The fourth-seeded San Francisco Dons (24-8) and top-seed Gonzaga Bulldogs (24-3) meet Monday for a West Coast Conference Tournament semifinal in Las Vegas. Tip-off at Orleans Arena is slated for 9 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the San Francisco vs. Gonzaga odds and lines, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
San Francisco went 10-6 in WCC play and finished fourth in the 10-team circuit. The Dons opened tournament play with a 75-63 win over BYU Saturday. In a league that plays up-tempo high-scoring basketball, USF ranks third in scoring at 77.3 points per game.
Gonzaga won the WCC regular-season title — and a bye into this semifinal slot — by going 13-1 in league play this winter. The Bulldogs’ lone loss came 67-57 versus St. Mary’s Feb. 26 in its regular-season finale. The 57 points marked a season season-low for Gonzaga.
The loss snapped a 17-game win streak that saw the fast-paced Bulldogs average 88.3 PPG. Gonzaga heads into Monday’s game ranked No. 1 in the nation.
Rankings courtesy of the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
San Francisco vs. Gonzaga odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:55 p.m. ET.
- Money line: San Francisco +750 (bet $100 to win $750) | Gonzaga -1400 (bet $1,400 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): San Francisco +14.5 (-107) | Gonzaga -14.5 (-115)
- Over/Under (O/U): 153.5 (O: -107 | U: -115)
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San Francisco vs. Gonzaga odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Gonzaga 84, San Francisco 72
Money line
Respected analytic sites peg San Francisco — a team that played within two scores of Gonzaga for 25 minutes in their Jan. 20 meeting — as a top-25 unit. When the Dons can take create some turnovers and limit 3s, they can play with the big boys.
However, for San Francisco, the biggest of its big boys is a question mark. Six -foot-10 F Yauhen Massalski has a knee injury and is listed as questionable for Monday’s game. This veteran USF squad can be a near-1-in-5 upset possibility if Massalski plays. Especially with Gonzaga not having played since Feb. 26.
So, there’s a caveat, but SAN FRANCISCO (+750) is worth a look.
Against the spread
Above noted, Gonzaga -14.5 is still a fair price. Imagine a world where this game is played five times: the Bulldogs win twice by 15 and twice by 13. And USF wins once.
PASS.
Over/Under
The Over is 4-1 in San Francisco’s last five games and 7-3 across the last 10 games of this series.
With a healthy bit of 3-point accuracy on one side (GU) and 3-point frequency on the other (USF), look for this total to be 3-balled into the high 150s.
BACK THE OVER 153.5 (-107).
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