Utah State Aggies vs St. Mary's Gaels Prediction, 12/22/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Utah State Aggies vs St. Mary's Gaels

Date: Sunday, December 22, 2024

Location: University Credit Union Pavilion in Moraga, CA

TV: ESPN+

The Utah State Aggies (10-1) are hitting the road to University Credit Union Pavilion on Sunday where they will compete against the St. Mary's Gaels (10-2).

The Utah State Aggies played UC-San Diego and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 75-73 in their last game. In relation to fouls, the Aggies ended up finishing with 21 while UC-San Diego totaled 20 fouls. They also converted 8 of their 27 attempts from 3-point range. UC-San Diego ended up going 85.2% from the charity stripe by converting 23 of 27 tries. On top of that, UC-San Diego grabbed 30 rebounds (3 offensive, 27 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. UC-San Diego doled out 10 assists and had 10 steals in the game. In the matter of the defense, Utah State allowed 46.8% from the floor on 22 of 47 shooting. They also recorded 14 assists for the contest in addition to creating 15 turnovers and getting 12 steals. When talking about getting rebounds, they compiled 28 with 8 of them being offensive. At the charity stripe, the Aggies buried 17 of their 24 tries for a rate of 70.8%. Utah State finished having earned a 40.0% FG percentage (24 of 60) and buried 8 out of their 28 three-point attempts.

Karson Templin is a player who had an impact in the game. He finished the contest at 71.4% from the field but had no assists when the game ended. He was on the hardwood for 19 mins and snagged 6 rebounds. He ended up with 18 points on 5 out of 7 shooting.

Get all of our NCAA Picks Today

Utah State heads into this one with a record of 10-1 on the season. They are losing possession via turnover 11.5 times per game and as a group they commit 16.2 fouls per contest. As a unit, Utah State is collecting 39.6 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 198 assists for the season, which ranks 39th in the country in terms of passing the rock. The Aggies are hitting 34.1% on shots from 3-point land (91 of 267) and 75.5% from the free throw line. They are averaging 86.3 points per contest (17th in D-1) on 48.2% from the field.

On the defensive end of the court, the Aggies are able to force 16.6 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 19.2 personal fouls. They are ranked 199th in the nation in allowing assists to their opponents with 149 conceded this year. The Aggies defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 42.5% (265 of 623) and they surrender 31.1 rebounds per contest as a team. They relinquish 31.3% on 3-point attempts and they are 49th in college hoops in points per game allowed (65.5).

When they last played, the St. Mary's Gaels went home victorious with a score of 73-68 when they played Merrimack. The Gaels collected 22 defensive boards and 14 offensive rebounds for a total of 36 in the matchup. They turned the ball over 11 times, while earning 6 steals for the game. Merrimack was called for 18 fouls in this contest which got the Gaels to the charity stripe for 19 shots. They were able to knock down 16 of those for a rate of 84.2%. In reference to shooting from downtown, St. Mary's made 5 out of their 12 tries (41.7%). When the final whistle blew, the Gaels finished shooting 26 out of 57 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 45.6%. The Gaels allowed Merrimack to convert 25 out of their 50 tries from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 50.0% for the matchup. They finished shooting 57.1% from beyond the perimeter by hitting 12 out of 21 and finished the contest at 6 out of 6 at the charity stripe (100.0%). Regarding how they rebounded, St. Mary's permitted Merrimack to grab 17 in all (3 on the offensive glass).

Mitchell Saxen ended up being important for the Gaels in this matchup. He converted 6 of 13 for this game for a field goal rate of 46.2%, and had 12 rebounds. He scored 18 points in his 35 minutes on the court and accounted for 1 assist in this contest.

St. Mary's has a mark of 10-2 so far this season. The Gaels are committing 15.8 fouls per contest and they connect on 68.5% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 15.8 times per game (88th in Division 1) and they turn it over 11.3 times per game. St. Mary's has tallied 911 points this season (75.9 per game) and they grab 41.8 rebounds per game. When it comes to offense, the Gaels are shooting 45.6% from the floor, which has them ranked 166th in the nation.

The St. Mary's defense surrenders 32.9% on 3-point attempts (76 of 231) and their opposition makes 74.7% of their shots from the free throw line. They relinquish 12.1 dimes and 31.1 boards per game, which has them ranked 112th and 39th in the country. The Gaels on the defensive side of the court are 26th in college hoops in points per game surrendered with 63.8. They are forcing 11.9 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 39.6% from the field (50th in Division 1).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Utah State

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here