BYU Cougars vs St. Mary's Gaels Prediction, 2/19/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: BYU Cougars vs St. Mary's Gaels

Date: Saturday, February 19, 2022

Location: University Credit Union Pavilion in Moraga, CA

TV: ESPN+

The St. Mary's Gaels (20-6) will go up against the BYU Cougars (19-8) at University Credit Union Pavilion on Saturday.

The BYU Cougars faced Pepperdine and notched a win by a score of 91-85 in their last contest. BYU finished the contest with a 64.0% FG percentage (32 out of 50) and knocked down 15 of their 23 shots from downtown. At the charity stripe, the Cougars buried 12 of 16 tries for a rate of 75.0%. With regard to rebounding, they collected 26 with 5 of them being of the offensive variety. They also dished out 18 assists in the game while creating 9 turnovers and earning 5 steals. Concerning defending, BYU let their opponent shoot 58.9% from the field on 33 out of 56 shooting. Pepperdine earned 21 assists and had 9 steals in the matchup. On top of that, Pepperdine pulled down 14 boards (1 offensive, 13 defensive), but didn't have a block. Pepperdine ended up shooting 69.2% at the free throw line by knocking down 9 of 13 tries. They also converted 10 of their 23 shots from distance. In relation to fouls, the Cougars ended up walking away with 20 while Pepperdine accumulated 16 fouls.

Alex Barcello is a player who played a role for the contest. He walked away from this one shooting 83.3% from the field and recorded 1 assist. He was on the court for 34 minutes played and also collected 1 rebound. He recorded 33 points on 10 out of 12 shooting.

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BYU heads into this one with a win-loss record of 19-8 this year. They are turning it over 12.9 times per contest and as a team are committing 17.4 fouls per contest. As a unit, BYU is pulling in 39.1 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 383 assists for the campaign, which ranks 55th in the country in terms of passing the rock. The Cougars are hitting 36.5% on 3-point shots (224 of 613) and 72.7% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 73.8 pts per game (115th in the nation) while going 44.9% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Cougars have forced 11.1 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 16.6 fouls. They are currently ranked 246th in college basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 338 conceded so far this season. The Cougars defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 42.1% (673 of 1,598) and they relinquish 32.6 boards per contest as a group. They are conceding 30.4% from 3-point land and they rank 163rd in college basketball in PPG from their opponents (68.5).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the St. Mary's Gaels went home defeated by a final of 74-58 when they faced Gonzaga. The Gaels collected 24 defensive boards and 2 offensive rebounds for a total of 26 in this contest. They turned it over 6 times, while earning 3 steals in the matchup. Gonzaga committed 9 personal fouls in the matchup which got the Gaels to the free throw line for 9 attempts. They were able to bury 7 of the free throws for a rate of 77.8%. In terms of shooting from 3-point land, St. Mary's converted 5 out of their 17 attempts (29.4%). When this game wrapped up, the Gaels ended up shooting 23 for 59 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 39.0%. The Gaels permitted Gonzaga to knock down 30 of their 55 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 54.5% in the matchup. They finished 50.0% from beyond the perimeter by shooting 6 out of 12 and ended up shooting 8 out of 13 from the free throw line (61.5%). In the matter of rebounding, St. Mary's allowed Gonzaga to pull down 34 in all (3 offensive).

Tommy Kuhse was important for the Gaels in this game. He buried 6 of 9 for this game for a field goal rate of 66.7%, and accounted for 5 rebounds. He racked up 16 points in his 31 mins on the hardwood and totaled 5 assists in the game.

St. Mary's has a record of 20-6 this year. The Gaels are committing 15.6 fouls per contest and they shoot 75.6% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 14.2 times per game (114th in college basketball) and they are giving up possession 11.5 times per game. St. Mary's has 1,823 points so far this season (70.1 per contest) and they grab 34.0 rebounds per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Gaels are hitting on 46.2% from the field, which ranks them 72nd in the country.

The St. Mary's defense gives up 34.1% from downtown (135 of 396) and their opposition knocks down 70.4% of their shots from the free throw line. They have allowed 8.6 assists and 29.1 boards per contest, which ranks them 2nd and 6th in college hoops. The Gaels on defense are ranked 9th in college basketball in PPG given up with 59.7. They are forcing 13.1 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 42.5% from the field (152nd in Division 1).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take St. Mary's

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