The St. Mary’s Gaels will attempt to hand the top-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs their first loss of the season when the two West Coast Conference rivals square off on Saturday. With Gonzaga looking to take anther step toward a potential unbeaten campaign and St. Mary’s desperate to get back in the win column, let’s find out where the best betting value lies in this matchup so you can place your bets against their College Basketball odds.
Expert College Basketball Picks – No. 1 Gonzaga at Saint Mary’s
Gonzaga Bulldogs (13-0) at St. Mary’s Gaels (9-4) Game Info
- When: Saturday, Feb. 16, 2021 at 10:00 PM ET
- Where: University Credit Union Pavilion, Moraga, CA
- TV: ESPN3
- NCAAB Odds: TBD
Why Bet On No. 1 Gonzaga
Gonzaga man-handled Pepperdine en route to a commanding 95-70 on Thursday night although the nation’s top-ranked team had their hands full in the first half. Up just four points at the break (43-39), the Bulldogs got their act together to outscore the Waves 52-31 in the second half while shooting a blistering 61.0 percent from the field in the second half.
“We’re not just going to blow everybody out in the first half,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “It’s not going to happen.”
Corey Kispert has 23 points and eight rebounds while Drew Timme added 20 points and Joel Ayayi chipped in 19 points. Freshman star Jalen Suggs added 18 points as Gonzaga rolled to its 40th consecutive win over Pepperdine dating back to 2002.
Gonzaga ranks first nationally in scoring (96.0 ppg) and first in field goal shooting percentage (55.4%) while shooting 34.2 percent from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs allow 73.2 point per contest on 42.6 percent shooting from the field and 34.6 percent from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs have gone 1-0 in their only road game of the season.
Why Bet On St. Mary’s
After kicking off its 2020-21 campaign by winning eight of nine, St. Mary’s has lost two straight and three of its last four games overall including a humbling 62-52 home loss against BYU on Thursday night. Senior guard Tommy Kuhse scored a team-high 12 points while sophomore guard Quinn Clinton added 12 points off the bench.
St. Mary’s averages a modest 67.6 points per game on 43.7 percent shooting from the field and 32.3 percent from beyond the arc. The Gaels have been elite defensively in limiting the opposition to just 61.0 points per game (16th) on 41.2 percent shooting from the field and 34.5 percent from three-point distance. The Gaels have gone 7-2 at home this season.
Expert Analysis and Prediction
Gonzaga might be unbeaten this season, but the Bulldogs are 0-2-1 ATS over their last three games and 3-5-1 ATS over their last nine games overall. St. Mary’s has gone 1-3 ATS over its last four games and 3-6 ATS over its last nine games overall.
Gonzaga has won three straight and six of the last seven meetings in this conference rivalry with each of their last three victories coming by at lest 18 points. The Bulldogs will win again to remain unbeaten, but if the spread looks ridiculously high, you might want to back the Gaels to cover. I’ve got Gonzaga winning by a dub!
Pick: Gonzaga 88 St. Mary’s 68
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