The top team in the West Coast Conference is trying to continue its comeback after its first league loss of the season, while another contender hopes to climb back in the race for the regular-season championship as Santa Clara goes to Saint Mary’s.
Saint Mary’s (21-4, 11-1) has a commanding lead in the WCC, but its unblemished league record was tarnished by a 65-64 loss to San Francisco last Thursday.
Santa Clara (17-9, 9-4) has won three games in a row since its 67-54 loss to the Gaels on Jan. 29, and the Broncos currently sit in fourth place in the WCC.
Saint Mary’s welcomes Santa Clara to the University Credit Union Pavilion tonight at 11 p.m. ET for a game that carries a lot of weight because both teams still have some challenging opponents to face as the regular season winds down.
The Gaels have five games left after tonight’s showdown in Moraga, California. On Saturday, they host Washington State, which has come back down to earth after a hot start to the season but has still proven to be feisty more often than not. St. Mary’s travels to Gonzaga (18-7, 9-3 WCC) on Feb. 22 and wraps up the regular season at home against Oregon State (17-8, 7-5) on Feb. 1.
Santa Clara has four games left after wrapping up its series with St. Mary’s tonight. The Broncos hit the road to face Washington State on Feb. 22 and host Gonzaga on Feb. 25.
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Santa Clara at Saint Mary’s Odds
Saint Mary’s is a 9.5-point college basketball betting odds favorite on BetMGM against Santa Clara, and the Over/Under is at 137.5 points.
The Moneyline is at -450 for St. Mary’s and at +340 for Santa Clara.
Santa Clara at Saint Mary’s on TV
The West Coast Conference game featuring Saint Mary’s and Santa Clara will be televised on ESPN2.
Tip-off is scheduled for 11 p.m. ET.
Santa Clara at Saint Mary’s Prediction
I predict Saint Mary’s wins, 76-62.
Santa Clara couldn’t compete with the Gaels in the paint the last time they played. St. Mary’s big men, Mitchell Saxen and Luke Barrett, combined for 22 points and seven rebounds, and Paulius Murauskas added nine points and 14 rebounds.
The Gaels dominated Santa Clara, 39-25, in the rebounding department the last time they played, but that’s nothing new for St. Mary’s. It leads the WCC and ranks No. 22 in the country with 39.9 rebounds a game.
The Broncos are going to have to find a way to compete in the paint if they’re going to upset St. Mary’s tonight. They can’t just rely on guard Carlos Stewart Jr., who put up 24 points and went 6-for-8 from 3-point range in Santa Clara’s first game against the Gaels. The Broncos’ leading scorer, Adama-Alpha Bal, was held to just two points in the first meeting.
The Gaels are led by Augustas Marciulionis, who is averaging 13.8 points a game and is tied for No. 13 in the country with 151 assists. Murauskas is adding 12.5 points and 8.4 rebounds a night, and Saxen is chipping in with 10.7 points and eight rebounds a game.
