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The LMU Lions take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Check out our college basketball odds series for our LMU Gonzaga prediction and pick. Find out how to watch LMU Gonzaga.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs seem to have gotten their season back on track. It's not as though their season ever really went off the rails. It came close at times. However, even on a lot of nights when this team did not play well, it still managed to win. It trailed late at San Francisco but rallied to win. It trailed late at Santa Clara but rallied to win. It trailed by five points at BYU with close to two minutes left. The Zags still rallied to win. They cut it close three different times in WCC road games but managed to play great basketball in the final three minutes and win games which were not only up in the air, but likely to go the other way. Certainly against USF and BYU, Gonzaga was in major trouble, and it found a way to escape. Coach Mark Few knew this was unsustainable. He needed to see his team play markedly better basketball.
Maybe coming home to Spokane and The Kennel was all this team needed to play its best. Gonzaga absolutely demolished Portland in a game which was never remotely close this past Saturday. Gonzaga got rid of its close-game tendency and blew the doors off the Pilots. That is a great way for GU to enter this game against Loyola Marymount, which is 13-7 on the season and 3-3 in the WCC. That's decent, but it's hardly spectacular.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the LMU-Gonzaga College Basketball odds.
College Basketball Odds: LMU-Gonzaga Odds
LMU Lions: +16.5 (-112)
Gonzaga Bulldogs: -16.5 (-110)
Over: 159.5 (-106)
Under: 159.5 (-114)
How To Watch LMU vs. Gonzaga
TV: Regional cable
Stream: FuboTV
Article Continues Below
Time: 9:00 p.m. ET, 6:00 p.m. PT
*Watch LMU-Gonzaga LIVE with fuboTV (Click for free trial)*
Why LMU Could Cover the Spread
The Lions beat BYU earlier this season, and BYU — as noted above — led Gonzaga by five points with nearly two minutes left in regulation last week before GU rallied past the Cougars in the final seconds. Loyola Marymount can score. This team averages just over 76 points per game and shoots nearly 46 percent from the field. Those are very solid numbers. If the Lions can get hot from 3-point range in the first half, they can grab a lead and force Gonzaga to come back once again. Gonzaga has been flirting with danger a lot in the month of January. If the Zags get roped into yet another close game and have relatively little margin for error late in regulation, it might not break their way this time. Even if Gonzaga wins, Loyola Marymount is getting a lot of points on the spread. Just being within five points at halftime would probably point to an LMU cover. Gonzaga would have to play a nearly perfect second half to win under those circumstances.
Why Gonzaga Could Cover the Spread
The Zags have to think they have solved some of their problems. It's true that beating Portland by a very large margin doesn't prove GU is now an elite juggernaut, but it remains that the Zags were playing very average and wobbly basketball. Against Portland, we saw the authoritative basketball which had been missing for a few weeks from GU. Gonzaga showed just how good it was this season when it went to Birmingham and beat Alabama convincingly. Alabama is a likely No. 1 seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. The Zags can take down a top team. They can play great if they put all the pieces together. They did against Portland, and they'll do so against LMU.
Final LMU-Gonzaga Prediction & Pick
This game is Gonzaga's. The Zags have found their best form and should be able to put a thumping on LMU.
Final LMU-Gonzaga Prediction & Pick: Gonzaga -16.5
