Portland Pilots vs St. Mary's Gaels Prediction, 2/19/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Portland Pilots vs St. Mary's Gaels

Date: Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Location: University Credit Union Pavilion in Morgantown, WV

TV: ESPN+

The Portland Pilots (9-17) are en route to University Credit Union Pavilion on Wednesday where they will attempt to beat the St. Mary's Gaels (22-4).

The Portland Pilots faced off with Oregon State and notched a win by a score of 84-72 in their last game. Portland ended the game with a 50.0% field goal percentage (28 out of 56) and knocked down 12 out of their 24 3-point shots. From the charity stripe, the Pilots converted 16 of their 19 tries for a rate of 84.2%. Concerning getting rebounds, they earned 27 with 9 of them being offensive. They also recorded 21 assists for this contest while creating 14 turnovers and getting 7 steals. With respect to the defense, Portland allowed 47.3% from the field on 26 out of 55 shooting. Oregon State earned 10 dimes and had 4 steals for the matchup. Additionally, Oregon State snagged 25 rebounds (7 offensive, 18 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Oregon State finished shooting 100.0% when shooting free throws by making 14 of their 14 shots. They knocked down 6 out of their 20 attempts from distance. When talking about personal fouls, the Pilots ended up with 15 and Oregon State had 16 personal fouls.

Austin Rapp is one player who was a major contributor for this contest. He finished 60.0% from the field and distributed 1 assist. He was on the hardwood for 33 minutes and grabbed 4 boards. He notched 24 points on 9 out of 15 shooting.

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Portland will enter this matchup with a record of 9-17 this season. They average 71.5 pts per game (260th in D-1) while going 42.4% from the floor. The Pilots are shooting 33.7% on shots from beyond the arc (216 of 641) and 77.6% from the charity stripe. As a team, Portland is grabbing 34.0 rebounds per game and has totaled 394 assists on the season, which is 56th in the country in terms of passing the ball. They are turning it over 13.5 times per contest and as a team they are committing 15.5 personal fouls per contest.

When they are on defense, the Pilots have forced 9.8 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 17.7 personal fouls. They are 364th in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 459 relinquished for the year. The Pilots defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 46.3% (778 of 1,681) and they relinquish 37.1 rebounds per game as a squad. They concede 38.2% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 350th in college in PPG allowed (81.1).

When they last stepped on the court, the St. Mary's Gaels got the victory with a final of 73-64 against Santa Clara. The Gaels were able to pull down 21 defensive boards and 6 offensive rebounds for a total of 27 for the game. They also turned the ball over 12 times, while earning 7 steals for this contest. Santa Clara was called for 19 fouls for the matchup which got the Gaels to the free throw line for a total of 24 attempts. They were able to make 17 of those for a clip of 70.8%. In terms of three-point attempts, St. Mary's converted 6 of 14 tries (42.9%). When the game finished, the Gaels finished 25 for 47 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 53.2%. The Gaels permitted Santa Clara to bury 23 out of 57 tries from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 40.4% in this matchup. They finished 37.5% from three-point range via 9 of 24 and walked away from this one shooting 9 of 11 at the charity stripe (81.8%). In the matter of rebounding, St. Mary's allowed Santa Clara to snag 24 overall (7 on the offensive side).

Augustas Marciulionis ended up being a factor for the Gaels for the contest. He scored 24 points in his 40 minutes on the court and accounted for 6 dimes in this matchup. He made 8 of 11 for this contest for a field goal percentage of 72.7%, and added 3 rebounds.

St. Mary's has a record of 22-4 on the year. The Gaels are committing 15.1 fouls every game and they connect on 68.5% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 16.2 times per game (41st in the nation) and they are losing possession via turnover 9.8 times per game. St. Mary's has accounted for 1,939 points on the year (74.6 per contest) and they snag 39.6 rebounds per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Gaels are shooting 46.1% from the floor, which is 108th in the country.

The St. Mary's defense surrenders 31.6% on three-point shots (148 of 468) and opponents are converting on 74.9% of their free throw attempts. They allow 12.3 dimes and 29.8 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks 114th and 9th in the nation. The Gaels on the defensive side of the court are 6th in college in points allowed per game with 60.7. They are able to force 11.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 40.1% from the floor (28th in college hoops).

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

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

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