BYU Cougars vs St. Mary's Gaels Prediction, 2/18/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: BYU Cougars vs St. Mary's Gaels

Date: Saturday, February 18, 2023

Location: University Credit Union Pavilion in Moraga, CA

TV: ESPN+

University Credit Union Pavilion is the location where the St. Mary's Gaels (22-5) will meet the BYU Cougars (16-12) on Saturday.

The BYU Cougars took the court against Gonzaga and took a loss by a final of 88-81 in their last contest. Regarding fouls, the Cougars finished with 28 and Gonzaga totaled 14 fouls. They also knocked down 6 of 19 shots from 3-point range. Gonzaga finished the game shooting 76.5% from the free throw line by making 26 of 34 shots. Furthermore, Gonzaga grabbed 31 boards (7 offensive, 24 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Gonzaga recorded 16 dimes and had 7 steals for the matchup. When talking about defending, BYU allowed their opponent to shoot 50.9% from the field on 28 of 55 shooting. They also recorded 15 dimes in this contest while forcing the opposition into 9 turnovers and having 5 steals. In the matter of grabbing rebounds, they compiled 27 with 6 of them being offensive. From the charity stripe, the Cougars buried 11 of 12 attempts for a percentage of 91.7%. BYU finished the game having earned a 47.7% field goal percentage (31 out of 65) and buried 8 out of their 24 3-pointers.

Spencer Johnson is one guy who was a major factor for the game. He finished the game at 54.5% from the floor and also recorded 7 dimes. He played for 35 mins and snagged 3 rebounds. He finished with 17 points on 6 of 11 shooting.

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BYU will enter this contest with a win-loss record of 16-12 this season. They average 75.6 pts per game (85th in D-1) on 45.3% from the floor. The Cougars are connecting on 33.5% on shots from downtown (230 of 686) and 71.2% from the charity stripe. As a team, BYU is grabbing 37.9 boards per game and has accumulated 419 dimes on the year, which has them ranked 26th in the country in terms of passing. They lose possession by turning the ball over 14.8 times per contest and as a team they are committing 19.2 fouls per game.

When they are on defense, the Cougars are able to force 14.4 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 17.6 fouls. They rank 221st in college hoops in allowing assists with 346 surrendered so far this year. The Cougars defense is giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 42.9% (674 of 1,570) and they surrender 32.1 rebounds per game as a unit. They relinquish 34.3% on 3-pointers and they are 188th in D-1 in opponents PPG (69.8).

The last time they took the court, the St. Mary's Gaels walked away with a victory by a final of 81-64 when they faced Portland. Regarding attacking the glass, St. Mary's permitted Portland to grab 21 overall (4 on the offensive side). They shot 33.3% from distance via 6 out of 18 and ended up shooting 10 out of 14 at the charity stripe (71.4%). The Gaels allowed Portland to knock down 24 out of 48 tries from the field which had them sitting at 50.0% for the matchup. At the conclusion of this game, the Gaels shot 28 out of 63 from the floor which gave them a rate of 44.4%. When it comes to shots from distance, St. Mary's converted 15 out of 32 tries (46.9%). They were able to bury 10 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 83.3%. Portland was called for 16 fouls for the matchup which got the Gaels to the charity stripe for a total of 12 attempts. They also gave up possession 11 times, while getting 4 steals in the game. The Gaels corralled 20 defensive boards and 19 offensive boards for a total of 39 for the contest.

Logan Johnson was important for the Gaels in this contest. He earned 34 points in his 38 minutes on the court and had 6 dimes in this contest. He knocked down 11 of 18 for the game for a field goal rate of 61.1%, and added 6 rebounds.

St. Mary's has a record of 22-5 this season. The Gaels are committing 16.7 personal fouls per game and they go 69.6% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 12.6 times per game (228th in the country) and they turn it over 10.8 times per game. St. Mary's has accounted for 1,944 points on the year (72.0 per contest) and they grab 36.8 boards per game. When it comes to offensive execution, the Gaels are hitting on 45.8% from the field, which is ranked 105th in Division 1.

The Gaels defensively are ranked 4th in Division 1 in points per game surrendered with 58.7. They are forcing 12.9 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 40.6% from the field (38th in the country). The St. Mary's defense surrenders 32.0% from downtown (141 of 441) and opponents are knocking down 73.5% of their free throw shots. They have conceded 7.1 assists and 28.2 rebounds on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 2nd and 2nd in college hoops.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take St. Mary's

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