A huge second half in the quarterfinals helped push the Santa Clara Broncos into the semis as Jared Brownridge dominated the floor for 40 minutes. The win over San Francisco was impressive, but can the Broncos go one further and upset Gonzaga Bulldogs on Monday night? The Broncos came into the West Coast Conference tournament as the conference’s No. 4 seed, but the Bulldogs are the No. 4 team in the nation, using this tournament to get ready for the Big Dance.
This war on the floor will go down Monday, March 6, 2017, at 9 p.m. ET at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, NV. The game will be televised live on ESPN2. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Monday schedule.
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The Bulldogs will open as heavy favorites against the Broncos as Gonzaga is the cream of the crop of this division and the favorites to win the tournament. Save a bad blow here, they’re well positioned to rank as a top seed in the NCAA Tournament and their futures odds sit as the sixth highest to win the whole thing.
Getting back to this game and this tournament, Gonzaga took care of Pacific rather easily on Saturday night, winning by 32-points. Pacific was able to keep the game close in the first half, but the Tigers didn’t have enough to sustain that into the second half and the Bulldogs ran out to massive second half.
The last time these two teams faced, the Bulldogs were 21.5-point favorites at tipoff with a total of 136, banking on Gonzaga’s top tier offense, while factoring a lower scoring game from Santa Clara. The spread should be a bit closer this time around as they play on a neutral court.
Last Meeting
It was just about a month ago when Santa Clara headed to Spokane to take on the Bulldogs in the McCarthey Athletic Center.
Gonzaga took advantage of the home court edge and came away with a 90-55 victory in a game they dominated from start to finish.
The Bulldogs controlled the game in basically every way imaginable, out shooting the Broncos 60.8-percent to 39.6-percent from the floor and 50-percent to 31.2-percent from three-point range. Gonzaga also led the way in foul shots and as a team secured nine more rebounds than Santa Clara.
For the Broncos, Brownnridge was able to score 13 points, but managed just nine shots, sinking four of them. Meanwhile, K.J. Feagin scored 18, going 7-for-13 from the floor. Outside of those two, however, no other Bronco was able to make more than two shots or score more than seven points.
Santa Clara’s offense isn’t particularly a powerhouse—outside of Brownridge—so the lower point wasn’t out of character, but the 90-points for Gonzaga was even more telling as the Broncos are averaging just 65-points allowed.
That didn’t stop the Bulldogs as they Josh Perkins sank three from beyond the arc in route to 15 total points. He was one of five different Gonzaga players to score in the double-digits while also nabbing eight assists.
These two teams also met in January out in California with the Zags winning by a 31-point margin, 88-57. Brownridge had a bigger game, but once again the offense was him and Feagin while Gonzaga again shot of 50-percent from the floor, getting production from across the roster.
Player to Watch
Given the lopsided scores of the past, the Bulldogs should be able to walk to the WCC Tournament Finals on Monday, but the question for bettors is just how big will Gonzaga’s victory be?
To answer that, it’s best to keep an eye on Przemek Karnowski. The 7’1” center hasn’t been a big scoring factor the last few games, but has seen his rebounding numbers tick up. He’s also notched six blocks in his last five games.
The Broncos have no real answer for the big man. Their strength is in the backcourt and with such a presence inside, that’ll likely force the team to take a number of shots from the parameter. They’re already a little shooting happy beyond the arc.
Karnowski scored 31 against Santa Clara in their previous two meetings combined.
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Gonzaga is winning this game. There will be no upset, but can they sustain their absolute dominance against the Broncos? I don’t see why not. They’ve beaten Santa Clara by at least 30-points both at home and on the road. They should be able to replicate that again, this time on a neutral court.
Gonzaga is ranked second in basketball with a 51.8-percent field goal percentage and is averaging 85.2 PPG. The Broncos don’t have the firepower to keep up. They’re one of the sports’ more offensively challenge teams and have to face off against a defense ranked in the top-10. This will be another blowout. These two teams just don’t match up favorably for the Broncos.
College Basketball Odds: Gonzaga 92, Santa Clara 59
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