BYU Cougars vs St. Mary's Gaels Prediction, 1/14/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: BYU Cougars vs St. Mary's Gaels

Date: Thursday, January 14, 2021

Location: University Credit Union Pavilion in Moraga, CA

TV: ESPN2

Odds/Point Spread: BYU (+1)

The BYU Cougars (9-3) are headed to University Credit Union Pavilion on Thursday where they'll meet the St. Mary's Gaels (9-3). St. Mary's opens this game as 1-point favorites. The over/under opens at 132.

BYU enters this matchup with a mark of 9-3 for the campaign. They cough up possession 14.5 times per contest and as a team they commit 18.7 fouls per game. As a unit, BYU is snagging 39.2 boards per game and is sitting with 213 dimes for the campaign, which is 16th in the nation in terms of passing the rock. The Cougars are shooting 35.5% on three-point shots (108 of 304) and 68.6% from the free throw line. They are averaging 78.1 pts per game (78th in D-1) while shooting 47.5% from the field. When they are on the defensive end, the Cougars are forcing their opponents into 13.4 turnovers per contest and they draw 19.5 personal fouls. They are 239th in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 146 conceded on the year. The Cougars defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 41.3% (297 of 719) and they surrender 34.7 rebounds per contest as a squad. They relinquish 33.5% on shots from distance and they rank 156th in college hoops in PPG from their opponents (68.9).

The BYU Cougars faced off with the Gonzaga Bulldogs and took a loss by a final of 86-69 in their last game. BYU wrapped up the contest with a 44.3% FG percentage (27 of 61) and converted 4 of their 16 shots from beyond the perimeter. At the charity stripe, the Cougars knocked down 11 of their 14 tries for a rate of 78.6%. Regarding grabbing rebounds, they collected a total of 34 with 9 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 10 dimes for this game while getting 3 steals and 2 blocked shots. In reference to defending, BYU allowed their opponent to shoot 44.3% from the floor on 27 of 61 shooting. Gonzaga earned 19 assists and had 10 steals for the matchup. In addition, the Bulldogs pulled down 29 rebounds (7 offensive, 22 defensive) and had 2 rejections. Gonzaga finished 75.0% at the free throw line by burying 15 of their 20 attempts. They converted 7 of 20 attempts from beyond the perimeter.

Matt Haarms is a player who was a contributor in this contest. He accumulated 13 points on 5 of 6 shooting. He saw the court for 22 minutes played and grabbed 2 rebounds. Haarms went 83.3% from the floor and also dished out 2 assists. An additional guy that was a contributor in the matchup for the Cougars was Caleb Lohner. He totaled 5 rebounds and accumulated 2 dimes. He finished the contest at 71.4% from the floor in the matchup by hitting 5-of-7 (13 points). When the final whistle was blown, Lohner was on the court for 24 min.

St. Mary's has a mark of 9-3 on the campaign. St. Mary's has accounted for 827 points on the campaign (68.9 per contest) and they grab 37.7 boards per game. The Gaels are committing 16.6 personal fouls per contest and they hit 73.9% from the charity stripe. As an offensive unit, the Gaels are hitting on 44.1% from the floor, which ranks them 197th in the country. Their rate of earning assists is at 11.7 times per game (278th in the nation) and they turn it over 11.3 times per game. The Gaels on the defensive side of the court are 17th in D-1 in points given up per game with 60.9. They have conceded 7.5 assists and 29.2 total rebounds per game, which is 1st and 13th in those defensive categories. The St. Mary's defense surrenders 35.9% from downtown (66 of 184) and opponents are converting on 71.3% of their foul shots. They are able to force 11.3 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 40.9% from the field (90th in college basketball).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the St. Mary's Gaels went home defeated by a final of 66-64 against the Santa Clara Broncos. The Gaels collected 26 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds for a total of 34 in this contest. They blocked 2 shots while earning 8 steals for the contest. The Broncos were called for 17 fouls for the game which took the Gaels to the charity stripe for a total of 18 attempts. They were able to make 13 of them for a percentage of 72.2%. In reference to 3-pointers, St. Mary's converted 5 of 17 attempts (29.4%). When all was said and done, the Gaels ended up going 23 out of 59 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 39.0%. The Gaels permitted the Broncos to knock down 23 out of their 49 attempts from the field which left them shooting 46.9% in the game. They went 50.0% from 3-point land by connecting on 6 out of 12 and walked away from this one shooting 14 out of 18 from the free throw line (77.8%). When talking about cleaning the glass, St. Mary's permitted Santa Clara to collect 29 in all (1 on the offensive side).

Logan Johnson was important for the Gaels in this game. He converted 9 of 14 in this matchup for a field goal percentage of 64.3%, which had him finishing with 26 points. Johnson grabbed 4 boards in his 37 minutes and accumulated 2 dimes in this game. An additional guy that ended up playing a role for St. Mary's was Tommy Kuhse. He walked away with 12 points in 40 minutes on the court by going 4 out of 17 from the floor for the game. Kuhse ended up shooting 23.5% from the floor in addition to collecting 4 dimes and 3 rebounds.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take St. Mary's (-1) and under 132 points

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