College basketball picks: San Diego-Gonzaga prediction, odds, spread for Feb. 23

The No. 12 Gonzaga Bulldogs will return home for a matchup with the San Diego Toreros on Thursday night from McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Washington. The game will get started at 11:00 p.m. ET and can be seen on ESPN2.

My college basketball picks went 6-0 last night, so let's take a look at the odds and lines on DraftKings Sportsbook and make some picks.

San Diego vs. Gonzaga odds

Spread: Gonzaga -23
Over/Under: 163.5
Moneyline: N/A

San Diego (11-17, 4-10 West Coast) will bring a three-game losing streak on the road coming off a 62-59 home loss to the Saint Mary's Gaels. San Diego was without leading scorer Marcellus Earlington missed that game. San Diego's third-leading scorer and top rebounder Eric Williams Jr. missed the last four games, and so has Jaiden Delaire. The Toreros rate 204th overall in KenPom with an offense that rates 65th in adjusted efficiency, while the defense is 333rd.

Gonzaga (23-5, 12-2 West Coast) will look to extend its winning streak to five games and is a game behind Saint Mary's in the conference standings heading into Thursday night. The Bulldogs are coming off a 97-88 road win over the Pepperdine Waves led by Drew Timme, who scored a game-high 34 points. Gonzaga rates 13th in KenPom with the top-rated offense in adjusted efficiency and 87th on the defensive end.

The Pick: Over 163.5

There's nothing more uncomfortable than taking either side in such a massive point spread especially with injury questions, so let's go to the total and side with a ton of points. We're getting a matchup with the top-rated offense in the entire country going up against one of the worst defenses nationally. Don't be shocked if the Zags hit triple digits, and their defense is certainly a weakness. The Bulldogs rate 39th in adjusted tempo, so there will be enough possessions to push this point total over 163.5.

  
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