Gonzaga vs Pepperdine prediction, odds, pick for College Basketball
12/30/2024 10:59 AM
It’s time to continue our College Basketball odds series with a Gonzaga-Pepperdine prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Gonzaga-Pepperdine.
Conference games in late December? Let’s go! This is a fun time of the season in college basketball, as the conference wars begin to heat up and fill the next few months of the calendar, all the way into March Madness.
Gonzaga spent Saturday in Inglewood, Calif., playing a nonconference game against UCLA on national television. Having flown down to Southern California for that TV game, the Zags are staying in SoCal — in Malibu — to play this conference game against Pepperdine two days later.
The UCLA game was immensely frustrating for Gonzaga, which meant it was an extension of the nonconference season at large for the Zags. Gonzaga has lost four games so far this season, coming close but failing to finish the job in a number of games. West Virginia, Kentucky, UConn, and now UCLA were all games which were extremely close late in regulation, but the Zags just could not make the key plays to win in crunch time. Gonzaga led Kentucky by 16 points at halftime and couldn’t finish. Gonzaga led West Virginia by five points in the final minute and couldn’t finish. Those two games became overtime losses for GU, which has had a close-but-no-cigar kind of season.
Gonzaga is a team which has the makings of something special, but Mark Few has not been able to put the pieces together. This team needs to absolutely crush the West Coast Conference — it probably can afford one loss, nothing more — in order to be in the hunt for a No. 4 seed at the NCAA Tournament. At least two losses probably knock the Zags back to a No. 5 seed, which is what they had last season.
The UCLA loss was obviously frustrating on its own terms, regardless of context — it was a game GU was favored to win by 4.5 points — but what added to the misery for the Zags is that star scorer Khalif Battle, a transfer from Arkansas, was ejected for a flagrant 2 foul in the first half. Of all the players on the Gonzaga roster, look for Battle to have a big night against Pepperdine. He will have fresh legs as a result of not playing many minutes on Saturday versus UCLA.
Here are the Gonzaga-Pepperdine College Basketball Odds, courtesy of FanDuel
College Basketball Odds: Gonzaga-Pepperdine Odds
Gonzaga: -22.5 (-102)
Moneyline: -4500
Pepperdine: +22.5 (-120)
Moneyline: +1600
Over: 157.5 (-110)
Under: 157.5 (-110)
How to Watch Gonzaga vs Pepperdine
Time: 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT
TV: ESPN Plus
*Watch college basketball LIVE with fuboTV (Get Access | Save $30)*
Why Gonzaga Will Cover The Spread/Win
Khalif Battle is going to go off in this game after being ejected early against UCLA. Battle should score at least 20 points, and he could hit 30. It would not be a surprise. Battle will be shot out of a cannon in this game, and Pepperdine’s defense will have absolutely no answer for him. Gonzaga will be angry after the UCLA loss, intent on proving a point and starting its WCC campaign right. This is a tidal wave against the Waves.
Why Pepperdine Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Waves are getting over 22 points against a Gonzaga team which just scored only 62 points versus UCLA, is struggling on offense, and is underachieving. Pepperdine can lose by 22 and still cover at home in a conference game? That seems like a reasonable play to make.
Final Gonzaga-Pepperdine Prediction & Pick
Our lean is to Gonzaga, but we don’t trust the Zags. Why should we right now? Maybe sit back and wait for a live play here after watching the first 10 to 15 minutes of the game.
Final Gonzaga-Pepperdine Prediction & Pick: Gonzaga -22.5
The post Gonzaga vs Pepperdine prediction, odds, pick for College Basketball appeared first on ClutchPoints.
