The Saint Mary’s Gaels (25-7,15-1) meet the Gonzaga Bulldogs (25-6, 14-2) for the third time this season to determine who wins the WCC Championship. The Bulldogs saved their NCAA Tournament chances when they closed out their regular season two weeks ago with a win against the Gaels on the road. The win also avenged their previous loss earlier in the season when Saint Mary’s beat Gonzaga on the road.
This matchup is round three just this year in a battle between the two best teams in the WCC. Each one of these teams could be a force in the NCAA tournament as well, and this should be a great matchup as a test before too.
These two teams are very different, with the Gaels playing slower and focused on defense, while the Bulldogs play fast and excel more on offense. Who wins round three in this heavyweight bout?
Gonzaga Bulldogs vs Saint Mary’s Betting Odds
|
Team |
Spread |
Total |
MoneyLine |
|
Gonzaga |
-3
-115 |
O 138.5
-110 |
-166 |
|
Saint Mary’s |
+3
-105 |
U 138.5 -110 |
+140 |
|
**Odds Courtesy of DraftKings** |
|||
Gonzaga Bulldogs vs Saint Mary’s Game Details
- Fixture: Gonzaga Bulldogs vs Saint Mary’s
- Date and Time: March 11, 2024 @ 11:30pm EST
- Location: Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, NV
Apex Tale of the Tape
|
Gonzaga Bulldogs |
vs. |
Saint Mary’s |
|
25-6 |
Record |
24-6 |
|
85.7 |
Points Per Game |
74.4 |
|
51.8% |
FG% |
46.9% |
|
35.7% |
3PT% |
35.4% |
|
39.5 |
Rebounds Per Game |
39.6 |
|
69 |
Points Allowed Per Game |
58.7 |
|
40.4% |
Defensive FG% |
39.4% |
|
33.2% |
Defensive 3PT% |
31.8% |
|
72.3% |
Defensive FT% |
71.4% |
|
31.4 |
Defensive Rebounds Per Game |
27.7 |
|
5-0 |
Last 5 W-L |
4-1 |
Key Stats
Saint Mary’s Gaels
The Saint Mary’s Gaels play very efficiently thanks to Aidan Mahaney and Augustas Marciulionis in the backcourt and Mitchell Saxen down low. The Gaels are 17th in the NET and 21st in KenPom overall. They are great on defense, allowing 58.7 points per game, behind only Houston, and they are 16th in adjusted defense on KenPom at 96.0. They are also very methodical on offense, with an adjusted tempo of 62.2, which is 358th in all of college basketball.
Mahaney leads the team in scoring at 13.6 points per game, while Marciulionis leads the team in assists at 5.2 and in steals at 1.4, and finally Mitchell Saxen leads the team in rebounds at 7.3 and in blocks at 1.3. The Gaels play the epitome of team basketball and should be a problem based on their efficiency.
Gonzaga Bulldogs
The Bulldogs have come on strong recently, and their most recent win against the Gaels vaulted them back into the NCAA Tournament field. The Bulldogs are led by their frontcourt with Graham Ike and Anton Watson, while Ryan Nembhard and Nolan Hickman have been solid in the backcourt. The Zags are 16th in the NET and 15th overall in KenPom. The focus for Gonzaga is on offense, with the Bulldogs averaging 85.7 points per game, and they are 9th in adjusted offense on KenPom at 122.1.
Graham Ike leads the team in points per game at 16.7, in rebounds at 7.2, and in blocks at 0.7, Anton Watson leads the team in steals at 1.6 per game, and then Ryan Nembhard leads the team in assists at 6.6. The up-tempo aspect of the Bulldogs makes them very hard to guard too.
Game Prediction
This is round three of a heavyweight fight. These two are consistently the best two teams in the WCC. This should be a huge game tonight, even if both of these teams should be safely in the tournament. The toughness of Saint Mary’s is something that can’t go unnoticed, but Gonzaga is the better team and has more talent overall. This should be a close game until the buzzer, but the Bulldogs should win and claim the WCC Title.
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