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The 8th-ranked Baylor Bears and the 7th-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs meet at Spokane Arena Monday in the regular-season opener for both teams. Tip-off is scheduled for 11:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2). Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s college basketball odds around the Baylor vs. Gonzaga odds, and make our expert college basketball picks and predictions.
The Bears and Bulldogs meet in a top-10 matchup in what is easily the headliner of opening night.
Both teams are expected to make deep runs in March, and each have national championship aspirations. In fact, Gonzaga is tied for the 4th-shortest odds to win it all at +1700, while Baylor sits at +3000.
Baylor’s hopes are bolstered by the addition of G Jeremy Roach, who comes over from Duke to give coach Scott Drew an experienced point man. Drew also landed shooting guard V.J. Edgecombe, who will pair with Roach to do great things.
Shocker, but Gonzaga is picked unanimously to win the West Coast Conference (WCC). Gonzaga added G Michael Ajayi, a transfer from Pepperdine, and G Khalif Battle from Arkansas. Those 2 will join the likes of G Ryan Nembhard, G Nolan Hickman, F Graham Ike, F Ben Gregg and F Braden Huff to give the Zags a lot of experience and depth.
– Rankings: USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll
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Baylor at Gonzaga odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list of college basketball odds. Lines last updated at 9:40 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Baylor +168 (bet $100 to win $168) | Gonzaga -205 (bet $205 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Baylor +4.5 (-105) | Gonzaga -4.5 (-115)
- Over/Under (O/U): 157.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Baylor at Gonzaga picks and predictions
Prediction
Gonzaga 84, Baylor 77
Moneyline
Gonzaga (-205) will cost you more than twice your potential return, and that’s just a little too expensive for a standalone wager. If you were to toss Gonzaga into a multi-leg parlay, that is certainly OK, as long as it is more than 4 or 5 teams.
AVOID.
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Against the spread
GONZAGA -4.5 (-115) is a strong play at home in this titanic early-season clash.
While Baylor +4.5 (-105) certainly has some nice pieces, it may take it a while to develop cohesiveness with a lot of talented, yet very new, parts. Gonzaga has to fold in just a handful of guys, while it can rely on its returning, talented veterans to get off on the right foot from the jump.
Over/Under
OVER 157.5 (-110) is the lean, but go with a half-unit play at most.
Both of these teams have talented backcourts, and we could see some nice end-to-end action. That’s what we’re banking on in this late-night marquee battle. Don’t be surprised if we see scores of both of these teams in the 80s.
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