College basketball betting odds: Gonzaga opens as heavy favorite over UMass-Lowell

The Bulldogs are 26.5-point favorites over the River Hawks

Gonzaga senior forward Graham Ike. / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

The Gonzaga men’s basketball team eyes their third win to start the season when they host UMass-Lowell in a nonconference matchup at the McCarthey Athletic Center on Friday.

The Bulldogs (2-0) opened the new campaign with back-to-back victories over Big 12 foes Baylor (101-63) and Arizona State (88-80). The 38-point win over the then-No. 8 Bears was the largest margin of victory over an AP top 10 team in a season opener. Six days after that historic night, the Zags had to fend off a frisky Sun Devils squad in a back-and-forth affair that wasn’t resolved until the final minutes. 

Redshirt sophomore Braden Huff led the way with 21 points, while Khalif Battle scored 19 points in the second half to help close out the victory over Arizona State. Ryan Nembhard dished out 11 assists with no turnovers. His 11.0 assists per game is currently No. 1 in the country.

Gonzaga moved up to No. 4 in the most recent Associated Press Top 25 poll. It also ranks No. 1 on EvanMiya.com and has the top-ranked offense in terms of efficiency, according to KenPom.com. The Zags are averaging 94.5 points and have made 64.9% of their 2-pointers (17th best in the country). 

The River Hawks (2-0) don’t hold power conference membership like Baylor or Arizona State, though Pat Duquette’s team has the experience to pull off the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth since moving to the Division-I level in 2014. UMass-Lowell brought in four transfers to mix with four of its top five scorers from last season’s squad that went 22-10 (10-5 America East). 

Quinton Mincey, a 6-foot-6 graduate student, leads the River Hawks (2-0) in scoring at 23.5 points per game. A lot of those points have come at the charity stripe — Mincey currently ranks third in the country in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (12.4) according to KenPom.com. 

Mincey was named the preseason America East Sixth Man of the Year. Max Brooks, a 6-foot-7 fifth-year, earned all-conference honors after putting up 12.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game last season. Fifth-year guard Yuri Covington averages 15.5 points and 5.0 rebounds, while 6-foot-3 freshman Martin Somerville chips in 11.0 points per game. 

“They're probably better than who we need to be playing at this point,” Gonzaga head coach Mark Few said of the River Hawks. “But we're playing them anyway. So we've got to gear up.”

While Few and the Bulldogs won’t take their opponent lightly, major U.S. sportsbooks favor Gonzaga heavily in Friday’s matchup. 

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Gonzaga vs. UMass-Lowell Betting Odds, TV Channel

Spread: Gonzaga -26.5 (-118)

Over/Under: 165.5 (-115)

Moneyline: Gonzaga (-10000)

ATS: Gonzaga (1-1)   UMass-Lowell (0-1)

Game time: Friday, Nov. 15 at 6 p.m. PST/9 p.m. ET

TV Channel: KHQ/ESPN+

MORE GONZAGA NEWS & ANALYSIS

• Gonzaga’s Mark Few on UMass-Lowell matchup: ‘They’re probably better than who we need to be playing’
  

• Virginia transfer Jalen Warley sets Gonzaga visit for Friday

• Gonzaga’s Khalif Battle brings the house down with huge dunk vs. Arizona State

• Ryan Nembhard thriving as Gonzaga’s point guard: ‘He is amazing’

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