Santa Clara Broncos vs Gonzaga Bulldogs Prediction, Odds and Picks for Thursday, 01/08/26

The last game of the night takes us to the Pacific Northwest as the Gonzaga Bulldogs host the Santa Clara Broncos. Typically, this is another dominant conference win for Gonzaga, almost a free square like so many of their conference games, but this year’s Broncos team is much more formidable. Santa Clara has a shot to be right there behind the Zags and St. Mary’s at the top of the WCC standings. Beating the Zags in Spokane is probably too much to ask, but playing Gonzaga to win by 15 or more feels really uncomfortable, too. I like Santa Clara +15 in a game where they should be able to keep it close-ish.

We know about Gonzaga—only 1 loss, in the top 10 in the country by just about any metric, and destined to once again cruise through the conference schedule. However, Santa Clara is on the rise this year. At 13-4, the Broncos check in at 55 in KenPom and 40 in Torvik, so the metrics guys see them favorably. They play fast, they are good on both ends of the court, and they rebound well. They also shoot the deep ball well, and the primary wart for Gonzaga (if it is one) is that the Bulldogs allow a lot of three-point shots and do not take many themselves (although they do make the ones they take). If the Broncos can see a few threes fall, they can hang around. I’ll take the points with Santa Clara.

Santa Clara vs Gonzaga prediction: Santa Clara Broncos +15 (-110) available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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