College Basketball Pick: St. Mary’s Gaels at #13 Gonzaga Bulldogs

The St. Mary’s Gaels (17-2 Overall, 6-0 WCC) play the #13 Gonzaga Bulldogs (16-3 Overall, 6-0 WCC) at 9 p.m. E.T. tonight at the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, WA. The two teams share the top sport in the Western Athletic Conference, but St. Mary’s in unranked. Our St. Mary’s plays Gonzaga 2018 NCAA basketball WCC pick has the Bulldogs at either -7.5 or -8.0 and the over/under at anywhere from 149.0 to 151.0.

Recent History

St. Mary’s has won 12 games in a row, but they have not yet played a nationally ranked team. Their two losses were to Washington State 84-79 on Nov. 24 and to Georgia 83-81 OT on Nov. 26. Gonzaga, which has won 10 of its last 12, has played three teams that are nationally ranked, winning one and losing two. On Nov. 24, they lost to #7 Florida 111-105 in double-OT, and then on Dec 1, they beat #25 Creighton 91-74. In their next game, which was on Dec. 5, they lost to #4 Villanova 88-72. They last played on Jan. 13, beating San Francisco 75-65.

Matchup

The Zags are successful on 51.3% of their shots, while the Gaels are good on 52.4% Gonzaga is averaging 89.8 PPG while allowing 69.4. St, Mary’s is scoring on average 80.8 PPG and are allowing 65.4 PPG. The Bulldogs are grabbing eight more rebounds per game, making three more steals, and blocking 1.5 more shots than St, Mary’s. Although the Gaels’ free throw and three-point percentages are better than the Zags, Gonzaga has hit 14 more frees and 30 more threes.

Players to Watch

The Gaels are led by junior center Jock Landale (21.7 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 65 FG%); he’s very tough in the paint. Junior guard Emmett Naar is a major set up guy, averaging 9.4 APG. He’s a 50% shooter who is putting in 11.2 PPG. Freshman guard Tanner Krebs is a sound shooter and fine rebounder.

Gonzaga is deep with scorers. They bring six players to the court who are averaging double digits on point production. Senior forward Jonathan Williams leads the team with 14.1 PPG and 7.2 RPG, while junior guard Josh Perkins is tops in assists with 5.5 PG and second in scoring with 13.6 PPG. He’s a 45% three-point shooter. Sophomore forward Killian Tillie, who is averaging 11.8 PPG and 6.0 RPG, can be a difference-maker.

Our St. Mary’s Plays Gonzaga 2018 NCAA Basketball WCC Pick

We think the Bulldogs are going to score a lot tonight. They seem primed for a big night. We also think that the Gaels will do well shooting. We do like the over at 149.0. In terms of the spread, our St. Mary’s plays Gonzaga 2018 NCAA basketball WCC pick is the Bulldogs at -7.5. We see them breaking away in the second half.

Summary Gaels at Bulldogs Picks- Gonzaga at -7.5 and over 149.0