Washington State Cougars vs St. Mary's Gaels Prediction, 2/15/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Washington State Cougars vs St. Mary's Gaels

Date: Saturday, February 15, 2025

Location: University Credit Union Pavilion in Muncie, IN

TV: ESPN+

The Washington State Cougars (16-10) are on their way to University Credit Union Pavilion on Saturday where they will go up against the St. Mary's Gaels (22-4).

The Washington State Cougars stepped onto the hardwood against Pepperdine and earned the victory with a final of 87-86 in their last game. Washington State ended having earned a 50.0% field goal percentage (34 out of 68) and buried 10 of their 26 shots from beyond the perimeter. From the free throw line, the Cougars knocked down 9 of 10 tries for a percentage of 90.0%. When discussing pulling down boards, they compiled 33 with 7 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 14 assists in the game while forcing 8 turnovers and earning 7 steals. When discussing the defense, Washington State let their opponent shoot 48.4% from the field on 30 out of 62 shooting. Pepperdine earned 19 assists and had 9 steals for the game. On top of that, Pepperdine snagged 28 boards (5 offensive, 23 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Pepperdine walked away from this one shooting 70.8% from the free throw line by knocking down 17 of 24 attempts. They knocked down 9 of 20 tries from beyond the perimeter. When discussing fouls, the Cougars finished with 19 and Pepperdine accounted for 11 fouls.

Nate Calmese is one guy who was important for this contest. He finished the game shooting 61.5% from the field and totaled 2 assists. He was on the court for 34 minutes and collected 4 rebounds. He ended up scoring 16 points on 8 out of 13 shooting.

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Washington State heads into this one with a win-loss record of 16-10 this year. They average 78.9 points per game (69th in college) while hitting 49.2% from the field. The Cougars are hitting 35.8% from downtown (225 of 628) and 70.8% from the charity stripe. As a team, Washington State is pulling in 34.4 boards per contest and has accumulated 428 assists this year, which has them ranked 13th in college hoops in terms of passing the ball. They cough up possession 14.7 times per game and as a group they commit 19.5 fouls every game.

When they are on the defensive end, the Cougars are able to force 12.7 turnovers per contest and they draw 18.5 personal fouls. They are giving up 32.4% on 3-pointers while they are 304th in Division 1 in points per game allowed (76.3). The Cougars defense is giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 44.4% (707 of 1,592) and they concede 33.0 rebounds per game as a group. They currently rank 266th in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 347 relinquished on the season.

When they last played, the St. Mary's Gaels walked away with a victory by a final of 73-64 against Santa Clara. The Gaels were able to pull down 21 defensive boards and 6 offensive boards totaling 27 for this game. They also gave up possession 12 times, while recording 7 steals in this game. Santa Clara was called for 19 fouls for the contest which took the Gaels to the free throw line for a total of 24 tries. They were able to bury 17 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 70.8%. In reference to shooting from 3-point land, St. Mary's converted 6 of 14 tries (42.9%). At the conclusion of this game, the Gaels shot 25 out of 47 from the field which had them shooting 53.2%. The Gaels permitted Santa Clara to bury 23 out of their 57 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 40.4% for the contest. They went 37.5% from distance by going 9 out of 24 and finished the game at 9 out of 11 from the free throw line (81.8%). In the matter of cleaning up the glass, St. Mary's allowed Santa Clara to grab 24 in all (7 on the offensive glass).

Augustas Marciulionis was important for the Gaels in the matchup. He accumulated 24 points in his 40 mins of playing time and tallied 6 dimes in the matchup. He made 8 out of 11 for the game for a field goal rate of 72.7%, and accumulated 3 rebounds.

St. Mary's has a mark of 22-4 so far this season. The Gaels are committing 15.1 personal fouls every game and they shoot 68.5% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 16.2 times per contest (41st in D-1) and they cough up possession 9.8 times per game. St. Mary's has tallied 1,939 pts on the campaign (74.6 per contest) and they pull in 39.6 boards per game. On the offensive side of the ball, the Gaels are hitting on 46.1% from the floor, which ranks 107th in the nation.

The Gaels are ranked 6th in college in points given up per game with 60.7. They have forced 11.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 40.1% from the field (28th in college hoops). The St. Mary's defense gives up 31.6% on shots from distance (148 of 468) and their opponents are converting on 74.9% of their free throw attempts. They have allowed 12.3 assists and 29.8 boards per contest, which is 114th and 9th in those defensive categories.

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

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

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