoot 40.8% from the field on 20 out of 49 shooting. They also recorded 14 assists in the matchup as well as forcing 13 turnovers and earning 9 steals. Regarding hauling in boards, they collected a total of 29 with 6 of them being of the offensive variety. When they shot from the free throw line, the Aztecs buried 12 of their 19 attempts for a rate of 63.2%. San Diego State ended the game having earned a 45.0% FG percentage (27 out of 60) and knocked down 8 out of their 27 3-pointers.

Lamont Butler is someone who was a contributor for the game. He ended up finishing with 18 points on 7 of 13 shooting. He played 32 minutes but didn't pull down any boards. He finished the contest at 53.8% from the field and totaled 4 assists.

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San Diego State will enter this game with a record of 10-2 on the year. They average 77.2 points per contest (121st in Division 1) while hitting 43.8% from the field. The Aztecs are connecting on 33.5% on shots from downtown (90 of 269) and 73.6% from the charity stripe. As a team, San Diego State is grabbing 38.5 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 173 assists for the season, which is 149th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. They turn the ball over 10.8 times per contest and as a group they are committing 17.3 fouls per game.

On the defensive end of the court, the Aztecs are able to force 13.5 turnovers per game and they draw 19.6 fouls. They relinquish 29.4% on 3-pointers and they rank 77th in college basketball in points per game allowed (66.3). The Aztecs defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 39.5% (279 of 707) and they concede 34.8 boards per contest as a group. They are 121st in the nation in giving up assists to their opponents with 142 conceded for the season.

For their last game, the Gonzaga Bulldogs walked away with a victory by a final of 100-76 when they played Jackson State. The Bulldogs were able to pull down 38 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive rebounds totaling 49 for this game. They gave up possession 7 times, while getting 7 steals for the game. Jackson State earned 24 personal fouls in the matchup which took the Bulldogs to the free throw line for a total of 39 attempts. They were able to bury 27 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 69.2%. In relation to shots from 3-point land, Gonzaga converted 5 of 18 tries (27.8%). When all was said and done, the Bulldogs went 34 for 65 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 52.3%. The Bulldogs permitted Jackson State to knock down 26 of their 78 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 33.3% for this game. They shot 40.6% from behind the 3-point line via 13 out of 32 and ended up going 11 of 16 from the charity stripe (68.8%). In regard to how they cleaned up the glass, Gonzaga permitted Jackson State to collect 42 in all (15 on the offensive glass).

Graham Ike ended up being a factor for the Bulldogs in the matchup. He recorded 22 points in his 17 minutes on the court and added 1 assist in this contest. He converted 6 out of 8 for this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 75.0%, and had 11 rebounds.

Gonzaga has a win-loss record of 9-3 this season. The Bulldogs are responsible for committing 16.3 personal fouls every game and they hit 69.8% from the charity stripe. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 15.8 times per game (76th in college basketball) and they are turning it over 11.8 times per contest. Gonzaga has scored 1,012 points on the season (84.3 per game) and they grab 43.5 boards per contest. On the offensive side of the ball, the Bulldogs are shooting 49.3% from the floor, which is ranked 24th in college basketball.

The Gonzaga defense allows 30.2% on shots from beyond the arc (84 of 278) and their opponents are converting on 73.5% of their foul shots. They have surrendered 11.1 assists and 32.1 rebounds per game, which is 70th and 55th in those defensive categories. The Bulldogs on defense are ranked 97th in college basketball in points allowed per game with 67.1. They are forcing 11.8 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 38.2% from the floor (22nd in the nation).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Gonzaga

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