BYU vs. Saint Mary’s Picks, Predictions, Odds

The West Coast Conference will almost certainly be just a two-bid league after Santa Clara lost in double overtime to San Francisco in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The Broncos were the biggest threat to Gonzaga and Saint Mary's in the WCC, but now both the Bulldogs and the Gaels will have the benefit of playing teams with losing conference records in the WCC Semifinals on Monday night.

Both Saint Mary's and Gonzaga are sizeable favorites by the college basketball betting odds. However, BYU's two losses to Saint Mary's this year were by a combined seven points, so the Cougars have reason to believe the third time could be the charm.

The first semifinal of the West Coast Conference Tournament will take place on Monday, March 6, 2023, at 9 p.m. ET. We will see the Saint Mary's Gaels face the BYU Cougars at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on ESPN.

BYU Cougars vs. Saint Mary's Gaels Betting Prediction

Dallin Hall is one of the keys to this game for BYU. Hall was very good in the first meeting with Saint Mary's on January 28. He made 9 of 14 shots to lead all scorers with 23 points, but the Cougars fell just one point short in a 57-56 loss. The freshman was a non-factor in the second game though, finishing with just five points as he committed five fouls in just 23 minutes of play.

Saint Mary's has an excellent defense and one of the BYU guards needs to be able to break it down and score some points. We saw Hall knock down his open looks against Loyola Marymount in the quarterfinals on Saturday, so look for the Cougars to at least stay within the number.

Best Bet: BYU +6.5
Score Prediction: Saint Mary's 65, BYU 63

BYU Cougars vs. Saint Mary's Gaels Betting Odds

BYU Cougars vs. Saint Mary's Gaels Betting Resources

Date: Monday, Mar. 6, 2023
TV-Time: ESPN, 6:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Orleans Arena
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Matchup
Expert Picks

WCC Tournament Odds

BYU Cougars vs. Saint Mary's Gaels Betting Stats

BYU Cougars
SU: 19-14
ATS: 18-13
O/U: 15-16
PPG: 75.6
OPPG: 69.9

Saint Mary's Gaels
SU: 25-6
ATS: 16-12-2
O/U: 15-15
PPG: 71.9
OPPG: 59.3

Straight Up (SU), Against the Spread (ATS), Over-Under (O/U)
Points Per Game (PPG), Opponents Points Per Game (OPPG)

Updated on 12/27/2024

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BYU Cougars Betting Analysis

BYU is one of the top rebounding teams in the country. The Cougars rank in the top 75 in offensive rebounding and in the top 20 in defensive rebounding. Fousseyni Traore is an undersized power forward at 6'6 and 240 pounds, but he plays above his height, and he is averaging 7.9 RPG.

Traore is also the team's leading scorer with 13.0 PPG, and he is hitting 61% of his field goals. Gideon George is another small power forward that does a solid job on the glass at 6'6 and 210 pounds. George is averaging 10.5 PPG and 5.9 RPG this season, but he isn't as efficient of a shooter as Traore at 42.8% from the floor.

Spencer Johnson has been one of the most effective shooting guards in the nation, averaging 11.0 PPG while making 50.3% of his field goals and 46% of his threes. Johnson is by far the best perimeter shooter on BYU as the next best three-point shooter is Hall at 35.8% from beyond the arc. Jaxson Robinson missed BYU's first game with Saint Mary's, and he will need to play much better than he did in the second game where he finished with no points in 20 minutes.

The Cougars have a very good defense. They rank just outside the top 40 nationally according to Ken Pomeroy, and they block a decent amount of shots with Traore and George. Johnson has one of the highest steal rates in the country, helping BYU force a good amount of turnovers. However, Saint Mary's has one of the truly elite defenses in the nation, and low scoring games are very common considering the glacial pace of the Gaels.

Saint Mary's Gaels Betting Analysis

This is one of the best teams that Randy Bennett has had at Saint Mary's. The Gaels are 25-6, and they shared the WCC regular season championship with Gonzaga. The Gaels edged the Bulldogs for the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, as they went 14-2 in WCC play, and they are a lock to make the NCAA Tournament even if they lose this game.

There is a lot of size on this Saint Mary's team. The Gaels rank in the top 40 in offense rebounding and No. 2 nationally in defensive rebounding with players like Mitchell Saxen and Kyle Bowen protecting the rim. Saxen is averaging 11.8 PPG and 8.0 RPG as a 6'10 center, while Bowen is averaging 5.4 PPG and 7.4 RPG as a 6'8 forward. Two of Saint Mary's guards are averaging over 4.0 RPG too, and that's big considering how few possessions there are in Gaels' games.

Logan Johnson is the top scorer on Saint Mary's. Johnson is averaging 14.7 PPG, and he is making 46.6% of his field goals. Unfortunately, he isn't a great three-point shooter, but the next two leading scorers are making over 40% of their threes. Aidan Mahaney is averaging 14.6 PPG and knocking down 40.9% of his threes, and Alex Ducas is averaging 12.3 PPG while making 41.6% of his shots from range.