Gonzaga Bulldogs (#2) vs. BYU Cougars – injuries, tv, odds, and more
Ed Stein
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PNWS presents what you need to know for Thursday’s WCC matchup between Brigham Young and the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
Thursday night features a meeting between the West Coast Conference’s two best teams. The Gonzaga Bulldogs will have their hands full at the McCarthey Center against Brigham Young.
Details
Who: Brigham Young Cougars (14-3, 2-0 in WCC) vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs (12-2, 1-0)
Where: McCarthy Athletic Center – Spokane, Washington.
When: Thursday, January 13, 2022 – 8:00 PM PST.
TV: ESPN2. Announcers: Dave Flemming and Jay Bilas.
Line: Gonzaga -15. Over/Under: 151.5 (Odds Shark).
Injuries: Gonzaga – Out: Dominick Harris (foot). Brigham Young: Out – Richard Harward and Gavin Baxter.
Interesting Trends
Since 2016, the Gonzaga Bulldogs are 175-16, including 72-5 since 2019. They have won 22 straight West Coast Conference games. Their last WCC loss was to BYU on February 22, 2020.
The Cougars are 6-3 away from home this season, including a win over then 12th ranked Oregon. Against the spread, BYU covered six of their last seven road games.
These two teams can put up points, but when playing each other at the McCarthey Center, the total went under in 8 of the last 10 meetings.
Outlook
These are the top two teams in the West Coast Conference. Gonzaga is second in the country, averaging almost 88 points per game. That might be a tough number to reach against the hard-nosed BYU defense, which allows just 62 points (33rd).
The Zags have a big height advantage as BYU only has one player above 6-foot-7 in their roster. Expect to see the Bulldogs point guard Andrew Nembhard get the ball inside to Drew Timme, 7-footer Chet Holmgren, and Anton Watson. All three could have big games against their undersized opponents, especially Timme, who is almost unstoppable in the paint.
If the Cougars collapse down, Gonzaga has good enough outside shooting with Rasir Bolton, Julian Strawther, and Nolan Hickman to make them pay. Don’t be surprised to see Holmgren shoot from the outside if he gets a mismatch.
Brigham Young is another team that will test the Zags perimeter defense. They have one of the best guard duos in the west with Alex Barcello and Te’Jon Lucas.
Aside from being an excellent defender, senior guard Barcello averages 16.6 points per game and is a three-point shooting machine, nailing 46.7 percent of those shots. It’s hard to believe that’s his lowest three-point percentage since joining BYU in 2019. His backcourt mate Lucas is also a double-digit scorer (10.1 ppg) and leads the team with 4.7 assists per game.
For the Cougars, these meetings are the highlight of their schedule, and they always play Gonzaga hard. They have extra incentive for an upset as the Zags could move up to number one in the polls if they beat BYU Thursday and Santa Clara on Saturday.
Related Story: Zags 360 – Back on the court, Scheduling issues, and Kentucky
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RtS0DGEu60
We’ll have our take on the game with Zags 360 next Monday.