The Long Beach State 49ers take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs in Spokane, WA. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
The Bulldogs are favored by 34 points on the spread with a moneyline of -20000. The total is set at 153 points.
Here’s my Long Beach State vs. Gonzaga predictions and college basketball picks for November 20, 2024.
Long Beach State vs Gonzaga Prediction
My Pick: Gonzaga -34
My Long Beach State vs Gonzaga best bet is the Bulldogs spread, with the best odds currently available at FanDuel. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
Long Beach State vs Gonzaga Odds
| Long Beach State Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+34 -110 | 153 -110 / -110 | +3500 |
| Gonzaga Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-34 -110 | 153 -110 / -110 | -20000 |
- Long Beach State vs Gonzaga spread: Gonzaga -34
- Long Beach State vs Gonzaga over/under: 153 points
- Long Beach State vs Gonzaga moneyline: Gonzaga -20000, Long Beach State +3500
- Long Beach State vs Gonzaga best bet: Gonzaga -34
Spread
I'm on the Zags spread.
Moneyline
I have no play on the moneyline.
Over/Under
I'm taking the over here. Gonzaga should score 100 by itself, so just another 55 from Long Beach State will suffice.
My Pick: Gonzaga -34
Long Beach State vs Gonzaga College Basketball Betting Preview
Gonzaga Basketball
Gonzaga heads home following a one-game road trip against San Diego State in which it took home an 80-67 win. Although San Diego State isn't the same San Diego State that made the national title game a few years ago, winning in Viejas Arena is never easy.
The Bulldogs enter this game with a 4-0 record and won their lone buy game against UMass Lowell by 59 points. UMass Lowell isn't a bad team, either. The Riverhawks rank 129th in KenPom and have a legit shot to win the America East, and the Zags made them look like Mississippi Valley State.
Gonzaga is the best offensive team in the country, and it's not particularly close. In the Bulldogs' worst offensive game of the year, they posted 1.16 PPP versus San Diego State and 1.22 PPP or better in the other three games.
Sure, credit should go to the scorers, bigs Graham Ike and Braden Huff, microwave scorer Khalif Battle and Nolan Hickman. But what about the guy who gets them in scoring positions? That's Ryan Nembhard, the best floor general in college hoops.
With another double-digit assists performance in Gonzaga's win over San Diego State, Nembhard notched a third double-digit assist game. He's averaging 10 assists per game, which ranks third in college hoops.
It's not as if Nembhard can't score; he just picks his spots when it makes the most sense to be a scorer instead of a passer, like him dropping 19 against SDSU.
The Zags' case as the best team in college hoops is strong as anybody. They will look for another dominant win to help the metrics boost them closer to the No. 1 spot.
Long Beach State Basketball
The Long Beach State Beach (yes, that's the team nickname) are rebuilding under first-year head coach Chris Acker. Funny enough, Acker spent five seasons on Brian Dutcher's staff at San Diego State, so I'm sure his former employer relayed some notes about the Bulldogs.
Will it matter, though?
Probably not. The Beach are 1-3 this year, with their lone win coming against non-D-I Le Verne. The Beach nearly beat South Dakota State, but they took a one-point loss — and then another one-possession loss on Saturday versus Portland.
The only other WCC opponent Long Beach State faced was San Francisco, and the Dons took home a 30-point victory.
Acker may be a member of the Dutcher coaching tree, but he won't have a San Diego State defense until he gets a few recruiting classes under his belt. He brought in an entirely new squad, as the team's top 10 scorers joined via the portal or are freshmen.
Transfer guards Devin Askew and TJ Wainwright are the only two reliable scorers on the Beach. Askew is hoping to finish his lackluster college career — which has him at a fourth school — on a high note. A former top-100 recruit out of Sacramento, Askew leads the Beach with 17 points per game, but on just 35% shooting and 25% from 3.
I guess Long Beach will live with it since nobody else besides Wainwright can score it.
How can Long Beach remain somewhat competitive? Well, it has to keep the game in a half-court setting. You could copy and paste that sentence for any Gonzaga game preview, but it's true. The Zags are better than anyone at taking a make-or-miss down the court for a layup before the defense gets in position.
Maybe a little defensive pressure could help, but the Beach also need to hold firm on the glass. They start a pair of 6-foot-10 bigs — Austin Johnson and Derrick Michael Xzavierro — which should help.
But starting two bigs didn't help San Diego State, since Ike quickly got them in foul trouble.
Long Beach State vs Gonzaga Betting Analysis
Is there another angle besides a Gonzaga blowout?
I know 33.5 points is a ton, but the Bulldogs beat Baylor and UMass Lowell by more than 33.
It's not far fetched for Gonzaga to blow teams out in convincing fashion.
