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It's time to continue our College Basketball odds series with an LMU-Gonzaga prediction and pick. Find out how to watch LMU-Gonzaga.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs are not where they expected to be. They are three games behind the Saint Mary's Gaels in the West Coast Conference standings. The Zags lost to SMC this past Saturday, a devastating loss for GU in terms of its ability to win or share the regular-season West Coast Conference championship. Being three games back, Gonzaga can — at best — tie the season series with Saint Mary's by winning at home later in the season. However, that one win would merely reduce the gap from three games to two. GU will need Saint Mary's to lose two non-Gonzaga games in the next month to have any chance of tying for the WCC title.
Removed from the WCC race, Gonzaga wants to put a halt to its recent slide. It lost not only to Saint Mary's, but to Santa Clara and Oregon State. Gonzaga does not want to fall to a No. 8 or No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Getting one of those two seeds would mean the Bulldogs would have to face a No. 1 seed in the second round of March Madness, thereby reducing their odds of getting back to the Sweet 16, which coach Mark Few has turned into a regular home in his career. Few and Gonzaga have made the Sweet 16 or better in each of the last nine NCAA Tournaments which have been played, going back to 2015. Keep in mind that the 2020 NCAA Tournament was not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Gonzaga's Sweet 16 streak is in jeopardy. Avoiding the 8 or 9 seeds would help GU gain a better chance of being able to return to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
Here are the LMU-Gonzaga College Basketball Odds, courtesy of FanDuel
College Basketball Odds: LMU-Gonzaga Odds
LMU: +20.5 (-110)
Moneyline: +1600
Gonzaga: -20.5 (-110)
Moneyline: -4500
Over: 153.5 (-110)
Under: 153.5 (-110)
How to Watch LMU vs. Gonzaga
Time: 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT
TV: ESPN Plus
*Watch college basketball LIVE with fuboTV (Get Access | Save $30)*
Why LMU Will Cover The Spread/Win
Gonzaga has had big-time problems on defense this season. Giving up over 100 points at home to Santa Clara was a big, bright, red, flashing warning sign that the Zags' defense is simply not up to par and not where it needs to be right now. Gonzaga has to make significant improvements on defense to be able to cover a spread as large as 20.5 points. Should this team be given the benefit of the doubt? It's hard to say yes. Gonzaga has had much better teams in past years. Past reputation doesn't do anything to win present-tense ballgames. This Gonzaga team just doesn't defend the way past teams did. A 2025 team can't just immediately call forth the way a 2024 team played. Sports doesn't work that way. Bettors can't trust Gonzaga's reputation because this 2025 team has played below that reputation and has not lived up to the GU standard. LMU should certainly be able to lose this game by fewer than 21 points. That's all the Lions need to do to cover.
Why Gonzaga Will Cover The Spread/Win
Gonzaga knows how important every game is right now. This team has to win in order to improve its NCAA Tournament seeding and give itself the best possible chance of making a deep run in the March Madness brackets. Urgency and intensity will propel Gonzaga to a 25-point win. This team knows what is at stake, and having lost to Saint Mary's last weekend, GU will come out of the tunnel breathing fire.
Final LMU-Gonzaga Prediction & Pick
The spread is way too big for us to take Gonzaga, but LMU is an inferior team playing on the road. Just stay away from this game.
Final LMU-Gonzaga Prediction & Pick: LMU +20.5
