The Santa Clara Broncos (20-12, 10-6 WCC) match up with #21 Saint Mary’s Gaels (24-7, 15-1 WCC) in the semi-finals of the WCC tournament Monday night. Saint Mary’s has undeniably been the class of the WCC all season, as they won the outright WCC regular season title. Santa Clara had a red-hot start to the season, but they struggled mightily in February. However, the Broncos have won their last two and are two wins away from getting an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Until the season finale win over USF, the Santa Clara Broncos looked dead in the water. Undoubtedly, they have somewhat righted the ship here in March, but is it enough to give Saint Mary’s a scare, or will the Gaels run away with this one and advance to the WCC championship game?
Santa Clara vs Saint Mary’s Betting Odds
|
Team |
Spread |
Total |
MoneyLine |
|
Santa Clara Broncos |
+11.5 -110 |
O 135.5 -110 |
+525 |
|
Saint Mary’s Gaels |
-11.5 -110 |
U 135.5 -110 |
-750 |
|
**Odds Courtesy of DraftKings** |
|||
Santa Clara Broncos vs Saint Mary’s Gaels Game Details
- Fixture: Santa Clara Broncos vs Saint Mary’s Gaels
- Date and Time: March 11, 2024 @ 9pm EST
- Location: Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, NV
Apex Tale of the Tape
|
Santa Clara |
vs. |
Saint Mary’s |
|
20-12 |
Record |
24-7 |
|
77.3 |
Points Per Game |
74.3 |
|
45.9% |
FG% |
46.7% |
|
35.1% |
3PT% |
35.3% |
|
39.8 |
Rebounds Per Game |
39.7 |
|
72 |
Points Allowed Per Game |
58.5 |
|
42.2% |
Defensive FG% |
39.1% |
|
31.2% |
Defensive 3PT% |
31.3% |
|
71.1% |
Defensive FT% |
71.5% |
|
27.5 |
Defensive Rebounds Per Game |
26.5 |
|
3-2 |
Last 5 W-L |
4-1 |
Key Stats
Santa Clara Broncos
Evidently, these Santa Clara Broncos can be a very dangerous team and are very deep. They are also led by NBA talent Adama Bal. Bal had a great start to the WCC season, but was hampered by injuries during the Broncos ice cold in February. Furthermore, Bal is now back, and the Santa Clara Broncos have picked up wins over San Francisco to end their regular season and kicked off their WCC tournament with a 104-79 thrashing of San Diego. They have one of the deepest front courts in the WCC, so even on an off-shooting night, they will hold their own if they can be engaged defensively on the perimeter. Though they don’t always gel, whenever they can get things going offensively, they are a tough out.
Saint Mary’s Gaels
Unsurprisingly, the Gaels are once again loaded with talent. WCC player of the year is Augustas Marciulionis, WCC defensive player of the year is Mitchell Saxen; and maybe their most talented player is Aidan Mahaney to face the Santa Clara Broncos. Another thing to like is that their bigs are great at defending without fouling, and the way others can rotate around is very impressive. As a result, they only let up 58.5 PPG. In fact, that’s just the second-lowest number of points per game allowed in the nation.
Meanwhile, on offense, they know their strengths. Another thing you’ll notice is that they never panic. Therefore, they are patient, swing the ball around the perimeter, and pick apart 1v1 matchups inside. When all else fails, Marciulionis and Mahaney have the ability to create for themselves when it gets late in the shot clock against the Santa Clara Broncos. Lastly, they have a clear identity, which makes them a team you can trust.
Game Prediction
At last, the Santa Clara Broncos are back. Despite having an atrocious month of February, their last 2 games have been impressive. Also, both were wins over opponents that beat them during their skid (USF, SD). They have the big men with Johnny O’Neil and Christoph Tillie, and also the big guards showing help to compete with Saint Mary’s down low. While Saxen is very good at drawing fouls, the Broncos have the depth down low to overcome that if they stay disciplined.
For this reason, the Broncos will be comfortable being aggressive. While the Gaels typically rely on their paint scoring, tonight Saint Mary’s is going to have to have a great shooting night beyond the arc to be close to covering this spread. Even though Saint Mary’s is very efficient overall, one bugaboo is going ice cold from 3 point land. For that reason, I like the Santa Clara Broncos to cover.
Final Pick
Santa Clara Broncos +11.5
About the Author
Follow Cory on x @cory_pappas1 for more college basketball game previews as March Madness begins! Check out all the great content Total Apex Sports has to offer. Check us out on X @TotalApexSports and our other sites: Total Apex Sports Bets and Total Apex Fantasy Sports.
