The San Diego Toreros take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Check out our college basketball odds series for our San Diego Gonzaga prediction and pick. Find how to watch San Diego Gonzaga.

The Gonzaga Bulldogs have taken a few steps back this season. The program which made the national championship game of college basketball in both 2017 and 2021, and which was a No. 1 seed in 2022 (in addition to other years over the past decade), has finally hit a rut. It speaks to the quality and consistency of this program that Gonzaga is 10-4 with wins over UCLA and USC, and it's a “down year” for the school. It is a down year, but Gonzaga is still one of the better programs in the West and a team which is clearly heading for the NCAA Tournament. It simply isn't the standard the program has set in recent years.

Weirdly enough, Gonzaga is currently in a place it used to be before the program took off in 2013. Before 2013 — a year when the Zags got a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and began their climb to the top of the sport — Gonzaga was often a No. 7 or 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament. It would win a first-round game and then lose to a high seed in the second round. That's where GU is likely to land this season, given the bumps and bruises it has absorbed in recent weeks. However, for most programs, that's a season to be cherished. Gonzaga used to be a good but modest program. The past 10 years changed that. Now the expectations are greater. Still, GU has a good team and will try to boost its seeding by producing a strong West Coast Conference campaign.

Here are the San Diego-Gonzaga College Basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.

College Basketball Odds: San Diego-Gonzaga Odds

San Diego Toreros: +23.5 (-108)

Gonzaga Bulldogs: -23.5 (-112)

Over: 155.5 (-110)

Under: 155.5 (-110)

How To Watch San Diego vs Gonzaga

Time: 9:00 pm ET / 6:00 pm PT

TV: ESPN Plus

Stream: fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why San Diego Could Cover the Spread

The Toreros know that Gonzaga isn't nearly as strong as it was in previous seasons. Gonzaga was a top-four seed in each of the last three NCAA Tournaments. The Zags had high-end players such as Drew Timme, and previously Chet Holmgren and Jalen Suggs, who greatly raised their overall ceiling. There is no such ceiling-raiser on this GU roster. The Zags have decent talent, but it's no longer overwhelming talent. This is how the Zags lost by 10 points to San Diego State in Spokane not that long ago. It's why they were bullied by defending national champion Connecticut. It's why they have lost four games this season, all before the new year arrived. Asking this Gonzaga team to cover a 23.5-point spread isn't nearly as reliable a bet as it would have been two or three years ago.

Why Gonzaga Could Cover the Spread

The Zags might not be as good as they were in previous seasons, but they clobbered Pepperdine earlier this week and look like a solid team which can mop up against the lower end of the West Coast Conference at home. You would not pick Gonzaga to cover this spread on the road, but at home, it's certainly well within play. GU is a lot better than San Diego, and it will show on the court.

Final San Diego-Gonzaga Prediction & Pick

Stay away from this one, given the huge spread.

Final San Diego-Gonzaga Prediction & Pick: Gonzaga -23.5