Game Time: 9:00 PM  ET, Tuesday, March 8th, 2022

Venue: Orleans Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada

Where to Watch:  ESPN

 

DraftKings Sportsbook:  Gonzaga -12.5

Caesars:  Spread:  N/A

VegasInsider:  Spread:  Gonzaga -12.5

FanDuel: Spread: Gonzaga -13

 

Saints Marys: 24-6 overall, 12-3 conf  ranked #17 Nationally

Gonzaga: 25-3 overall, 13-1 conf  ranked #1 Nationally

A familiar site in the West Coast Championship is Saint Mary’s vs Gonzaga.  These two teams have combined to win 20 of the last 24 West Coast Conference Championships.  Gonzaga is the team most people know in the matchup as they have made a name for themselves nationally.  They are the original world beaters… a small school that goes deep in the tournament that has their sites set on winning it all this season.  The Bulldogs put players into the NBA and have a legit shot at winning the tournament in most seasons.  Saint Marys Gaels have been built to beat Gonzaga… and Gonzaga specifically.  The Bulldogs have been blowing out West Coast Conference opponents by an average of 30 points, but not Saint Mary’s.  The Gaels handed Gonzaga their only West Coast Conference loss. That was just 12 days ago.

Saint Marys have won 8 of their last ten games.  They are on a four-game winning streak at the moment.  Their last loss was against Gonzaga 74-58 back on February 12th.  Of course their last win (regular season, conference win) was against Gonzaga 67-57 on Feb 16th.  6’10 Forward Mathias Tass leads Gonzaga in several categories: Points, Rebounds, FG%, Blocks.  He is a do-it-all type, his numbers are not specifically dominant, but he gets just enough in each category to do the job at hand. Defense is the Gaels calling card.  They have held opponents to 59.4 ppg…. And before you go thinking that those are numbers compiled in a soft conference… remember they just held Gonzaga to 57 points. If you can hold the #1 team in the nation to 57 points WHILE beating them… then your swarming team oriented defense should not be questioned.

Gonzaga has won 9 of their last ten games.  They had a pretty solid 19 game winning streak going until St Mary’s beat them a week ago.  Gonzaga is the real deal.  They are a #1 ranked team that lost in the NCAA Championship game to Baylor last season.  They are having an even better season this year.  Everyone expects them to be heavy hitters in the NCAA tournament…. But will they win the WCC Championship first? Gonzaga rolls with Drew Timme a 6’10 Forward that scores 17.6 ppg and nabs 6.4 rpg. Yet the player everyone’s eyes are drawn to is Chet Holmgren, the painfully skinny 7’0 Center who scores 14.4 ppg and nabs 9.7 rpg.  His skinny frame doesn’t hold him back on the blocks… Chet’s swatting 3.6 shots PER GAME.  The talking heads expect the Freshman to be in the NBA draft this year… and with numbers like that we can always put the weight on later.

This is a perfect matchup for the WCC Conference Championship.  Both teams are nationally ranked.  Both teams have beaten each other in the last month… and while more is expected of Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s will also be a NCAA tournament team and have just as legitimate a shot to take the WCC title.  Gonzaga will be favored on a neutral court.  Let’s look at the numbers to see where to put our money.

RED-HOT Al McMordie was 6-1 yesterday, with winners on the Spurs, Heat, Mavs, Avalanche, Wright St, and South Dakota St, and a loss on Gonzaga. Big Al's now 58-33 his last 91, and is stepping out with his Big West Tournament Game of the Year on this Tuesday. Go get it! Don't miss out! Get Big Al’s pick!!  It's available right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers. Also don’t miss Monday’s picks!!  All your NCAA basketball needs for the entire college basketball season!  All your needs in any sport for that matter! 

Saint Marys is 25-6 on the season, but 19-10-1 ATS.  They have logged 14 Overs, 15 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 3-1 on neutral courts.

Gonzaga is 25-3 on the season, but 14-12-2 ATS.  They have notched 11 Overs and 17 Unders.  They are 4-2 on neutral courts.

Both teams have a swarming team oriented defense that excels… Gonzaga has more offense.  Saint Marys seems to have been built solely to compete with this version of Gonzaga.

SMC is 215th in scoring with 69.6 ppg, 236th in rebounds with 31.2 per game, and 80th in AST/TO ratio with 1.2.  They excel on defense where they rank 8th nationally while holding opponents to 59.4 ppg.

Gonzaga is 1st in scoring at 88.3 ppg, 2nd in rebounds at 39.3 per game, and 7th in AST/TO ratio at 1.6.  On defense they rank 54th while allowing 65 ppg from opponents.

Our prediction for Tuesday, March 8th is… Gonzaga 67 - SMC 58

Gonzaga should win this one outright.  They got snuck up on last time these teams faced off and will not want to end this season without that tournament title.  Look for Gonzaga to hit Saint Marys with everything they have… and look for Saint Marys to put up a valiant effort, but fall short. Take Saint Marys to cover… The spread at 12.5 is simply not realistic for two defensive teams that play each other tougher each time they meet.

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Saint Marys is 12-2 ATS when playing the 2nd game in a week.

Saint Marys is 9-1 ATS after a game they failed to cover the spread.

Gonzaga is 84-51 ATS after failing to cover the spread in 4 of their last 5 games Since 97’.

Gonzaga is 43-24 ATS versus Saint Marys since 1997.