St. Mary's Gaels vs San Diego State Aztecs Prediction, 12/22/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: St. Mary's Gaels vs San Diego State Aztecs

Date: Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Location: Robert A. Mott Athletics Center in San Luis Obispo, CA

TV: CBSSN

Odds/Point Spread: St. Mary's (+2.5)

The San Diego State Aztecs (5-1) host the St. Mary's Gaels (8-1) at Robert A. Mott Athletics Center on Tuesday. The line on this contest has San Diego State as 2.5-point favorites. The total opens at 126.5.

St. Mary's will take the court with a win-loss mark of 8-1 for the campaign. They cough up possession 11.0 times per contest and as a squad they commit 15.7 personal fouls per game. As a team, St. Mary's is pulling in 37.9 rebounds per contest and has earned 113 assists this season, which is 51st in D-1 in terms of passing. The Gaels are shooting 34.4% on shots from downtown (73 of 212) and 74.4% from the free throw line. They have an average of 72.3 pts per contest (185th in the nation) while hitting 46.1% from the field. On defense, the Gaels are able to force 11.2 turnovers per game while drawing 14.0 fouls. The Gaels defense is giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 39.9% (207 of 519) and they surrender 29.8 rebounds per game as a squad. They rank 111th in college basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 64 surrendered on the campaign. They are giving up 34.5% on shots from distance while they are 37th in the country in PPG allowed (60.7).

The St. Mary's Gaels played the Colorado State Rams and walked away with a win by a score of 53-33 in their last contest. St. Mary's finished the contest with a 36.7% FG percentage (22 of 60) and made 7 of 31 three-point shots. From the free throw line, the Gaels made 2 of their 2 tries for a percentage of 100.0%. In relation to grabbing boards, they compiled 40 with 9 of them being of the offensive variety. They also dished out 14 assists in this contest as well as getting 13 steals and 4 blocked shots. In reference to defense, St. Mary's allowed their opponent to shoot 36.7% from the field on 22 of 60. Colorado State doled out 4 dimes and 6 steals for this game. In addition, the Rams snagged 30 rebounds (7 offensive, 23 defensive) and had 4 blocks. Colorado State ended up shooting 58.3% at the free throw line by making 7 of 12 attempts. They knocked down 2 of their 15 attempts from beyond the arc.

Tommy Kuhse is a guy who was a major factor for this game. He accounted for 14 points on 5 of 14 shooting. He was on the court for 36 minutes and totaled 3 rebounds. Kuhse finished shooting 35.7% from the field and totaled 6 assists. One more player that played big minutes in this contest for the Gaels was Dan Fotu. He had 7 rebounds and also accounted for 2 dimes. He ended up shooting 80.0% from the floor for the matchup by connecting on 4-of-5 (10 points). When the final whistle blew, Fotu was on the court for 23 min.

San Diego State has a mark of 5-1 for the campaign. San Diego State has earned 440 pts this year (73.3 per game) and they snag 35.5 rebounds per game. The Aztecs commit 18.2 fouls every game while shooting 72.4% from the charity stripe. In terms of offensive execution, the Aztecs are connecting on 43.0% from the floor, which is ranked 244th in the nation. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 13.7 times per contest (171st in D-1) and they turn it over 11.5 times per contest. The Aztecs defensively are ranked 23rd in Division 1 in PPG allowed with 59.5. The San Diego State defense surrenders 32.2% on 3-point shots (46 of 143) and opponents are connecting on 71.3% of their free throw shots. They have allowed 13.3 assists and 34.0 boards every game, which ranks them 200th and 132nd in the nation. They are forcing 17.2 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 39.0% from the field (62nd in college hoops).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the San Diego State Aztecs walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 72-62 when they faced the BYU Cougars. The Aztecs were able to pull down 14 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive boards for a total of 22 for this contest. They stuffed 3 tries while recording 11 steals in this game. The Cougars had 16 personal fouls for the game which took the Aztecs to the charity stripe for a total of 15 attempts. They were able to make 11 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 73.3%. In relation to shots from 3-point land, San Diego State made 9 of 25 attempts (36.0%). In all, the Aztecs walked away from this one shooting 21 out of 57 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 36.8%. The Aztecs allowed the Cougars to convert 25 of their 54 tries from the floor which had them shooting 46.3% in the matchup. They finished 30.4% from three-point range via 7 of 23 and ended up going 15 out of 16 at the free throw line (93.8%). In relation to cleaning up the glass, San Diego State permitted BYU to pull down 36 in total (13 offensive).

Nathan Mensah ended up being a factor for the Aztecs for this contest. He converted 2 of 2 in this matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 100.0%, which got him 8 points. Mensah grabbed 3 boards in his 24 mins and totaled 2 dimes for this contest. Someone else who was a determining factor for San Diego State was Matt Mitchell. He scored 35 points in 31 minutes played by going 12 out of 17 shooting for the matchup. Mitchell walked away from this one going 70.6% from the field as well as totaling 2 assists and 3 rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take St. Mary's (+2.5)

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