The Portland Pilots and the Gonzaga Bulldogs meet in college basketball action from the McCarthey Athletic Center on Saturday.
The Portland Pilots will be out to build on a 92-87 win over San Francisco in their last game. Tyler Robertson has a team-high 14.1 PPG along with 5.3 RPG and a team-high 5.4 APG to lead the Pilots in the assist department as well up to this point in the season. Moses Wood has 13.1 PPG along with a team-high 6.4 RPG to lead the Pilots on the glass while Kristian Sjolund has 12.7 PPG with 4.4 RPG and Mike Meadows has 10.8 PPG in eight games to cap off the scoring in double figures for Portland so far this season. As a team, Portland is averaging 75.7 PPG on 44.9% shooting from the field, 36.3% from behind the arc and 71.1% from the foul line this season.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs will try to add to a 75-74 win over BYU in their last game. Drew Timme leads the Bulldogs in scoring with 21.8 PPG and 7.9 RPG while Julian Strawther has 13.9 PPG and 7.3 RPG. Rasir Bolton has 11.3 PPG to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for Gonzaga so far this season and Nolan Hickman has a team-high 3.6 APG as well this year. As a team, Gonzaga is averaging 85.9 PPG on 51.8% shooting from the field, 38% from three and 70.2% from the foul line this season.
Portland is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games overall and 0-4 ATS in their last 4 road games while the over is 12-3-1 in their last 16 games against a team with a winning record. Gonzaga is 5-19-3 ATS in their last 27 games overall and 2-7-1 ATS in their last 10 home games while the over is 7-0-1 in their last 8 games against a team with a winning record.
I get the case to be made for either side in this game, but I’m backing the Bulldogs here. Portland is a shell now of the team that gave UNC fits in a midseason tournament a couple of months ago. Gonzaga has had some close calls as of late but those games have been on the road. At home, the Zags have been dominant, and the Bulldogs have a history of beating up on the Pilots. I’ll lay the points with the Bulldogs in a rout.