It is a matchup of Top 15 teams on Saturday night, as the No. 6 ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs visit the No. 15 Arizona Wildcats on ESPN 2. Both teams come into this game at 10-1, so it should be an excellent matchup. These teams met last season in a tournament in Hawaii and it was Gonzaga pulling away to win by a score of 91-74. This time around the game will be at Arizona and the odds are expected to be close to a pick. Let’s take a look at this matchup and college basketball picks.
Don't miss the hardwood action from the McKale Center at 10:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, December 14, 2019. Catch every moment of the game live on ESPN 2.
We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Saturday schedule.
Top 15 Matchup
This will be the first time the McKale Center has hosted a matchup of Top 25 teams in two years. Gonzaga has played a much tougher schedule than has Arizona so far this season, as Gonzaga already has wins over Oregon and Washington and their only loss came to Michigan. Gonzaga is averaging about 86 points per game and giving up 65 per contest.
Gonzaga is led by Filip Petrusev who is averaging almost 16 points per game. He also leads the team in rebounds at 8.5 per game. Ryan Woolridge leads the team in assists at four per game.
Arizona is averaging about 84 points per game and giving up 64 per contest, but they really haven’t played anyone other than Baylor and that game was their only loss, as they were beaten 63-58. The Wildcats are still without Stone Gettings who was hurt at the end of November.
Miller said that with freshman center Christian Koloko playing well, the team is not going to rush Gettings back into the lineup. “We’re going to make the right call for him,” Miller said to the media, “That’s what that’s what we’ve done to this point, and there’s no reason to rush anything.” Miller said that Koloko continues to improve. “Christian gives us a dimension where … you can’t just turn around and shoot over him,” Miller said. “He did that against some really good competition. I also liked his poise. He came into game and wasn’t nervous. He did what he was supposed to do, and he really ran the court well on both ends.”
Series Notes
Gonzaga and Arizona have played some memorable games in the past and although last year’s score looks lopsided, the game was a lot closer than the final score. Arizona leads the all-time series 6-3, but Gonzaga, under head coach Mark Few, has taken two of the three against Sean Miller’s Arizona squad. Three of the last four meetings have gone under the total.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
This should be an excellent matchup that could be high scoring. Gonzaga is 4th in the country in points per game at just over 86 per game, while Arizona is 10th in the country, averaging about 84 points per contest. Both teams have been up and down defensively so there is no reason to think they are suddenly going to play great on defense on Saturday. These teams played a high scoring game last season in Hawaii and I think both teams have more potent offenses than they had a year ago. The total on Saturday’s game will probably be high, but I still like this game to go over the total.
College Basketball Pick: Gonzaga and Arizona Over the Total
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