Zags to try and pad stats in clash with Broncos

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/26/2009 - Santa Clara, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Having already claimed the West Coast Conference regular season title for the ninth consecutive season, the 17th- ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs will attempt to add yet another win to their already impressive record as they take on the Santa Clara Broncos this evening.

Gonzaga is a perfect 12-0 in league play and 21-5 overall. The team has captured four straight wins since a non-conference loss to Memphis, and they are fresh off a 92-58 thrashing of Pepperdine on Saturday. They have outscored their last two opponents by a 183-112 margin.

As for Santa Clara, it suffered a heartbreaking 67-66 overtime loss to San Francisco on Saturday. The Broncos are now 14-15 overall, including 6-6 in league play, and two of the last three outings have resulted in defeat. On a positive note, the club is 10-2 at home this season.

Gonzaga crushed Santa Clara by a 95-53 final in the first meeting between the two teams this season, and the Bulldogs own a 40-29 advantage in the all-time series.

Josh Heytvelt leads a talented and balanced Gonzaga attack with 15.0 ppg, and he is pulling down 6.8 rpg. Matt Bouldin checks in with 13.3 ppg, and Austin Daye provides 13.1 ppg and 7.1 rpg. Steven Gray (9.9 ppg) and Jeremy Pargo (9.6 ppg, 5.2 apg) are also strong performers for a team that is racking up 78.5 ppg while surrendering only 62.4 ppg. Heytvelt was dominant in the romp over Pepperdine on Saturday, as he finished with a career-high 28 points and 11 rebounds. Bouldin chipped in with 16 points, and Micah Downs added 14 points. As for Pargo, he provided 12 points for the Zags, who connected on 56.9 percent of their field goal attempts while holding the Waves to 33.9 percent shooting. Gonzaga also forced 21 turnovers.

Although Santa Clara is a mediocre team, John Bryant is an exceptional performer. Bryant racked up 17 points and 12 rebounds in defeat against San Francisco on Saturday for his 22nd double-double of the season, and he is worthy of WCC Player of the Year recognition. The standout has started all 29 games this season and is averaging 18.0 ppg to go along with 13.7 rpg. He is blocking two-and-a-half shots per contest as well while shooting 61 percent from the field. Kevin Foster provides 14.4 ppg for the Broncos, who are getting 10.8 ppg from James Rahon. Santa Clara is scoring 65.0 ppg while limiting opponents to 62.4 ppg on 40.1 percent field goal efficiency. Against San Francisco, Foster scored 20 points. Unfortunately, the Broncos committed 18 costly turnovers, twice as many as the Dons.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.