UConn vs Gonzaga Odds, Player Props, Picks & Predictions (Dec. 15)

• UConn vs Gonzaga highlights Friday’s college basketball slate
• The Huskies and Bulldogs met in last year’s NCAA Tournament, with eventual-champion UConn winning in a rout
• See the UConn vs Gonzaga odds, player props, picks, and predictions for Dec. 15, 2023

A rematch of last year’s NCAA Tournament Elite Eight highlights Friday’s college basketball schedule as the #5 UConn Huskies (9-1, 0-1 away, 6-4 ATS) travel to Seattle for a “neutral court” game with the Gonzaga Bulldogs (8-2, 4-0 home, 4-5 ATS). While this isn’t a true road game for the Huskies, there is no doubt that they will be battling both Gonzaga and a partisan crowd in Seattle on Friday night.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm PT/10:00 pm ET at Climate Pledge Arena and, despite Gonzaga having a de facto home-court advantage, the odds skew significantly to the Huskies.

UConn vs Gonzaga Odds

UConn is currently a 4.5-point favorite in Friday’s NCAA basketball odds and -200 on the moneyline. Gonzaga comes back at +170 to win straight-up. The game total is at 150.5. UConn is 5-4-1 over/under this year. Gonzaga is 4-5 O/U.

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Odds as of Dec. 15 at ESPN Bet. New users can get an ESPN Bet promo code to bet on UConn vs Gonzaga on Friday. 

UConn (+1400) is currently the fourth-favorite in the odds to win March Madness. Gonzaga is just outside the top ten at +3400.

Gonzaga Lets One Slip Away at Washington

Friday’s clash with UConn will actually be Gonzaga’s second in Seattle in less than a week. Last Saturday, the Zags let an 11-point second-half lead slip away against in-state rival Washington, ultimately falling 78-73 to the Huskies despite a game-high 18 points from Wyoming transfer Graham Ike and 17 from Nolan Hickman.

Just like in their earlier loss to Purdue – when they led 35-30 at halftime – Gonzaga’s shooting went ice-cold in the second half. They were 5-of-9 from three in the first 20 minutes against Washington and 0-of-9 from three after the break.

Poor three-point shooting has plagued the Zags most of the season. Mark Few’s team has finished in the top 50 nationally in three-point percentage each of the last four seasons, but sits just 167th this year (33.3%). That’s not unexpected given all the roster turnover. Gonzaga lost four of its top-five scorers to either graduation or the NBA.

On the bright side, their offensive rebounding has been much improved. Gonzaga is 14th in the country with a 38.0 offensive rebound percentage. Last year’s team was barely inside the top 100. Senior forward Anton Watson leads the team with 8.2 rebounds per game, while also sitting second on the Zags in scoring (13.9 PPG).

UConn Rebounds from First Loss

Despite losing the top-two scorers from their national-championship team – Adama Sanogo (17.2 PPG, 7.7 RPG) and Jordan Hawkins (16.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG) – the Huskies rattled off seven straight wins to start the year, including a dominant 81-71 win over Texas in New York which they led by 13 at halftime.

Unlike Gonzaga, UConn returned the rest of its top-five scorers (Tristen Newton, Alex Karaban, and Donovan Clingan) while also landing Rutgers guard Cam Spencer in the transfer portal. Coach Dan Hurley has worked Spencer into his offense seamlessly; the senior is second on the team in both scoring (15.8 PPG) and assists (3.8 APG) while shooting a deadly 45.5% from three.

Fellow senior guard Tristen Newton has filled the scoring void left by Hawkins, averaging 17.0 PPG along with a team-high 7.2 rebounds.

UConn’s first, and so far only, loss of the season was a 69-65 true road game at Kansas, which they actually led by five with under ten to play before conceding a 14-2 run that put KU on top for good.

The Huskies also hit the offensive glass extremely hard. They are currently seventh in the nation in offensive rebound percentage at 39.8%, and they have been phenomenal at turning those extra possessions into points, sitting first in two-point field-goal percentage (64.2%) led by 7’2 center Donovan Clingan (13.2 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 62.7 FG%).

UConn vs Gonzaga Player Props

The seven players listed in the college basketball player props for this game are all clustered between 10.5 points and 16.5 points, with UConn’s Newton at the high end and Gonzaga’s Hickman at the low end.

The highest rebound totals both belong to Huskies with Clingan and Newton both at 7.5. The highest Zag is Watson at just 6.5.

UConn vs Gonzaga Prediction

On a true neutral court, I would have a strong lean to UConn covering as 4.5-point favorites. But this is going to feel much more like a true road game for the Huskies. The 2023-24 Zags have the interior presence to compete with UConn on the glass (in last year’s 82-54 rout during the NCAA Tournament, UConn had a 48-40 edge on the glass, including a 13-9 advantage in offensive rebounds).

Last year’s UConn team also shot much better from beyond the arc (36.3% compared to 33.6% this season) and wound up hitting nine more threes in their win over the Zags, going 11-of-31 from beyond the arc versus a dismal 2-of-20 for Gonzaga.

This line should be closer to a pick’em, and Gonzaga has led at halftime in every game its played this season.

UConn vs Gonzaga picks:

• Gonzaga first-half moneyline (+135)
• Anton Watson over 6.5 rebounds (-140)

Sascha Paruk’s 2023-24 NCAAM betting record:

• ATS: 12-9 (+1.92 units)
• Player props: 1-0 (+0.87 units)

All wagers one unit unless expressly stated otherwise.