The Grand Canyon Antelopes and Southern Utah Thunderbirds hope to follow close upset victories with a title when they meet in Saturday's 2023 WAC Tournament championship game. The fifth-seeded Antelopes (23-11) edged No. 1 seed Sam Houston 78-75 in their Friday semifinal. GCU also has an 83-78 road victory against the Thunderbirds 10 days ago on its resume. Grand Canyon won the WAC Tournament in 2021 and was runner-up in the previous two editions. Third-seeded Southern Utah (22-11) is in the final in its first season in the WAC. The Thunderbirds eked out an 89-88 victory against No. 2 seed Utah Valley on Friday night.
Tipoff is set for 11:30 p.m. ET at Orleans Arena. The Thunderbirds are 1-point favorites in the latest Grand Canyon vs. Southern Utah odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the over/under for total points scored is 148.5. Before locking in any Southern Utah vs. Grand Canyon picks, be sure to see the college basketball predictions and betting advice from SportsLine's advanced computer simulation model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. The model enters conference tournament week 76-51 on all-top rated college basketball picks this season, returning nearly $1,200 for $100 players. Anybody who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now the model has zeroed in on Grand Canyon vs. Southern Utah and just locked in its picks and CBB predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model's picks. Now, here are several college basketball odds and betting lines for Southern Utah vs. Grand Canyon:
- Grand Canyon vs. Southern Utah spread: Southern Utah -1
- Grand Canyon vs. Southern Utah over/under: 148.5 points
- Grand Canyon vs. Southern Utah money line: Southern Utah -120, Grand Canyon +100
- Grand Canyon: 4-1 ATS in last five games
- Southern Utah: 16-12-1 ATS on the season
- Grand Canyon vs. Southern Utah picks: See picks at SportsLine
Why Grand Canyon can cover
The Antelopes are 7-3 ATS in their past 10 games on no rest and are 4-1 ATS in their past five overall. They are led by Rayshon Harrison, an All-WAC First Team player who averages 17.3 points and 3.5 assists. He scored 29 and had nine rebounds in the meeting with Southern Utah on March 1. Forward Gabe McGlothan also plays a big role, averaging 12.6 points and ranking second in the WAC in rebounding at 7.9 per game. The Antelopes are a strong 3-point shooting team, hitting 37.7% of their attempts. They made 10 of 24 attempts (41.7%) in the March victory.
Harrison and McGlothan hit three apiece in the last meeting, but Chance McMillian and Kobe Knox are the sharpshooters. McMillian averages 10.9 points and four made 3-pointers per game, hitting 44.5% from outside. Knox makes 41.7% of his tries and hit all six Friday night to finish with 21 points. Grand Canyon is a better team than the Thunderbirds on defense, as they rank third in the WAC in allowing 63.8 points per game. Southern Utah ranks 12th on defense (73.5). The Thunderbirds lead the conference in scoring, but the Antelopes are sixth (72.1 ppg).
Why Southern Utah can cover
Southern Utah can score with the best of them, ranking in the top five in the nation and first in the WAC at 83 points per game. They have a well-rounded group that features center Jason Spurgin and All-WAC First-Teamer Tevin Jones and includes Sixth Man of the Year Dee Barnes. Jones averages 17.7 points, and Maizen Fausett and Harrison Butler average more than 11 points and five rebounds. Spurgin scores 10.1 and averages 5.6 rebounds and 1.5 blocks.
Jones scored 20 points, Butler had 19 and Spurgin had 15 in Friday night's victory. Cameron Healy, who averages 6.2 points, scored 14. So the Thunderbirds can get points from anywhere at any time. Fausett had 31 points and seven boards as Southern Utah outrebounded GCU 37-31 in the last meeting. Jones scored 14 and Butler had 13 and a team-high four assists. The Thunderbirds are 15-7 ATS in their last 22 games when facing a team with a winning record.
How to make Southern Utah vs. Grand Canyon picks
SportsLine's model is leaning Over on the total, projecting 149 combined points. The model also says one side of the spread hits almost 60% of the time. You can only see the model's picks at SportsLine.
So who wins Grand Canyon vs. Southern Utah? And which side of the spread hits almost 60% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the model that has crushed its college basketball picks, and find out.
