St. Mary's Gaels vs Gonzaga Bulldogs Prediction, 2/3/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: St. Mary's Gaels vs Gonzaga Bulldogs

Date: Saturday, February 3, 2024

Location: McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, WA

TV: ESPN+

The St. Mary's Gaels (17-6) are hitting the road to McCarthey Athletic Center on Saturday where they will meet the Gonzaga Bulldogs (16-5).

The St. Mary's Gaels stepped onto the hardwood against Santa Clara and notched a win by a score of 82-77 in their last contest. St. Mary's ended having earned a 49.0% FG percentage (24 of 49) and converted 7 of 18 shots from downtown. At the charity stripe, the Gaels converted 27 of 39 attempts for a rate of 69.2%. In terms of grabbing boards, they earned 28 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 16 assists for the matchup while forcing 8 turnovers and getting 4 steals. Concerning defense, St. Mary's allowed the other team to shoot 41.9% from the field on 26 out of 62 shooting. Santa Clara earned 10 dimes and had 5 steals for this game. Moreover, Santa Clara collected 29 rebounds (14 offensive, 15 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Santa Clara finished the contest at 77.3% when shooting free throws by knocking down 17 of their 22 tries. They also made 8 out of their 19 attempts from beyond the arc. In the matter of fouls, the Gaels finished with 18 and Santa Clara recorded 26 fouls.

Augustas Marciulionis is someone who was a major factor in this contest. He finished the game at 46.7% from the floor and recorded 6 dimes. He was on the hardwood for 40 minutes played and snagged 3 rebounds. He walked away with 20 points on 7 out of 15 shooting.

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St. Mary's steps onto the hardwood with a record of 17-6 for the season. They turn the ball over 10.7 times per contest and as a squad they commit 16.7 personal fouls per contest. As a unit, St. Mary's is collecting 40.1 rebounds per game and has accumulated 362 dimes so far this year, which is 17th in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. The Gaels are hitting 32.3% on 3-point shots (162 of 502) and 69.0% from the free throw line. They average 72.9 pts per game (221st in the country) while connecting on 45.4% from the floor.

On defense, the Gaels are able to force 12.0 turnovers per contest while drawing 16.5 fouls. They are currently ranked 35th in Division 1 in giving up assists with 222 conceded this year. The Gaels defense is giving up an opponent FG percentage of 38.9% (472 of 1,214) and they relinquish 28.4 rebounds per game as a team. They are relinquishing 31.5% from 3-point land and they rank 3rd in college basketball in PPG allowed (58.4).

When they last played, the Gonzaga Bulldogs got the win with a final of 92-58 when they played Loyola Marymount. When discussing how they cleaned up the glass, Gonzaga permitted Loyola Marymount to grab 28 in total (10 on the offensive side). They finished 37.5% from 3-point land by connecting on 9 out of 24 and finished the contest at 3 of 4 from the charity stripe (75.0%). The Bulldogs permitted Loyola Marymount to knock down 23 of their 62 attempts from the field which had them shooting 37.1% for the contest. When the final whistle blew, the Bulldogs ended up going 36 for 61 from the floor which had them at 59.0%. In terms of shots from beyond the perimeter, Gonzaga converted 7 of 15 attempts (46.7%). They were able to bury 13 of those for a rate of 76.5%. Loyola Marymount earned 14 fouls for this game which took the Bulldogs to the free throw line for a total of 17 shots. They gave up possession of the ball 5 times, while getting 12 steals in the matchup. The Bulldogs were able to collect 23 defensive boards and 6 offensive rebounds for a total of 29 for this game.

Nolan Hickman ended up being a factor for the Bulldogs for this contest. He scored 24 points in his 36 minutes on the court and earned 5 assists for this game. He knocked down 10 out of 15 for this contest giving him a rate of 66.7%, and accounted for 3 rebounds.

Gonzaga has a record of 16-5 on the campaign. The Bulldogs are committing 15.7 fouls every game and they connect on 69.2% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 16.3 times per contest (34th in college basketball) and they turn it over 10.8 times per game. Gonzaga has totaled 1,791 pts so far this season (85.3 per contest) and they grab 40.8 rebounds per contest. When it comes to offensive execution, the Bulldogs are hitting on 50.8% from the floor, which is 5th in college basketball.

The Bulldogs on the defensive side of the court are 90th in college hoops in PPG given up with 68.0. They are able to force 12.6 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 39.3% from the field (13th in college hoops). The Gonzaga defense concedes 31.6% on 3-point attempts (155 of 490) and opponents are making 73.1% of their free throw attempts. They have surrendered 11.3 assists and 32.3 total boards per game, which ranks them 61st and 49th 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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