A glorious Saturday of college basketball wraps up with the No. 12 Gonzaga Bulldogs pulling up to the Leavey Center to take on the Santa Clara Broncos. The winner of this one will take sole possession of the one seed in the West Coast Conference (WCC), so this game may have serious NCAA Tournament implications.
Gonzaga vs. Santa Clara tips off at 10:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, live on ESPN.
Below, we’ll break down our Gonzaga vs. Santa Clara prediction and Saturday CBB picks. Make your college basketball picks on PrizePicks and PrizePicks Team Picks and earn real money if you’re right, including on game winners, spreads, and totals!
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Gonzaga vs. Santa Clara Prediction, Spread, Over/Under
It’s been business as usual for Mark Few’s Gonzaga squad, sitting at 24-2 overall and 12-1 in conference play.
This is the second meeting between these two squads this season, with Gonzaga winning comfortably at home in the first, 89-77. Leading scorer, F Graham Ike, dropped 34 points and 11 rebounds in that clash and may look to repeat that performance on the road tonight.
Santa Clara is 22-5 overall, 13-1 in conference play, and a perfect 13-0 at home. They aim to keep their unbeaten home streak alive in a difficult matchup against Gonzaga.
The Broncos are led by sophomore guard Christian Hammond, who has made massive strides in his second season. After starting only two games last year and averaging just 3.7 points, he now leads the team in scoring at 16.4 PPG, doing so with impressive efficiency, shooting 50% from the field.
Gonzaga vs. Santa Clara Over/Under, Spread
The Bulldogs enter Saturday’s game as 3.5-point road favorites, returning a 1.4x payout on PrizePicks Team Picks if they win outright.
The Broncos are home underdogs with a 2.63x payout if they win, via PrizePicks Team Picks.
- Spread: Gonzaga Bulldogs -3.5 (1.66x payout)
- Over/Under: 157.5 (1.75x payout on over)
- Game Winner Payout: Bulldogs 1.4x | Broncos 2.63x
Team Picks payouts are live as of writing and are subject to change.
Gonzaga vs. Santa Clara Prediction on Over/Under
Here are some stats to know to help you make your Gonzaga vs. Santa Clara prediction on the over/under on Saturday, February 14.
- Santa Clara is 16-9-1 (64%) ATS to the over, the best record in the WCC.
- These are two of the fastest teams in the country, both ranking in the top 70 in tempo out of 365 teams. Gonzaga ranks 67th and Santa Clara 65th, according to Bart Torvik.
- The only other meeting between these two teams this year resulted in a whopping 176 total points.
- The Broncos rank 43rd in the country in offensive effective field goal percentage (55.1%) but a woeful 163rd in effective field goal percentage allowed (51%).
- The latter could prove devastating against the Zags, who rank 22nd in effective field goal percentage (56.5%).
Gonzaga vs. Santa Clara Picks for PrizePicks Today: Saturday, February 14
Here are two of the top Gonzaga vs. Santa Clara picks to target for Saturday, February 14, on PrizePicks. Player stat projections via PrizePicks are headlined by F Graham Ike and G Christian Hammond.
Gonzaga F Graham Ike vs. Santa Clara Projection: 30.5 Pts + Rebs
- As mentioned above, the Broncos are 163rd in effective field goal percentage allowed at 51%, which plays right into the hands of the uber-efficient Graham Ike, who shoots 57.4% from the field.
- Santa Clara’s defense ranks 191st nationally in defensive rebounding percentage (31.1%). This could spell trouble against Ike, who had 11 rebounds in their last matchup, including four on the offensive glass.
- Graham Ike is getting to the free throw line 5.5 times per game, a career high during his tenure with Gonzaga. Santa Clara gives up a whopping 38.3 free throw attempts per game, 265th in the country.
- Ike had 45 combined points and rebounds in his prior matchup vs. Santa Clara.
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Santa Clara G Christian Hammond vs. Gonzaga Projection: 21 Pts + Rebs + Asts
- Hammond has been much more efficient at home, shooting 5% better from the field (51.7 vs 46.7) and 7.3% better from deep (42.6 vs 35.3). This has led him to averaging 18.1 PPG at home compared to 13.6 on the road.
- He is also posting 1.4 more rebounds and .1 more assists at home, which has resulted in him producing 24.1 points, rebounds, and assists at the Leavey Center.
- Gonzaga’s defense gives up a ton of 3-point attempts, which is Hammond's bread-and-butter shot. The Zags cede 44.1 3-point attempts per game, ranking 315th nationally.
- The Bulldogs don’t do a great job of keeping opponents off the free throw line either, allowing 32.4 attempts nightly (104th). Hammond gets to the line 3.5 times per game.
Make #12 Gonzaga vs. Santa Clara Picks on PrizePicks
The race for the one seed in the WCC is coming down to the wire, and tonight’s game may very well serve as the finish line. Gonzaga vs. Santa Clara picks for WCC ball are just one of many ways hoops fans can get in on the daily college basketball action.
You can make your picks on PrizePicks and PrizePicks Team Picks and earn real money. Just pick players, predict More or Less on their projected stats, and cash in if you’re correct. With Team Picks, make predictions on winners, spreads, and over/unders, now available in 34 states.
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