Saint Mary’s looks to stay in contention for the West Coast Conference title when the Gaels visit Washington State on Saturday.
With three WCC games left, Saint Mary’s (24-4, 13-2) is tied for second with Santa Clara and one game behind leader Gonzaga. The Gaels end the regular season next week with home games against Santa Clara and Gonzaga.
Saint Mary’s has won five in a row following Wednesday’s 72-70 victory at Seattle. The Gaels used a 7-3 run for their first single-possession win of the season. Sophomore guard Mikey Lewis led the Gaels with 22 points.
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Washington State (12-16, 7-8) snapped a three-game losing streak with Wednesday’s 87-70 home win over Pacific. Rihards Vavers, a 6-foot-7 junior, scored 21 points, hitting 5-of-7 from three-point range.
Saint Mary’s at Washington State Odds
As of this writing, Saint Mary’s is a 7.5-point college basketball betting favorite on BetMGM.
The Over/Under is 150.5.
Saint Mary’s at Washington State On TV
Tipoff for Saint Mary’s at Washington State is expected to start shortly after 10 p.m. ET.
The game will be televised on ESPN2.
Saint Mary’s at Washington State Prediction
I like Saint Mary’s to cover. The Gaels are coming off a subpar performance (for them), and they also can’t look ahead to next week’s two big games. Escaping to win at Seattle could be a wake-up call, and the Gaels should be focused after avoiding an upset in the last game.
Saint Mary’s is 7-2 on the road, while Washington State is 9-5 at home.
This is a rematch of the Jan. 10 game that was won by Saint Mary’s, 88-82 at home.
On the season, Washington State is fifth in the WCC in scoring, averaging 77 points. The Cougars, however, allow 77.4 PPG. By comparison, Saint Mary’s averages 78.3 points but leads the WCC in scoring defense, allowing 64.2 points per game, which, entering Thursday, was seventh nationally.
Both teams are strong from beyond the arc. The Gaels lead the WCC with a .381 percentage, while Washington State, despite its struggles in the first game with Saint Mary’s, is second at .373.
Neither team has been great in the turnover department. Saint Mary’s has a -0.32 turnover margin, but Washington State is last in the WCC with a -3.04. In the first meeting, Washington State committed 13 turnovers, compared to 14 for Saint Mary’s.
Paulius Murauskas, a 6-foot-8 junior, is averaging a team-high 19.1 points, along with 7.4 rebounds for Saint Mary’s.
Ace Glass, a 6-foot-3 freshman, averages a team-high 16.0 points for Washington State. He is shooting .371 from beyond the arc and .882 from the foul line.
