Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Vegas Play of the Day: BYU vs. Gonzaga

Brigham Young

AP Photo/John Locher

Brigham Young’s Kyle Collinsworth (5) falls while going for the ball against Portland during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the semifinals of the West Coast Conference tournament Monday, March 9, 2015, in Las Vegas.

The Play of the Day, which uses odds from the South Point and $10,000 starting bankrolls, is sticking in Las Vegas tonight.

The best college basketball action in the country comes from just off of the Strip, where the West Coast Conference tournament championship concludes.

Gonzaga minus-7.5 vs. BYU: $330 to win $300

Even the best shooting teams have their off days. That’s what happened two weeks ago when Gonzaga hosted BYU, which knocked off the Bulldogs in Spokane, Wash., to register one of the more memorable upsets of the year.

Gonzaga’s two leading scorers, Kyle Wiltjer and Kevin Pangos, went 5 for 23 from the field. Shooting a combined 50 percent for the year, the Bulldogs couldn’t overcome the near 30 percent drop-off from their two stars.

They won’t have to try tonight at the Orleans Arena. There’s no way the Cougars limit Wiltjer and Pangos again. BYU is in trouble.

And bettors are getting a good price on it. Gonzaga was a 13-point favorite before BYU eked out its three-point win, meaning the adjustment for tonight’s game might have gone too far.

Generally, home court is worth four points, so Gonzaga should come into tonight’s game at a neutral site as a 9-point favorite. Does BYU deserve an extra 1.5 points from the oddsmakers for beating Gonzaga?

I don’t think so. The loss was an aberration, an aberration Gonzaga will right tonight.

Standings: Keefer (68-68-2, $10,137), Bern (68-62-1, $9,846), Brewer (60-72-3, $3,515)

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

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