College basketball prediction: Gonzaga vs. BYU pick, odds

Gonzaga may not be as good on paper as the championship-level college basketball teams that preceded it, and it isn’t blowing out conference opponents like it might have in previous years, either. Still, the Bulldogs own one of the country’s longest win streaks and should take care of business against a familiar foe it has dominated in recent seasons.

Gonzaga got off to a rocky start amid the nation’s seventh-toughest schedule, dropping three of its first eight games to teams that have all been ranked in the top five at some point in the season. Since then, Mark Few’s group has ripped off nine straight wins and outscored the competition by 19.2 points per game, though the last two have come by a mere seven points in total.

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Gonzaga vs. BYU prediction (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

That’s hardly a concern against BYU, which has lost its last five matchups with the Bulldogs by an average of 19.4 points and never by fewer than double digits. That includes last season’s sweep of the Cougars by a combined 59 points, with Gonzaga star Drew Timme accounting for a total of 43 points on a ridiculous 19 of 24 from the floor (79.2 percent).

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Gonzaga isn’t quite the force it was a year ago, but Timme is still playing like one of the absolute best players in the country (21.8 ppg, 61.5 percent). He’ll put significant pressure on a feisty BYU squad that fouls too easily and doesn’t have the 3-point shooting to survive a track meet with the Zags.

Gonzaga vs. BYU pick:

Gonzaga -5.5 (FanDuel Sportsbook)