College basketball betting matches up two of the top teams in the West Coast Conference on Thursday as 10th-ranked Gonzaga hosts Pepperdine. The Bulldogs are heavily favored in NCAA basketball betting as they have won six straight overall and they have simply dominated the games against Pepperdine in recent years. College basketball betting has Gonzaga at 14-3 overall and up to 10th in the latest ESPN/USA Today men’s basketball poll. Last week the Bulldogs won against Saint Mary’s and San Diego to improve to 3-0 in the conference.
They will be facing a Pepperdine team that is also 3-0 in the West Coast Conference. The Waves are 3-0 for the first time since 2002. Lorne Jackson had a career-high 21 points, tied his career high with six rebounds and added three assists in Saturday’s 83-68 college basketball betting win over San Francisco. He had 15 points and five assists in a one-point (61-60) win over Santa Clara. Over the two games, Jackson shot 60% from the field (9-for-15), 60% on three-pointers (6-for-10) and 92% on free throws (12-for-13). He is averaging 8.9 points per game overall this season, but is Pepperdine’s leading scorer in conference play at 17.7 points per game.
Pepperdine is 7-12 overall and just 5-9 against the college basketball betting pointspread but they have won their three conference games and they are 2-1 against the NCAA basketball betting odds in those games. They are 1-3 versus the college basketball betting line on the road this season. They look overmatched in this game against a very talented Gonzaga squad but so far in conference play the Waves have been solid.
Gonzaga is 9-4-1 against the college basketball betting number this season including 2-2 at home. The Bulldogs win with an offense that is averaging almost 80 points per game this season. The last time Gonzaga hosted Pepperdine it was a 92-58 slaughter. That has been the case most of the time when these teams have met. Gonzaga has won the last 16 games against Pepperdine overall. They are almost as good against the NCAA basketball betting line. They are a very impressive 13-2-1 against the college basketball betting odds in those games. The Bulldogs have been laying more than 20 points in the last three meetings against Pepperdine but it hasn’t mattered as Gonzaga won each game easily in NCAA basketball betting.