The Washington Huskies take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Check out our college basketball odds series for our Washington Gonzaga prediction and pick.
The college basketball season has not been what Gonzaga wanted it to be. Not only have the Zags lost big to Purdue and gotten handled by Texas and Baylor; even some of their wins don't look that impressive. Their one-point win over Michigan State looks a lot worse now that Tom Izzo's Spartans have lost three of their last five games (Alabama, Notre Dame, Northwestern). Gonzaga has been a No. 1 seed in each of the last three NCAA Tournaments which were played (not counting the 2020 NCAA Tournament, which never did begin because of the pandemic). This Gonzaga team has played its way out of a top seed. This is where the Zags' West Coast Conference affiliation hurts them. If they don't clean up in the nonconference portion of their schedule, they don't have a lot of chances to make up ground in the race for seeding when they play in the WCC. Running the table in the WCC could, at this point, give Gonzaga the ceiling of a No. 3 or 4 seed, but the Zags are almost certain to not be a top-two seed given all their losses in the first month of competition.
Gonzaga still has Drew Timme, one of the best players in college basketball, on its roster, but the real difference is that the Zags don't have a top-quality point guard. Just look at what Andrew Nembhard is doing for the Indiana Pacers in his rookie NBA season. Gonzaga misses that kind of floor leader who can score but also facilitate offense for teammates. Jalen Suggs was that kind of player one season earlier, when GU came within one win of an unbeaten season and a national championship. Point guard is a notable deficit for this team.
The Gonzaga player who needs to step up his game at this point in the season is Rasir Bolton. He is averaging under 12 points per game and a modest 2.8 assists. With Nembhard and Chet Holmgren both gone from last season's team, Bolton emerged as one of the foremost players who needed to make the big leap this year and provide a level of production which could compensate for the losses of multiple elite performers. So far this season, Bolton has not provided anything particularly close to that kind of impact. Mark Few needs to find ways to get him going.
Washington has had a mixed set of results this season. It lost to California Baptist but beat Saint Mary's. The Huskies lost their Pac-12 Conference opener to Oregon State but then bounced back and beat Colorado one week ago. Coach Mike Hopkins' zone defense can fluster opponents in nonconference play, and Gonzaga's lack of top-tier perimeter shooting means you'll see Washington use the 2-3 zone in the first half of this game. Can Gonzaga shoot the Huskies out of that zone, or will the 2-3 — which Hopkins learned from mentor Jim Boeheim at Syracuse — fluster the Zags and enable Washington to make this game competitive for the full 40 minutes in Spokane?
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Washington-Gonzaga College Basketball odds.
College Basketball Odds: Washington-Gonzaga Odds
Washington Huskies: +16.5 (-118)
Gonzaga Bulldogs: -16.5 (-104)
Over: 148.5 (-110)
Under: 148.5 (-110)
Why Washington Could Cover the Spread
The fact that Gonzaga's offense has been well below par this season suggests that Washington's zone defense can be very effective and limit the Zags' offensive output. Washington doesn't even have to win; it just has to be competitive. The Huskies can meet that standard.
Why Gonzaga Could Cover the Spread
Gonzaga is due for a breakout performance. This team is not nearly as good as previous editions, but there is still a lot of natural talent on the roster, and Mark Few knows how to get his team to play better as the season moves along.
Final Washington-Gonzaga Prediction & Pick
Gonzaga's inconsistency on offense does point to a Washington cover. Zags by 12.
Final Washington-Gonzaga Prediction & Pick: Washington +16.5
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