Northern Arizona vs Gonzaga Odds, Lines, and Spread (Dec. 20)

• #4 Gonzaga is a 35-point home favorite over Northern Arizona on Monday night
• Gonzaga is coming off a win over #25 Texas Tech
• A look at the odds and matchups can be found below with a prediction

Just two days after a tough win over a ranked team, #4 Gonzaga returns to action by hosting Northern Arizona at 9:00 p.m. ET Monday at the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Wash.

Gonzaga (9-2/6-0 home) survived #25 Texas Tech 69-55 on Saturday at the Jerry Colangelo Classic in Phoenix in a physical game. The win was the Bulldogs’ second in a row.

Northern Arizona (4-7/1-4 road) also played in the Jerry Colangelo Classic and lost to San Diego 69-59, the Lumberjacks’ fifth defeat in their last six games.

Gonzaga is a prohibitive favorite in a game that will be televised by Root Sports.

Northern Arizona vs Gonzaga Odds

Odds as of December 20th at FanDuel.

Northern Arizona Outlook

Northern Arizona’s loss to San Diego was its fifth by double digits already this season. The Lumberjacks shot 39.0% (23 of 59) and were hammered on the boards by a 44-25 margin.

Sophomore guard Jalen Cone was once again Northern Arizona’s leading scorer as he finished with 20 points. However, the Virginia Tech transfer was just 6 of 20 from the field.

Cone is averaging 17.6 points and 3.2 rebounds a game while shooting 37.2% on three-pointers and 84.3% on free throws.

Jalen Cone (@J15Cone) continued his monster 33 point performance with a Game Tying 3 with 2.5 seconds left for Northern Arizona (NAU) to go to OT with South Dakota pic.twitter.com/QYi0HmxKhI

— NCAA Buzzer Beaters & Game Winners (@NCAABuzzerBters) December 12, 2021

He is on a run of three consecutive 20-point games, giving him five this season, and has been in double figures in nine of the last 10 games. Over the last three games, Cone has drained 15 of 29 shots from beyond the arc.

Freshman forward Carson Towt had a season-high 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting.

Towt raised his scoring average to 9.0 to go with 9.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists.

(1st | 16:42) | NAU 10 – USD 3

Gets the rebound + layup @CarsonTowt 😤#NAUStrong ⚒️🌲💪 #BigSkyMBB pic.twitter.com/1DD1ZxSRU5

— NAU Men's Basketball (@NAUBasketball) December 19, 2021

Junior guard Mason Stark made 6 of 8 shots from the floor as the transfer from Division II Northern State contributed 13 points and three steals.

While Northern Arizona forced 17 turnovers, it allowed San Diego to shoot 50.9% (27 of 53).

Beside Cone, the only other Northern Arizona with a double-figure scoring average is junior forward Nik Mains (11.1). He is also pulling down 5.8 rebounds a game.

Gonzaga Outlook

Gonzaga showed the ability to adapt against Texas Tech’s defense. The Red Raiders collapsed around junior forward Drew Timme and freshman Chet Holmgren while daring the Bulldogs to win the game from the perimeter.

Senior guards Rasir Bolton and Andrew Nembhard responded by making five and four three-pointers.

𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙘𝙝 👊 @AndrewNembhard pic.twitter.com/THr5JRy98k

— Gonzaga Basketball (@ZagMBB) December 18, 2021

Nembhard finished with 16 points, just the second time he has scored in double figures this season. He also had six assists and three steals after going 0 for 11 combined from long range in the Zags’ previous four games.

Bolton added 15 points, all coming on threes. The Iowa State transfer raised his season scoring average to 11.2 points a game and lifted his shooting percentage from deep to 42.9.

Overall, Gonzaga shot 41.9% (13 for 31) on three-pointers, its second-best performance of the season.

Meanwhile, Texas Tech limited Timme and Holmgren to four field-goal attempts each. Timme scored seven points and Holmgren had five. It marked the first time Timme had been held to single digits all season.

Timme has averages of 17.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists and his 62.8% shooting percentage is 11^th in the country. Holmgren is averaging 12.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 3.6 blocked shot – which is fourth nationally.

DREW TIMME CANNOT BE STOPPED.

He has 37 points‼️ pic.twitter.com/pINXVgWjDh

— ESPN (@espn) November 14, 2021

Gonzaga’s fourth double-digit scorer is sophomore Julian Strawther at 13.5 points a game along with a rebounding average of 6.2.

Junior forward Anton Watson came off the bench to score 10 points Saturday.

Texas Tech was within 42-40 with 14:21 left. Gonzaga then went on an 18-4 run to widen its lead to 60-44 with 8:47 remaining.

The Bulldogs limited the Red Raiders to 37.5% (21 of 56) from the floor.

Northern Arizona vs Gonzaga Prediction

Gonzaga beat Northern Arizona 88-58 last season in Spokane. Timme had 14 points and six rebounds and Nembhard chipped in with 10 points and seven assists.

The Bulldogs should win easily again. However, they are likely to be tired enough after a physical game Saturday for the Lumberjacks to slip under the big number.

The Pick: Northern Arizona +35 (-110)