🏀 Oregon State vs. Gonzaga Prediction & Odds: WCC Tournament Picks Today (March 9)

It's Gonzaga's final West Coast Conference Tournament before the Bulldogs move onto the new-look Pac-12, and we still view Gonzaga as the pinnacle of the WCC.

Our Oregon State vs. Gonzaga prediction sees the Bulldogs cruising to another comfortable win over this Beavers squad based on the relentless nature of their defense. Gonzaga is featured as an 18.5-point betting favorite, and our score prediction falls in line with an onslaught for the heavy favorite.

Plus, keep reading for our favorite player prop involving a rebounding advantage for one of Gonzaga's stars. The action tips off from Orleans Arena in Las Vegas tonight at 9 p.m. ET (ESPN).

🏀 Oregon State vs. Gonzaga picks & odds today: March 9

See all of our experts' college basketball picks based on the latest college basketball odds; picks rated on a 1-to-5 star confidence scale based on betting value.

Total wagered: 3.3 units | Max profit: 3.0 units

💰 Oregon State vs. Gonzaga prediction & best bet

Gonzaga -18.5 (-115)

Gonzaga got the better of Oregon State in their earlier matchup, 81-61, in a game that took place in Corvallis. Gonzaga's ninth-ranked adjusted defensive efficiency in the nation was too much for a lackluster Beaver offense (259th in PPG) to get much going, and we expect that theme to emerge again in Vegas on Monday night.

Gonzaga allows just 66.3 PPG, ranking 17th in the nation in scoring defense. Gonzaga will speed up the Beavers, but with Oregon State ranked 299th in adjusted tempo, I don't see this underdog playing comfortably or efficiently at Gonzaga's preferred pace.

DraftKings offers the best price on this spread, with -115 odds on Gonzaga -18.5. We like the value on this spread up to -19.5.

Score prediction: Gonzaga 81, Oregon State 59

🔥 Best Oregon State vs. Gonzaga player prop bet

Tyon Grant-Foster 6+ rebounds (-110)

As a team, Gonzaga boasts one of the best rebounding rates in the nation (55.8%, 11th in nation) and faces an Oregon State team that struggles on the glass (48.2%, 271st in nation). Since we also expect the Beavers to lack efficiency on offense against this stout defensive unit, that should spell plenty of missed field goal attempts and rebounding opportunities for the Bulldogs.

Recent rebounding performances by Tyon Grant-Foster have seen the six-foot, seven-inch senior record six or more rebounds in three of his past five games. Against Oregon State last month, Grant-Foster tallied seven boards in a game script that actually didn't favor rebounding as strongly as Monday's rematch might--Oregon State shot an outlier 55.8% from three-point range in that matchup to limit opportunities for rebounding guards like Grant-Foster.

FanDuel offers the the best price for this prop bet (-110), but there's value up to -130.

🚀 Oregon State vs. Gonzaga same-game parlay

We like a game script that sees Gonzaga dominate defensively while still speeding up Oregon State just enough to ensure that the Bulldogs put up ample points to cover the large margin. With our expectation of an inefficient scoring effort for the Beavers, we like the correlation of Gonzaga's rebounding success with an overall lower-scoring result.

💡 How I'm betting Oregon State vs. Gonzaga

Follow all of our college basketball analysis and expert predictions this season.

I'm keeping my bankroll strategy for this matchup in a typical range, allocating a unit for each wager. We've seen this matchup play out already this season, and given the energy Oregon State had to expend in a 78-77 win Sunday to get to this round of the tournament, we could see some tired legs out of the Beavers to give us confidence in our analysis.

We don't want to go overboard with our units, though, as conference tournaments often have the capacity to provide surprising results, particularly involving teams like Gonzaga that are already locks for a March Madness at-large bid.

📊 Live Oregon State vs. Gonzaga odds

The odds opened at Gonzaga -19.5 before shifting in favor of Oregon State, with the number getting down to 18.5. As game time approaches on Monday, though, we're seeing a push back toward the expectation of a blowout favoring Gonzaga from some of the sportsbooks.

The total has dropped from 145.5 down to 143.5, likely based on expectations of Gonzaga's strong defense limiting the scoring for the Oregon State side.

📈 Oregon State vs. Gonzaga betting trends

📺 How to watch Oregon State vs. Gonzaga

• Date: Monday, March 9
• Tipoff: 9 p.m. ET
• Location: Orleans Arena (Las Vegas)
• TV: ESPN