Who’s Playing
San Fran. Dons @ Gonzaga Bulldogs
Current Records: San Fran. 15-5, Gonzaga 13-5
How To Watch
- When: Thursday, January 25, 2024 at 9 p.m. ET
- Where: McCarthey Athletic Center — Spokane, Washington
- TV: ESPN2
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $800.00
What to Know
After three games on the road, Gonzaga is heading back home. The Gonzaga Bulldogs and the San Fran. Dons will face off in a West Coast battle at 9:00 p.m. ET on Thursday at McCarthey Athletic Center. San Fran. took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Gonzaga, who comes in off a win.
Gonzaga has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won nine contests by 19 points or more this season. They steamrolled past the Toreros 105-63 on the road. The match was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 54-27.
Gonzaga got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Braden Huff out in front who scored 26 points along with five rebounds. Those 26 points set a new season-high mark for him. Another player making a difference was Ryan Nembhard, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 12 assists.
Meanwhile, San Fran. unfortunately witnessed the end of their seven-game winning streak on Saturday. The match between the Dons and the Gaels wasn’t a total blowout, but with the Dons falling 77-60 at home it was darn close to turning into one. San Fran. has not had much luck with Saint Mary’s recently, as the team’s come up short the last eight times they’ve met.
San Fran.’s loss came about despite a quality game from Ryan Beasley, who scored 17 points.
San Fran. struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only three offensive rebounds. That’s the fewest offensive rebounds they’ve managed all season.
The Bulldogs are on a roll lately: they’ve won four of their last five matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 13-5 record this season. As for the Dons, their defeat ended a 12-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 15-5.
Thursday’s game is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Gonzaga just can’t miss this season, having made 50% of their shots per game. However, it’s not like San Fran. struggles in that department as they’ve made 49.6% of their shots per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it’ll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Looking forward, Gonzaga is the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by 9.5 points. This contest will be their eighth straight as the favorites (so far over this stretch they are 4-3 against the spread).
Odds
Gonzaga is a big 9.5-point favorite against San Fran., according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Bulldogs as a 10-point favorite.
The over/under is set at 151.5 points.
See college basketball picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get picks now.
Series History
Gonzaga has won all of the games they’ve played against San Fran. in the last 4 years.
- Mar 06, 2023 – Gonzaga 84 vs. San Fran. 73
- Feb 09, 2023 – Gonzaga 99 vs. San Fran. 81
- Jan 05, 2023 – Gonzaga 77 vs. San Fran. 75
- Mar 07, 2022 – Gonzaga 81 vs. San Fran. 71
- Feb 24, 2022 – Gonzaga 89 vs. San Fran. 73
- Jan 20, 2022 – Gonzaga 78 vs. San Fran. 62
- Feb 13, 2021 – Gonzaga 100 vs. San Fran. 61
- Jan 02, 2021 – Gonzaga 85 vs. San Fran. 62
- Mar 09, 2020 – Gonzaga 81 vs. San Fran. 77
- Feb 20, 2020 – Gonzaga 71 vs. San Fran. 54
