Saint Mary’s erased a 12-point deficit in the second half of its 59-56 win over No. 10 seed Vanderbilt in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday. The No. 7 Gaels now have a chance to punch their ticket to the Sweet 16, but No. 2 Alabama stands in their way. Saint Mary’s and Alabama will face off at 6:10 p.m. ET today in Cleveland, Ohio.
The Gaels (29-5, 17-1 WCC) overcame a loss to Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference championship game and leaned on their suffocating defense to earn a spot in the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the past four years.
Saint Mary’s is giving up 60.5 points a game, which leads the WCC and ranks No. 4 in the country.
Alabama (26-8, 13-5 SEC) ended the regular season against three teams ranked in the top 10 in the AP Top 25 poll. The Crimson Tide lost to Florida, which ranks No. 3 in the most recent AP poll, and Tennessee, which is currently ranked No. 6. They ended the regular season with a 93-91 win over Auburn – the NCAA Tournament’s No. 1 overall seed.
After an early exit in the SEC Tournament, Alabama held on to beat Robert Morris 90-81 in the first round of the Big Dance on Friday.
Alabama leads the nation with 91.1 points and 42.9 rebounds a game, but the Tide is giving up 81.4 points a night, which ranks dead last in the 16-team conference.
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Saint Mary’s vs. Alabama Odds
Alabama is a 5.5-point college basketball betting odds favorite on BetMGM vs. Saint Mary’s, and the Over/Under is at 148.5 points.
The Moneyline is at -235 for Alabama and +190 for Saint Mary’s.
Saint Mary’s vs. Alabama Channel
The second round NCAA Tournament game featuring Saint Mary’s and Alabama will be televised on TNT.
Tip-off is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. ET.
Saint Mary’s vs. Alabama Prediction
I predict Alabama wins, 90-76.
This is a classic matchup between the highest-powered offense in the country vs. one of its stingiest defenses. St. Mary’s is giving up 60.5 points a game, which ranks No. 4 in the country.
St. Mary’s starting lineup is led by an experienced point guard in Augustas Marciulionis, who is a two-time WCC Player of the Year and has posted 204 assists this season. The Gaels also have a trio of big men that will give any team problems: Mitchell Saxen (10.7 ppg, 8 rpg), Luke Barrett (9.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg), and Paulius Murauskas (12.2 ppg, 7.9 rpg).
Saint Mary’s has a chance to shock the world if they can slow the pace of the game down, but Alabama’s offense is so athletic and explosive that there haven’t been many teams that could achieve that feat.
All five of Alabama’s starters average more than 10 points a game, led by Mark Sears, who ranks No. 3 in the SEC with 18.8 points a game. Six-foot-11 graduate student Grant Nelson is adding 11.6 points and 7.5 rebounds a night. Sixth man, Chris Youngblood, is putting up 9.8 points a game.
