Santa Clara vs Louisiana Tech 12/4/21 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (5-2) vs. Santa Clara Broncos (6-2)
December 4, 2021 5:00 pm EDT
The Line: Santa Clara Broncos -2.5 / Louisiana Tech Bulldogs +2.5; Over/Under: -148
(Get latest betting odds)
The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs will travel to the Leavey Center to take on the Santa Clara Broncos this Saturday night in College Basketball action.
The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs improved to 5-2 on the season after defeating the Texas Southern Tigers, 87-60, this past Wednesday. Louisiana Tech was outstanding on both ends of the court against Texas Southern and had no trouble picking up the victory after going into halftime with a 42-23 lead. Louisiana Tech shot 53.2% from the field & 35.7% from beyond the arc while holding Texas Southern to just 35.0% shooting from the field & 21.4% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Bulldogs was Kenneth Lofton Jr. who had 15 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, & 1 steal.
On the season, Louisiana Tech is averaging 81.7 ppg on 47.8% shooting from the field. The Bulldogs are averaging 8.9 three-pointers per game on 35.6% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Louisiana Tech has been led by Kenneth Lofton Jr. (17.7 ppg, 10.9 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.1 bpg), Amorie Archibald (12.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.0 spg), Keaston Willis (12.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.1 apg), & Cobe Williams (5.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 4.7 apg, 1.0 spg).
Defensively, Louisiana Tech is allowing their opponents to an average of 72.9 ppg on 42.6% shooting from the field. The Bulldogs have a rebound margin of 1.4 and a turnover margin of 1.6.
The Santa Clara Broncos snapped a 2-game losing streak and improved to 6-2 on the season after defeating the Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors, 70-58, this past Tuesday. Santa Clara was solid defensively against Hawai’i and was able to pull away in the 2nd half after taking a 55-40 lead with 7:44 left in regulation. Santa Clara shot 49.2% from the field & 27.3% from beyond the arc while holding Hawai’i to just 34.4% shooting from the field & 25.0% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Broncos was Jalen Williams who had 30 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, & 3 steals.
On the season, Santa Clara is averaging 78.2 ppg on 50.8% shooting from the field. The Broncos are averaging 7.6 three-pointers per game on 40.9% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Santa Clara has been led by Jalen Williams (19.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.6 apg, 2.1 spg), Josip Vrankic (16.3 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 6.0 apg, 2.0 spg), Keshawn Justice (14.8 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 3.1 apg), & PJ Pipes (13.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 3.9 apg). Santa Clara has been without Josip Vrankic for the past two weeks due to an illness and is currently questionable for this matchup.
Defensively, Santa Clara is allowing their opponents to average 66.5 ppg on 39.9% shooting from the field. The Broncos have a rebound margin of -0.1 and a turnover margin of 1.8.
The Bulldogs are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 road games & 22-9 ATS in their last 31 games overall. The Broncos are 5-1-1 ATS in their last 7 home games, however, are just 1-6 ATS in their last 7 home games vs. a team with a losing road record.
Louisiana Tech has been led by their offense this season which ranks 41st in scoring offense & 55th in FG%, however, the defense has struggled giving up points this season and currently rank just t-263rd in scoring defense. Santa Clara has been solid on both ends of the court this season and come into this matchup ranked t-79th in scoring offense & t-134th in scoring defense.
Santa Clara is a solid team, however, the Broncos have missed one of their best players in Josip Vrankic over the past few games and at this time, is at best questionable for this matchup. Louisiana Tech is going to be one of the better teams that the Bulldogs have played and as I think the Bulldogs offense will be able to have some success against the Broncos, I think the play here is to take Louisiana Tech and the points. Good Luck!