Saint Mary’s vs Gonzaga Odds, Picks, Predictions (2/25/23)

Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga meet again to determine the WCC regular season crown. Saint Mary’s is coming off a blowout home win against Pacific, while Gonzaga is coming off a blowout home win against San Diego. This is a huge matchup in deciding who wins the WCC this year. Let’s take a look at the odds and make some picks and predictions for this game!

Saint Mary’s vs. Gonzaga Odds

Gonzaga is a 5.5-point home favorite against Saint Mary’s and is at -230 on the money line. The over/under is also at 140.5. Gonzaga being this much of a favorite makes sense because they’re at home and have been almost unbeatable at home. The over/under also makes sense because of how good both teams are on offense. This spread could change a bit before tip-off, so keep an eye on that too.

Saint Mary’s vs. Gonzaga Prediction & Pick

The pick: Gonzaga -5.5

Gonzaga is quietly playing some of the best basketball in the entire country right now. They’ve rebounded from a few stumbles and look very good right now.

A huge key to Gonzaga’s success has been Drew Timme. Timme is playing like a National Player of the Year candidate right now and has been incredible for Gonzaga. He leads the Bulldogs in scoring, rebounding, and blocks per game for the season. Julian Strawther has been great for Gonzaga too and is the best NBA prospect the Bulldogs have this year, while also being one of the best three-point shooters for them. Rasir Bolton and Anton Watson have also been very good on the wing for the Bulldogs too.

As a team, Gonzaga excels more on offense than on defense. They’re the top scoring team in the country at 87.8 points per game for the season and have the highest field goal percentage in the country at 51.6%. They’re also top-10 in points differential.

On the other side, Saint Mary’s has been very good this season and has a big chance to take the WCC crown away from Gonzaga this year.

Aidan Mahaney has been the best player for the Gaels this year. He leads the team in scoring and is also one of the best three-point shooters on the team. Logan Johnson has also been very good and is second in scoring, but also leads the Gaels in assists and steals per game for the season. Alex Ducas has been another very good player on the wing for the Gaels and provide some much-needed three-point shooting too. Mitchell Saxen has been a very good player down low for the Gaels. He leads the team in rebounding and blocks per game for the season.

As a team, Saint Mary’s excels more on defense than on offense. They’re third in points allowed at 58.7 points per game. They’ve been anchored by their defense all season.

These are the two best teams in the WCC and that’s going to make this a great game. This should be a close game throughout, but expect Gonzaga to win and eventually pull away to cover late. The home court advantage will be the difference in the game.

Saint Mary’s vs. Gonzaga Key Matchups

Can Mitchell Saxen matchup with Drew Timme? Can Rasir Bolton matchup with Aidan Mahaney?

Drew Timme vs Mitchell Saxen

Drew Timme has played like one of the best players in all of college basketball this season. He averages 21 points, 3 assists, and 8 rebounds per game for the season. He’ll be matched up against Mitchell Saxen most of the game, who averages 12 points, 2 assists, and 8 rebounds per game for the season. This is a big matchup because if Saxen can defend him well, Saint Mary’s has a much better chance of winning because of how much offense Timme accounts for with Gonzaga.

Aidan Mahaney vs Rasir Bolton

Aidan Mahaney has been one of the bigger surprise players this season. He averages 15 points, 2 assists, and 2 rebounds per game for the season. He’ll be matched up against Rasir Bolton most of the game, who averages 11 points, 3 assists, and 2 rebounds per game for the season. This will be a big matchup and Bolton is a very good defender, so if he can defend Mahaney well then Gonzaga has a very good chance of winning because of how much offense Mahaney accounts for.

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Jake Faigus, graduated from the University of Arizona with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and minored in sports management. He wrote for The Daily Wildcat, as well as the Arizona Fansided blog, Zona Zealots. He currently writes for Aaron Torres Media and runs social media for BracketFanatics.

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