Halftime Report
Only one more half stands between Gonzaga and the win they were favored to collect coming into this afternoon. They have jumped out to a quick 39-31 lead against West Virginia.
Gonzaga entered the match having won five straight and they’re just one half away from another. Will they make it six, or will West Virginia step up and spoil it? We’ll know soon.
Who’s Playing
West Virginia Mountaineers @ Gonzaga Bulldogs
Current Records: West Virginia 3-1, Gonzaga 5-0
How To Watch
What to Know
Mountaineers fans better hope the squad plays one heck of a game on Wednesday as the odds are decidedly against them. They will challenge the Gonzaga Bulldogs at 2:30 p.m. ET at Imperial Arena at Atlantis Resort. The Mountaineers are no doubt hoping to put an end to a ten-game streak of away losses dating back to last season.
Last Wednesday, West Virginia was fully in charge, breezing past Iona 86-43. With that win, the Mountaineers brought their scoring average up to 77.5 points per game.
Among those leading the charge was Javon Small, who had 23 points along with five assists and five rebounds. He had some trouble finding his footing against Pittsburgh two weeks ago, so this was a nice turnaround. Another player making a difference was Tucker DeVries, who scored 13 points along with three steals and three blocks.
Meanwhile, Gonzaga entered their tilt with LBSU on Wednesday with four consecutive wins but they’ll enter their next game with five. They simply couldn’t be stopped as they easily beat the Beach 84-41. The Bulldogs have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won three matchups by 38 points or more this season.
Gonzaga’s win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Graham Ike, who had 15 points in addition to five rebounds. What’s more, Ike also posted a 50% three-point shooting accuracy, which is the highest he’s posted since back in January. Ryan Nembhard was another key player, scoring ten points plus seven assists.
Gonzaga smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they’ve now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in five consecutive matches.
West Virginia’s victory bumped their record up to 3-1. As for Gonzaga, their win bumped their record up to 5-0.
Keep an eye on the arc in Wednesday’s game: West Virginia has made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having averaged 10.8 threes per game. However, it’s not like Gonzaga struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 9. Given these competing strengths, it’ll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Gonzaga and West Virginia pleased both fans and bettors in their last contests by winning and covering the spread. Looking forward, the game looks promising for Gonzaga, as the team is favored by a full 15.5 points. This contest will be their sixth straight as the favorites (so far over this stretch they are 4-1 against the spread).
Odds
Gonzaga is a big 15.5-point favorite against West Virginia, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Bulldogs as a 14.5-point favorite.
The over/under is 156 points.
See college basketball picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get picks now.
Series History
Gonzaga has won both of the games they’ve played against West Virginia in the last 7 years.
- Dec 02, 2020 – Gonzaga 87 vs. West Virginia 82
- Mar 23, 2017 – Gonzaga 61 vs. West Virginia 58
