College Basketball: West Coast Conference

Gonzaga vs. Saint Mary's Prediction, Pick & Odds: West Coast Conference Championship Predictions

sportsbookreview.com

12 March 2024

Gonzaga vs. Saint Mary's Prediction, Pick & Odds: West Coast Conference Championship Predictions

The Gonzaga Bulldogs face the Saint Mary’s Gaels in Tuesday's West Coast Conference final, as we make our best Gonzaga vs. Saint Mary's prediction based on the best college basketball odds.

The best rivalry in the West Coast Conference adds another chapter on Tuesday, when the Gonzaga Bulldogs and Saint Mary's Gaels face off in the WCC Tournament final.

The Gaels defeated the Bulldogs, 64-62, in Spokane during their first clash of the season. The Bulldogs have won nine straight games since then, including a 70-57 win at Saint Mary’s to settle the score.

Will the Bulldogs win their 10th straight contest on Tuesday? Or will the Gaels come away victorious and enter the NCAA Tournament as WCC champions?

To complement our college basketball best bets for Tuesday and college basketball conference tournament predictions, here is our best Gonzaga-Saint Mary's prediction and our college basketball picks (odds via our best March Madness betting sites; Pick confidence is based on a 1-to-5-star scale).

Gonzaga vs. Saint Mary's prediction

Saint Mary’s +4.5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Bulldogs are one of the nation's hottest teams. But the Gaels’ defense is going to be what finally slows them down.

The Gaels are allowing just 58.7 points per game, and they held the Bulldogs to 70 points or fewer in both of the previous meetings during 2023-24. That's a massive achievement considering the Bulldogs average 85.7 points per game.

The key for the Gaels will be scoring against the Bulldogs’ defense. Saint Mary's is averaging 74.4 points per outing overall, but that drops to just 60.5 against Gonzaga.

But the Bulldogs’ defense was struggling on Monday against the San Francisco Dons. The Dons shot 46.0% from the field while managing to score 77 points. The Bulldogs may lose outright if they allow a similar performance from the Gaels on Tuesday.

This game is going to come down to defense, and right now the Gaels are better on that side of the ball. As long as they execute their offense at a higher level than during the last meeting with the Bulldogs, Saint Mary's will frustrate Gonzaga and keep this game within two baskets.

$1,000 First Bet on Caesars

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Gonzaga vs. Saint Mary's best odds

Caesars (-110)

All of our best sports betting sites except for Caesars are listing the spread at 3.5. That makes Caesars the obvious destination here as we back the underdog Gaels, especially with no difference in the price.

We expect this number to increase before tipoff because Gonzaga is such a public team. Therefore, don’t be alarmed if this spread drops to 2.5 or 3 during the day. Wait it out if that happens, and get in as tipoff approaches and the line moves back in favor of the Bulldogs.

Gonzaga vs. Saint Mary's odds

The Bulldogs opened as 2.5-point favorites before the number jumped to 3.5 or 4.5 at our best sportsbooks. This number may settle or even drop throughout the day, but we expect the Bulldogs to take a majority of the action in the evening because of their name recognition and winning streak.

The total for this game opened at 138.5, and it hasn’t moved despite 73% of bettors backing the Over. Neither of the games between these two teams came anywhere near this total. That's why we highly recommend playing the Under if the number gets up to 140. The Bulldogs could always score in the 80s, but the Gaels’ defense has proven to be difficult for them to master during 2023-24.