Pacific vs Gonzaga Odds, Lines, and Spread

• No. 1 Gonzaga will attempt to extend an 18-game winning streak when it hosts the University of the Pacific
• Gonzaga continues to lead NCAA Division I in adjusted efficiency margin in the KenPom rankings
• Read below for a preview of the game and updated odds

Gonzaga (14-0, 5-0 West Coast) brings a group of winning streaks into a conference game against the University of the Pacific in Spokane, Wash., on Saturday at 10 pm ET. The Bulldogs have won 18 straight games, the second-longest active streak  in NCAA Division I behind Big South Winthrop, which has won 20 in a row.

The Bulldogs have won 46 straight home games at the McCarthey Athletic Center, the longest home streak in Division I, and have won 23 straight games in January. They have won the last 15 games against Pacific (5-1, 2-1).

Pacific vs Gonzaga Odds, Lines and Spread

Odds from FanDuel Jan. 22 

Gonzaga Is the Most Accurate Shooting Team in the Nation

Gonzaga leads NCAA Division I in scoring at 94.4 points a game and also leads with a 55.28 field goal percentage, a full point better than No. 2 Stephen F. Austin (54.12) entering Friday games. On the other side of the ball, the Zags are ranked No. 13 in adjusted defensive efficiency by KenPom.

Three Zags are in the top 31 in field goal percentage — Joel Ayayi (12.5 points a game) is shooting 61.7 from the field, Drew Timme (18.3) is shooting 60.5 percent and Corey Kispert (20.9) is shooting 53.7. Guard Jalen Suggs (14.3 points) is shooting 53.7 percent.

Kispert may be the top NCAA player of year candidate not named Luka Garza. Kispert is fourth in the country in offensive rating (148.4) and is shooting 48.9-percent from the three-point line. He’s committed 12 turnovers in 428 minutes.

Jalen Suggs has been going off this season for #1 ranked Gonzaga! pic.twitter.com/NweP6tcaTK

— Courtside Films (@CourtsideFilms) January 19, 2021

Gonzaga averages 19.9 assists per game, third in Division I behind Iowa and McNeese State. Reserve guard Andrew Nembhard leads the Bulldogs with 59 total assists (4.2 per game) while Suggs leads with a 4.7 average (56 in 12 games). Ayayi has 54 assists and a 3.9 average.

Suggs, the reigning WCC freshman of the week, has won the award five times in eight weeks this season. A McDonald’s All-American, Suggs was ranked fifth in ESPN’s Top 100 recruiting class of 2020. He is highest-ranked recruit to sign with Gonzaga.

A Lopsided Series

Pacific beat Gonzaga 70-60 in Stockton, Calif., on Dec. 23, 1976, its first and last victory in the series. While Gonzaga has grown into one of the strongest programs in the NCAA under Mark Few, Pacific is still looking for consistency. The Tigers appeared in the NCAA tournament in three straight seasons in 2004-06, but have been only once since.

The Zags beat Pacific 92-59 in Spokane last season and have won the last eight by an average of 23.75 points while entering this meeting as a 25.5-point favorite.

Gonzaga is 0-3-1 against the spread as a double-digit favorite in its last four games and 1-5 when favored by at least 20 points this season. Gonzaga has been under the total in four of the last five games.

Going to work @drewtimme2 pic.twitter.com/daJMzzmjPP

— Gonzaga Basketball (@ZagMBB) January 15, 2021

So Who Is No. 1, Coach Bill Self?

Kansas coach Bill Self has seen both No. 1 Gonzaga and No. 2 Baylor first-hand, but he was non-committal when asked who would win the game between the two.

Kansas is the only team that has faced both Gonzaga and Baylor this season, losing to Gonzaga 102-90  in the Fort Myers (Fla.) Tip-Off tournament on Thanksgiving and falling to Baylor 77-69 in Waco, Texas, last Monday.

“We saw Gonzaga actually run it right down our throat right from the beginning,” Self said. “We saw Baylor do the same thing, so the games were actually pretty similar. I think that was a game where Gonzaga probably beat us with all five of their guys and let’s just give the (one Baylor) guy credit. (Guard Jared) Butler did a lot of that on his own.

From the great @JayBilas during last night's broadcast … pic.twitter.com/24jnHlajgG

— Gonzaga Basketball (@ZagMBB) January 15, 2021

Pacific’s Lengthy Layoff Has Not Seemed To Be a Big Problem

UOP played only one game in a 42-day stretch because of COVID-19 issues in the program before returning to WCC play against Santa Clara on Jan. 14. The time off did not seem to be a problem until an 85-69 loss at Pepperdine on Thursday in which the Tigers fell behind 21-5.

After a 74-70 victory over Montana State on Dec. 2, the Tigers played only once — a 92-64 victory over NAIA Westmont College  on Dec. 20 — before team activities were suspended the next day for 14 days because a Tier I member of the program tested positive.

In their return against Santa Clara, the Tigers scored the first 14 points and committed only four turnovers in a 79-54 home victory. UOP’s Tigers’ first three WCC games were postponed during its hiatus, but two — against Portland and San Diego — have been rescheduled. A road game against BYU has not been rescheduled.

Pick: Pacific (+25.5)