Recent Play Details

3% Grand Canyon (9:00 ET): Just a reminder - Grand Canyon was an NCAA Tournament team last March. Now the Lopes didn’t stand much of a chance in the Round of 64 against Gonzaga (lost 82-70) but HC Bryce Drew noted the appearance “opened up the eyes for a lot of our guys.” Three double digit scorers are back and joining them is a seven-man transfer class, five of whom came from power conferences. GCU is already out to a 2-0 SU start in 2023-24, though that was to be expected facing SE Missouri State and Northern Arizona. Still, the Lopes more than surpassed the oddsmakers’ expectations in both contests, winning by 21 and 34 (closed -17 and -17.5). 

San Francisco had a disappointing 5th place finish in the WCC last season, their first under Chris Gerlufsen. Keep in mind the Dons were a NCAA Tournament team two years ago. It’s been B2B 20+ win seasons, but the “bloom is off the rose” a bit following a 63-58 loss at Boise State on Sunday. Sure, USF covered the 7-point spread in that one, but the offensive efficiency just wasn’t there and they never led. Part of that was because they shot just 4 of 19 from three-point range. Boise probably should have covered but missed nearly half of its FT attempts (12 of 23). 

This is a de facto home game for GCU in Glendale and thus they’ll have the support of the crowd in this Cactus Division matchup of the Arizona Tip-Off. While they’ve faced two pretty weak opponents thus far, the Lopes’ offensive efficiency has been impressive (64th per KenPom) and I’d expect that to continue. Meanwhile, San Francisco just isn’t as strong as last year, not to mention 2021-22, with the likes of Shabazz, Roberts and Meeks all moving on. At least it was two D-I teams that Grand Canyon dominated. USF’s two wins came against Bethesda (non-DI) and St. Francis (PA), the latter being a bottom 10 team in the country. Lay the points. 3% Grand Canyon (Play to -3)