Portland vs Gonzaga Game Information

Portland vs Gonzaga Preview

No. 19 Gonzaga (10-4, 1-0 in WCC) welcomes Portland (5-10, 1-0 in WCC) to Spokane on Thursday night for a West Coast Conference (WCC) showdown. In their last 5, the Pilots are 2-3, routing private liberal arts school Willamette by 31 (100-69), losing to Cal State by 17 (81-64), beating Lafayette by 10 (74-64), and then losing back-to-back games to Washington State by 16 (89-73) and at Oregon State by 10 (89-79). In their last 5 games, Gonzaga has gone 3-2, losing to two-time defending national champions Connecticut by 6 (77-71), downing Nicholls State by 30 (102-72), whomping Bucknell by 21 (86-65), losing to UCLA by 3 (65-62), and then topping Pepperdine by 7 in the their last game and WCC opener (89-82). DraftKings currently has Gonzaga at 17/1 to win the 2025 NCAA Basketball Tournament.

Portland Aims to Snap 18-Game Losing Streak to Zags

Portland (6-7-0 ATS, 6-7-0 O/U) hasn’t had much success vs mighty Gonzaga in the last decade, with the Pilots last win coming on January 9, 2014 in Portland by 9 points (83-73). Since then, it’s been all carnage and with the Bulldogs leaving for the Pac-12 Conference next year, it looks like the streak will easily hit 20 and that Portland may never beat Gonzaga again. This season, the Pilots are led by F Austin Rapp (14.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg), G Vukasin Masic (10.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.4 apg), G Max Mackinnon (10.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg), G Vincent Delano (7.0 ppg), G Mikah Ballew (6.1 ppg), F Bol Dengdit (6.0 ppg), and C Jermaine Ballisager Webb (5.9 ppg). Heading in here, Portland averages 72.6 ppg (Tied-#268) while allowing 79.0 ppg, 34.1 rpg (#322) and 15.2 apg (#133). In WCC play last season, the Pilots finished in 8th place (second-to-last), going 5-11 in conference and 12-21 overall and going just 2-11 on the Road.

Portland Betting Trends

• Portland is 3-7-0 SU in its last 10 games overall
• The Pilots are 3-6-0 ATS in their last 9 lined games
• The Over is 6-3-0 in Portland’s last 9 games
• The Pilots are 0-18 SU in their last 18 games vs Gonzaga
• Portland went 15-16-0 ATS last 2023-24 NCAAB season (48.4%)

Gonzaga Seeks Crown Again in Last Year in the WCC

Gonzaga (6-8-0 ATS, 9-5-0 O/U) went 14-2 in WCC play last season (27-8 overall), but finished in 2nd place behind St. Mary’s (15-1). The Bulldogs have already lost 4 times this season, but to some tough competition in West Virginia, Kentucky, Connecticut, and UCLA. Head Coach Mark Few and Gonzaga are still chasing that elusive national championship and is led by F Graham Ike (16.1 ppg, 6.9 rpg), G Khalif Battle (12.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg), F Braden Huff (12.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg), do-it-all G Ryan Nembhard (11.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 9.5 apg), G Nolan Hickman (9.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg), and the Zags have a strong Bench with F Ben Gregg (9.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg), G Michael Ajayi (6.1, 4.9 rpg), and G Dusty Stromer (5.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg). Gonzaga averages 87.3 ppg (#11) while allowing 70.0 ppg (+13.3 ppg Points Differential), 39.9 rpg (#44) and and impressive 18.9 apg (#9) with Nembhard (#2 in the nation behind Louisiana Tech’s Sean Newman Jr. with 9.8 apg) leading the way.

Gonzaga Betting Trends

• Gonzaga was 13-2 at Home in WCC play last season
• The Bulldogs are 3-7-0 ATS in their last 10 games overall
• Gonzaga is 16-2 in the First Half Moneyline last 18 (+13.20 Units, 1% ROI)
• The First Half Over is 20-16 in Gonzaga’s last 36 games (+1.60 Units, 4% ROI)
• Gonzaga went 17-17-0 ATS in the 2023-24 NCAAB Season (50%)

Portland vs Gonzaga Prediction

In the last 4 series meetings with Portland at McCarthey Athletic Center, Gonzaga has gone unbeaten ATS (3-0-1) winning by 46 in 2018 as 30-Point Favorites (103-57)—their largest margin of victory ever vs Portland; winning by 32 in 2022 and Pushing as 32-Point Favorites; winning by 40 in 2023 as 18.5-Point Favorites; and then winning last season (2024) by 32 as 28.5-Point Favorites. No matter how high the oddsmakers seem to set this line in Spokane, Gonzaga seems to cover it. And the Zags should get the butter again for a couple of reasons. First, it is very early in the WCC season and the Bulldogs will be really focused after not winning the conference last year. Second, Gonzaga has lost 4 times in the last 8 games and will be in a foul mood. This Portland vs Gonzaga NCAAB pick will suggest the Home team and also backing the Zags in the First Half ATS market. Looking at the last 3 Halftime scores and margins, Gonzaga led by 27 points at Home in this game last year (50-23), and by 33 (61-28), and by 20 (48-28) the 2 previous Home meetings. 

Kevin’s Picks: Gonzaga -33.5, Gonzaga First Half