Santa Clara Broncos vs St. Mary's Gaels Prediction, 3/7/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Santa Clara Broncos vs St. Mary's Gaels

Date: Monday, March 7, 2022

Location: Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, NV

TV: ESPN2

The St. Mary's Gaels (24-6) will try to beat the Santa Clara Broncos (21-10) at Orleans Arena on Monday.

The Santa Clara Broncos played Portland and took home the win by a score of 91-67 in their last game. Santa Clara finished the contest having earned a 53.4% FG percentage (31 out of 58) and converted 13 out of their 27 shots from distance. From the charity stripe, the Broncos knocked down 16 of 18 attempts for a rate of 88.9%. When discussing rebounding, they collected 38 with 4 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 16 assists in this game in addition to forcing the other team into 12 turnovers and having 4 steals. With regard to defending, Santa Clara allowed 35.2% from the floor on 25 of 71 shooting. Portland recorded 6 assists and had 6 steals in this contest. Moreover, Portland collected 30 rebounds (9 offensive, 21 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Portland finished the game shooting 66.7% at the charity stripe by making 12 of their 18 shots. They knocked down 5 of their 16 attempts from distance. When it comes to fouls, the Broncos ended up walking away with 22 while Portland accounted for 14 fouls.

Jalen Williams is one guy who was a major contributor in this game. He scored 24 points on 9 of 13 shooting. He was on the court for 32 minutes and grabbed 3 rebounds. He finished the contest at 69.2% from the floor and distributed 6 dimes.

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Santa Clara will play this contest with a win-loss mark of 21-10 on the campaign. They have an average of 78.3 points per game (31st in D-1) on 49.3% from the field. The Broncos are connecting on 38.8% on shots from distance (230 of 593) and 76.7% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Santa Clara is collecting 35.3 boards per contest and is sitting with 476 assists for the campaign, which has them ranked 38th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. They are giving up possession 11.8 times per game and as a unit they commit 15.0 fouls per game.

When they are on defense, the Broncos are able to force 12.0 turnovers per contest and they draw 16.3 fouls. They are surrendering 34.6% on 3-pointers and they rank 257th in D-1 in points per game from their opponents (72.1). The Broncos defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 42.9% (848 of 1,976) and they surrender 34.6 rebounds per game as a squad. They currently rank 278th in college hoops in giving up assists to the opposition with 423 conceded this season.

When they last stepped on the court, the St. Mary's Gaels got the victory with a final of 67-57 against Gonzaga. When discussing team rebounding, St. Mary's allowed Gonzaga to collect 31 in all (6 on the offensive glass). They finished 33.3% from 3-point land by going 5 of 15 and finished the contest at 8 of 9 at the charity stripe (88.9%). The Gaels allowed Gonzaga to make 22 of their 60 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 36.7% for this game. When the game finished, the Gaels shot 27 for 61 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 44.3%. In reference to shots from distance, St. Mary's made 6 of 16 attempts (37.5%). They were able to bury 7 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 87.5%. Gonzaga earned 12 personal fouls for this game which took the Gaels to the charity stripe for a total of 8 tries. They coughed it up 10 times, while earning 9 steals in this matchup. The Gaels corralled 28 defensive boards and 4 offensive rebounds totaling 32 for this game.

Alex Ducas was important for the Gaels for the contest. He buried 3 of 7 in the game for a field goal rate of 42.9%, and earned 3 rebounds. He had 10 points in his 33 mins of playing time, but wasn't able to notch an assist.

St. Mary's has a mark of 24-6 this season. The Gaels are responsible for committing 15.4 fouls every game and they go 75.7% from the charity stripe. They are getting an assist 13.7 times per game (131st in the country) and they cough up possession 11.4 times per contest. St. Mary's has 2,088 points for the year (69.6 per game) and they collect 33.9 boards per contest. As an offensive unit, the Gaels are connecting on 46.2% from the floor, which ranks 66th in college basketball.

The Gaels on the defensive side of the court are 6th in the nation in points per game surrendered with 59.4. They have forced 13.3 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 42.1% from the floor (117th in college basketball). The St. Mary's defense gives up 33.3% on shots from beyond the arc (156 of 468) and their opponents are making 71.1% of their foul shots. They concede 8.2 assists and 29.5 boards every game, which ranks 1st and 7th in college hoops.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take St. Mary's

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