Gonzaga vs BYU 1/13/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds
BYU Cougars (14-3) vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs (12-2)
January 13, 2022 11:00 pm EDT
The Line: Gonzaga Bulldogs -14.5 ; Over/Under: 153.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The BYU Cougars and the Gonzaga Bulldogs meet Thursday in college basketball action from McCarthey Athletic Center. BYU sits at 14-3 so far this year. The Cougars beat Saint Mary’s in their last game. As for Gonzaga, they’re sitting at 12-2 and fresh off a win over Pepperdine. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
BYU went 8-2 over their first 10 games this season. The only losses were to Utah Valley and Creighton. It’s been a 6-1 run since then for BYU, featuring wins over Weber State, South Florida, Liberty, Westminster UT, Pacific and Saint Mary’s.
Matched up against Saint Mary’s last weekend, the Cougars jumped out to a 28-16 halftime lead and held on for the 52-43 win. Te’Jon Lucas led the scoring on 10 points, and Fousseyni Traore pulled down 11 boards with nine points.
Over on the Gonzaga side, they opened the season on a 7-2 run with losses to Duke and Alabama mixed in. Since then it’s been a five-game win streak over Merrimack, Texas Tech, Northern AZ, North Alabama and Pepperdine.
In the Pepperdine game, the Bulldogs scored a whopping 63 points in the first half alone on the way to a dominant 117-83 blowout win. Anton Watson scored 19 points, and both Drew Time and Chet Holmgren chipped in 18 points apiece.
The Bulldogs are 1-5-1 ATS in their last seven Thursday games and 2-5 ATS in their last seven at home. The under is 5-2 in Gonzaga’s last seven Thursday games.
Meanwhile, the Cougars are 37-17-2 ATS in their last 56 Thursday games and 19-7-1 ATS in their last 27 road games. BYU is 5-0-1 ATS in their last six as a road underdog.
PICK: I’m going to stick with Gonzaga here. The Bulldogs had a strong outing in their last game against Pepperdine, shooting 54.2 percent from the floor with 51 rebounds and 26 team assists. Gonzaga has hit 80 points or more in four of their last five outings (the outlier being a 69-55 win over Texas Tech).
BYU should bring some defensive prowess to this game and may slow the Bulldogs down, but ultimately I think Gonzaga can cover. Should be a really fun matchup.
