Check out our free Gonzaga vs Portland pick and preview for this NCAA Basketball game in Portland. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this College Basketball matchup.
Gonzaga vs Portland Pick & Preview: Saturday, January 28th Betting Odds
Bulldogs vs Pilots Matchup at a Glance
- Sport: NCAAB
- Teams: Gonzaga Bulldogs at Portland Pilots
- Where: Portland at Chiles Center
- Date: Saturday, January 28th
- Betting Odds: Gonzaga -12, GNZG -786 | PORT +515 O/U 163.5
Bulldogs Preview:
Gonzaga heads into this matchup having played 21 games and have an overall record sitting at 17-4. So far, the Bulldogs have played 6 games on the road, with a record of 5-1. This season, Gonzaga has been favored to win in 18 games, sitting with a mark of 15-3. For today’s contest, Gonzaga has a betting line set -12 points in their favor.
Drew Timme comes into today’s game as the Bulldogs’ leading scorer at 22.05 points per contest. Not only has Timme been key to the team’s scoring efforts, but he is Gonzaga’s top rebounder at 7.62 boards per contest. Behind Timme, the team has benefited from the strong play of Julian Strawther, who is second on the team in scoring at 13.48 points per game. Overall, he has hit 46.2% of his shots and is adding 7.05 boards per game.
Through 21 games, Gonzaga has been playing well on offense, averaging 87.8 points per game. Even though the team has been methodical with their pace, the Bulldogs’ shooters have been hot from outside, hitting 37.9% of their shots per game. This strong shooting percentage has equated to an average of 8.38 made 3’s per contest.
Pilots Preview:
The Portland Pilots head into today’s game in what will be their 24th game of the season, posting a record of 11-12. Currently, the Pilots have been the home team 13 times, sitting with a record of 9-4. So far, the Pilots have been the underdog 10 times, going 2-8 straight up. Heading into today’s contest, they are the +12 underdogs on the spread.
Portland’s leading scorer this season is Tyler Robertson, who is averaging 14.18 points per contest. So far, Robertson has accounted for 17.65% of the team’s scoring. In addition, he is contributing 4.95 rebounds per game and 5.41 assists. Kristian Sjolund is the second leading scorer for the Pilots, averaging 12.43 points per game. Between him and Sjolund, they are accounting for 33.8% of the team’s scoring.
On offense, Portland is scoring a rate similar to the NCAA average at 73.9 points per game. This figure has come despite struggling to knock down shots from outside. Through 23 games, they have only hit 34.5% of their 3-point field goal attempts. For the season, 38.03% of their shots have come from beyond the arc.
Free Spread Prediction: Gonzaga Bulldogs -12
The Gonzaga Bulldogs will start their matchup against Portland Pilots as the strong favorites to pick up the win with a point spread of -12. We like Gonzaga’s chances to pull away with an easy win and cover the spread. When considering how each team likes to play, both Gonzaga and Portland are near the NCAA average in possessions per game. We like how this scenario works in Gonzaga’s favor, as their superior talent should come through throughout the game in an easy win. Although the Bulldogs don’t have a great track record vs the spread as the betting favorite, going 1-4 (last 5), we like their chances to come away with the ATS win.
