Saint Mary’s Gaels at Gonzaga Bulldogs Betting Preview
The top two teams in the West Coast Conference will square off on Saturday as the No. 22 Saint Mary’s Gaels (20-5, 8-2 in West Coast) take on the No. 2 Gonzaga Bulldogs (20-2, 9-0 in West Coast). The Bulldogs will host this one at the McCarthey Athletic Center, with tipoff scheduled for 10:00 pm ET.
This will be the first of two matchups between the two teams as they play again in their regular-season finales.
Entering play Saturday, St. Mary’s has won eight of its last nine matchups, including a 86-57 win over San Diego on Thursday.
In the win, Logan Johnson had a game-high 16 points to go along with nine rebounds. Tommy Kuhse added 13 points while Alex Ducas had 12.
Gonzaga has been on quite a roll as of late as they have won 13 straight matchups stemming back to the early part of December. In their last victory, they took down Pacific 89-51 Thursday night.
Rasir Bolton led all scorers with 20 points, while Drew Timme added a double-double with 13 points and ten rebounds.
The Bulldogs are the overwhelming favorites in this one. They are -1800 to win while the Gaels’ moneyline sits at +980. The spread features St. Mary’s +15.5 (-110), and the over/under for total points is 148.
More Odds
Gonzaga is the favorite to win the National Championship this season at +450. The Gaels are +12000 to win it all.
By The Numbers
Gonzaga has had the best offense in college basketball this season. They lead the nation in scoring averaging 90.8 points per game (91.3 at home). St. Mary’s ranks 167th averaging 70.4 points per game (64.3 on the road).
Defensively, St. Mary’s has been outstanding this season. They rank eighth in scoring defense as they are allowing opponents just 59.9 points per game. The Bulldogs rank 48th allowing 64.6 points per game.
Gaels Looking For Major Road Upset
Sitting at 20-5 and 8-2 in the conference, St. Mary’s has to have a lot of confidence entering play Saturday. They will need it as they go up against one of the best teams in the nation while being just 5-3 on the road this season.
Leading the way for the Gaels’ offense is senior forward Matthias Tass. This season, he is averaging 12.8 points on 57.1% shooting while also adding 6.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.
The Gaels have three others averaging double digits in Alex Ducas (11 points, 3.6 rebounds), Logan Johnson (10.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.2 steals), and Tommy Kuhse (10.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists).
Gonzaga Trying To Stay Perfect At Home
With only two losses on the season, Gonzaga is already a tough matchup. At home, they have been unbeatable this season. At 14-0 at the McCarthey Athletic Center, the Bulldogs are looking to stay perfect at home and in the conference.
Junior forward Drew Timme has been outstanding this season. He is averaging 17.4 points on 60.2% shooting. He is also chipping in 6.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.
What makes Gonzaga so deadly is their depth. They have four other players besides Timme averaging double-digit scoring.
Chet Holmgren (14.6 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.3 blocks), Julian Strawther (12.9 points, six rebounds), Rasir Bolton (10.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists), and Andrew Nembhard (10.4 points, three rebounds, 5.2 assists) have also had monster seasons for Gonzaga.
Expect Rude Awakening For Gaels
St. Mary’s has undoubtedly had a fantastic season this year, but they are about to come back down to reality on Saturday. Even with a stellar defense, it will be really tough for them to slow down the Bulldogs.
About the only hope that St. Mary’s has to win this one is if they are hitting from behind the arc at just a ridiculous clip. With a solid Gonzaga defense, that will be easier said than done.
Especially playing at home, take Gonzaga to both win and cover the massive 15.5-point spread.
